Landrace Yeast

The book "Historical Brewing Techniques" by Lars Marius Garshol.

Although landrace is a term used in many areas, this page will be using it as descriptors of a yeast or mixed culture that derives from traditional farmhouse/landrace brewing cultures from around the world (note that kveik, while considered "landrace" yeast, is split off onto its own page for wiki management purposes). This term was first used to describe yeast by Tyrawa et al. (2018) to describe traditional Norwegian kveik yeast , and to distinguish them from Saison yeast, which are also sometimes referred to as "farmhouse yeast" . The exact definition of the word "landrace" is debated in the Plant Sciences, and is therefore outside the scope of this wiki . The original owners of these yeasts pitch them at a wide variety of temperatures depending on the culture, anywhere from 5°C up to 40°C, but the majority being pitched at around body temperature. Some Finnish farmhouse brewers reported pitching their yeast at cooler temperatures (5-15°C). Garshol (2020) reported 5 types of farmhouse yeasts that have been collected as of 2020:

• 'Kveik', a group of domesticated yeast cultures from western Norway that form a subgroup of the Beer 1 genetic group of brewers yeast. They are non-phenolic and non-diastatic, and ferment quickly at high temperatures without producing typical off-flavors.
• 'Gong', a group of 3 cultures from the Hallingdal valley located in Eastern Norway.
• 'Berm', a group of 2 cultures fromm Tinn country in Telemark, Eastern Norway.
• Ten cultures from Latvia and Lithuania.
• Three cultures from Chuvash Republic in Russia .

Further genetic analysis of 35 landrace strains from Western Norway, Eastern Norway, and the Baltics (a sub-group of landrace yeasts called 'European farmhouse yeast'), demonstrated that many (not all) farmhouse yeasts form their own third beer clade. They have a common ancestor from the Beer 1 clade, as well as an ancestor from Asia. Some other landrace yeast fall within the "mixed origin" beer yeast clade. Most of the European farmhouse yeasts are phenolic off flavor negative (POF-). Domesticated landrace yeast from Ghana, Africa that is backslopped and used to make sorghum/millet beer called 'pito' also formed their own subgrouping within other African yeasts . See this article by Lars Marius Garshol and this post by Richard Preiss in MTF for summaries of this study.

The term "landrace" should not be equated to "kveik". Kveik has been suggested to be a subtype of landrace yeast, but "kveik" is a term used specifically for Norwegian farmhouse brewing yeast and mixed cultures. More information on Norwegian kveik can be found on the Kveik page. for more information, see also "Farmhouse yeast: what do we know?" by Lars Marius Garshol.

Commercial Availability

Yeast	Registry Num	Yeast Lab	Package	Notes
Muri	4	Mainiacal Yeast	Dried Kveik - Muri	The full, unpurified (no microbes isolated or removed) culture. Limited availability. Muri is genetically the same as WLP351 Bavarian Weizen, and therefore probably a contaminant and not actual farmhouse yeast; see below.
Muri	4	White Labs	WLP6788 Norwegian Farmhouse Ale	A single strain from a farm called Muri in Olden, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway (6788 is the zip code). It was supposedly used in traditional farmhouse brewing up until 1990, then left in dried form in a building on the farm. The son on the farm attempted to revive . Muri has since been found to be genetically the same as WLP351 Bavarian Weizen, and was therefore probably a contaminant from the attempted revival of the original kveik and not actual farmhouse yeast; see below for details. Purchase from Bryggselv.no. US customers send an email to post @ bryggselv.no.
Muri	4	Propagate Lab	MIP-341	Muri is genetically the same as WLP351 Bavarian Weizen, and therefore probably a contaminant and not actual farmhouse yeast; see below.
Simonaitis	16	The Yeast Bay	Simonaitis Lithuanian Farmhouse	Single strain isolate kindly provided by Julius Simonaitis via Lars Garshol. Across a wide temperature range this culture will throw a mix of orange, tropical fruit and stone fruit esters that is reminiscent of POG Juice (passionfruit, orange, guava), and produces distinct spicy/earthy/herbal undertones. While not a “kveik” strain, it handles high temperatures and high gravity worts well, with an upper fermentation temperature of 95ºF and a high alcohol tolerance (>10%) .
Simonaitis	16	Propagate Lab	MIP-346	Potentially the original, unpurified culture. This culture does contain Lactobacillus and will contribute some acidity .
Simonaitis	16	Escarpment Laboratories	September 2020: Simonaitis / Simonaitis + Lact	Offered as the single isolate without bacteria, and the single isolate with a Lactobacillus strain from the original culture. The Lactobacillus strain is hop sensitive. Potentially a one-time release under the lab's monthly "Kveik Ring" kveik release .
Jovaru	32	Omega Yeast Labs	Jovaru™	This strain tests positive for the STA1 gene, an indicator of a diastatic strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This strain may have the ability to metabolize dextrins over time, resulting in higher than expected attenuation. JOVARU™ is an ALDONA UDRIENĖ™ yeast strain that originates from the famous JOVARU™ Brewery that has been in operation since the mid-19th century . A portion of the revenue from this culture is given to Aldona Udriene.
Probably Jovaru	Probably 32	Propagate Lab	BTN-79 Lithuanian Queen Farmhouse	This culture is STA1+ and attenuates into the high 80's. Probably the same as Omega Yeast Labs Jovaru™.
Marina	39	Mainiacal Yeast	Farmhouse - Marina	Russian landrace yeast; sold in liquid form only, does not survive drying . POF+.
Marina	39	Escarpment Laboratories	Marina Russian Farmhouse	Russian landrace yeast; does not survive drying . POF+ and good for Belgian style beers. Can be pitched anywhere from 25ºC to 39ºC, with cleaner results at the lower end . This culture contains a strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus which should be easily controllable with moderate use of hops . Potentially a one-time release under the lab's monthly "Kveik Ring" kveik release.
Marina	39	Propagate Lab	MIP-350	A mixed culture; diastatic yeast (STA1+) .
Rima	40	Mainiacal Yeast	Farmhouse - Rima	Russian landrace yeast; sold in liquid form only, does not survive drying . POF+.
Rima	40	Propagate Lab	MIP-351
Kolnasāta	45	Escarpment Laboratories	September 2022 KOLNASĀTA	Potentially a one-0time release for their "Kveik Ring" series (this yeast is not considered to be kveik). See Escarpment Labs Instagram.

Specific Culture Information

Until the introduction of Emil Chr. Hansen's pure-yeast system in 1883, all yeast was treated in effectively the same way as kveik. However, pure lab yeast generally replaced the ancient cultures all over the world. In farmhouse brewing, the old practices continued until quite recently in several Nordic and Baltic countries. Farmhouse brewing still continues in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. As far as is known, Lithuania is the only country other than Norway in which the old yeast cultures are still alive, and used in the same way as they were in the past. See Lithuanian beer - a rough guide for more information. Genetically speaking, these yeast cultures are generally not in the same family as kveik, and thus are not referred to as "kveik". The alternative nomenclature of "Landrace yeast" has been suggested by Richard Preiss.

Below are the listed known Farmhouse cultures and information we've been able to compile on them.

Simonaitis

One yeast has been collected from farmhouse brewer Julius Simonaitis in Joniškelis, Lithuania. It's a communal yeast that's been shared with the neighbors since time immemorial. NCYC says the yeast consists of 5 different strains of S. cerevisiae . Four of these are closely related, while the fifth is quite different, and is probably a completely different strain. All seem to be Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Technically, this culture is not considered to be "kveik" because it genetically falls outside of the kveik families and because it is POF+ (phenolic producing) .

Julius pitches the yeast at 35C and top-harvests it. He ferments 12-16 hours, depending on activity.

People trading this culture have reported that there are lactic acid bacteria present in the culture. It is not known if this lactic acid bacteria was present from the source, or if it was introduced during trading. Julius Simonaitis's beers are reported to not be sour, but he uses a lot of hops in his beer and his beer is reportedly fairly bitter. DeWayne Schaaf reported that the lactic acid bacteria present in the culture he was given produced a favorable acidity. Lars Garshol is waiting on lab results to see if the lactic acid bacteria were present in the original culture .

• See this MTF thread by DeWayne Schaaf for tips and experiences with brewing with this culture, as well as links to more information about Lithuanian farmhouse brewing.
• Simonaitis "Data Collection" thread by Zach Taggart, gathering experiences with this blend from MTF'ers.
• See this MTF thread for culturing and trading project.

Jovaru Alus

This is another Lithuanian strain from the Jovaru Alus brewery in the small community of Jovarai. The brewer, Aldona Udriene, discusses the history of this true farmhouse brewery in this article. She expressed in the article that she was reluctant to give up the yeast, but Omega Yeast Labs reached an agreement with her to bank the culture and offer it for sale as the product OYL-033. Omega Yeast Labs describes the yeast as, "citrusy esters and restrained phenols..." and having the "character of lemon pith, black pepper, and a soft mouthfeel." The Omega Yeast Labs culture is a single isolate, and Lance Shaner says that there was no evidence of more than one strain of S. cerevisiae in the culture that they received, although there was a Lactobacillus contamination which they removed from the commercially offered Omega Yeast Labs product . Some DNA analysis shows that this strain has a similar degree of separation from S. cerevisiae that other Saccharomyces species included in the analysis do, indicating that this might be a new or different species of Saccharomyces (~1:01:30 min in).

(Fast forward to 19:40):

Rima and Marina

Two strains of landrace farmhouse yeast cultures from Chuvashia, Russia were analyzed by Richard Preiss of Escarpment Laboratories referred to by the family names "Rima" and "Marina" (see this tweet and this tweet by Lars Marius Garshol, and the full blog post by Lars). The lab performed ITS sequencing, PCR fingerprinting, and mini 7 day ferments with these strains. Both of the strains were S. cerevisiae, and they were both POF+ (phenol producers), which is distinct from Norwegian kveik strains which are POF- (do not produce phenols). Russian farmhouse yeast that remains unpurified by a lab is called "zakvaska" .

According to the PCR fingerprinting, Rima contained at least two strains of S. cerevisiae but maybe more, as well as a strain of Pichia kudriavzevii (a fairly common beer contaminant). The first strain of S. cerevisiae was described as "fruity, relatively clean, and fermented similar to WLP001". The second strain of S. cerevisiae produced high amounts of diacetyl and under attenuated. The Pichia was described as "pretty gross and didn't attenuate much (on its own)".

Marina contained what appears to be three closely related S. cerevisiae strains. They all showed pretty low attenuation after one week, but subsequent fermentations can be carried out longer. The flavors were described as "pretty neutral". There is a fourth yeast strain in the Marina that has yet to be identified .

These landrace cultures are listed in the farmhouse registry as #39 and #40. Propagate Lab and Mainiacal Yeast offer Marina commercially. They are being traded by homebrewers and single isolates are available from the NCYC (NCYC 4247 is Marina and NCYC 4263 is Rima).

See also:

• Full blog post by Lars Garshol on "Brewing in Chuvashia".

Bjarne Muri's Olden Yeast

It was initially found by Krogerus et al. (2018) that the single Muri strain recovered by Bjarne Muri is a hybrid of S. cerevisiae and S. uvarum, and is most closely related to the beer 2 yeast group (kveik falls into the Beer 1 group; see History of Domestication for more information on the beer yeast genetic groups) . Unlike kveik, Muri is POF+ (phenolic) and STA1 (diastatic). Krogerus then performed full genome sequencing on the Muri strain and discovered that it is a genetic match for WLP351 Bavarian Weizen yeast. This strain is either a contaminant (most likely) or the original yeast used by the Muri family was the same as the WLP351 Bavarian Weizen strain. Krogerus's finding was independently replicated by Langdon et al. (2019) .

See Kristoffer Krogerus's blog post that goes into detail on his findings, as well as his Q&A post on MTF.

Background information:

• Details on the Muri identification by Lars Marius Garshol.
• MTF post by Kristoffer Krogerus that explains their 2018 study that discovered that Muri is a hybrid yeast that is not genetically related to other kveik strains.

Yeast banking and commercial availability:

• NCYC 4045 - One strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
• It is packaged by White Labs as WLP6788 and available from Bryggselv.no. US customers can send an email to "post @ bryggselv.no". See source information on Lars Garshol's blog for brewing notes.
• The "Norwegian Farmhouse Ale" strain from Brewing Science Institute is likely Muri, but this has not been verified .

See Also

Additional Articles on MTF Wiki

• Kveik
• Regional Styles
• Raw Ale

External Resources

• "Historical Brewing Techniques" by Lars Marius Garshol.
• Lars Garshol's "Farmhouse Registry" database of all landrace farmhouse yeasts, including kveik.
• MTF thread discussing the usage of the word "landrace" for these farmhouse yeasts.
• Traditional farmhouse brewer, maltster, and Gotlandsdricke from Gotland.
• "How to Brew Keptinis", a Lithuanian style of farmhouse ale using baked bread our of mash grains. See also this MTF thread on experiences of MTF members brewing this style of beer.
• Beoirfest presentation by Lars Marius Garshol on Lithuanian farmhouse brewing.