On October 10, 2020 the world was invited to participate in the annual Norsk Kornølfestival, an event that works to celebrate and preserve the traditional brewing culture and methods of Norway. This year it was held virtually due to concerns of COVID-19. The silver lining of that situation is that it allowed interested people from all over the globe to join Norwegian farmhouse brewers in their homes and breweries for an up-close look at the traditional ways of brewing with kveik. The festival also went far beyond brewing; it included moments of music, folklore, and several very informative and entertaining presentations on the science of kveik, the cultural importance of farmhouse brewing, as well as other indigenous ale hot spots around the globe.
The festival was a full day, twelve hours of brewing, Q&A, presentations, and homebrew awards via Crowd Cast. Below you can see everything from that day broken into two roughly six hour long videos. Below the videos you’ll find the planned schedule for the day, which was stuck to for the most part, for reference. It’s a lot to take in, but so worth it. Consider watching in in sections, but do try to watch it all.
Norsk Kornølfestival – Part 1
Norsk Kornølfestival – Part 2
Festival Schedule — Saturday, October 10, 2020
1200
Introduction and welcome. Some background and explanations.
Stjørdal: introduction, mashing in, and we look at the malt kiln.
Hornindal: introduction, heat juniper infusion.
Voss: introduction, heat juniper infusion.
Q&A.
1300
Voss: mashing in.
Hornindal: mashing in.
Stjørdal: checking status.
1330
Stjørdal: lautering begins.
Voss: see how they’re doing.
Hornindal: what’s up.
Q&A. Maybe some interviews.
1430
Hornindal: lautering begins.
Voss: status check.
Stjørdal: boiling.
Q&A, if time.
1500
Talk: Kornøl gjennom alle tider- om ølbrygging på gamlemåten, by Sissel Brunstad. This talk will be in Norwegian.
1600
Voss: lautering begins.
Hornindal: lautering continues.
Stjørdal: cooling the wort.
Q&A.
1630
Stjørdal: yeast is pitched while screaming.
Voss: checking status.
Hornindal: what’s up?
Maybe some quiet time.
1730
Hornindal: pitching yeast, possibly very loudly.
Voss: see what’s going on.
Q&A.
1800
Because of Crowdcast limitations, we have to switch to session 2 here.
Hello from Sigmund Gjernes.
1830
Talk: Traditional beers as a source of new yeast biodiversity, by Mohammed Tawfeeq, from University of Leuven.
1930
Voss: the boil begins.
Hornindal: checking what’s up.
1950
Mika Laitinen will show brewing of Finnish taari (no, not sahti).
2030
Talk: Beyond Kveik: 3 Unexplored Hotspots for Heirloom Brewing Yeasts, by Martin Thibault.
2130
Voss: the wort is boiled.
Stjørdal: malt being turned in the kiln.
Surprises from our friends around the world.
Q&A, some interviews.
2230
The winners of the home brewing competition are announced. This part likely to be mostly Norwegian.
2300
Voss: wort being cooled.
Stjørdal: malt being turned.
2330
Voss: yeast is pitched, sound level unknown.
Rounding off.