CUSTOMER STORIES
MAHOWBREW
NAHA CITY, OKINAWA
“Each Kveik strain has its own unique aromatic characteristics, and by adjusting fermentation temperature and timing, you can intentionally bring out those traits. Thanks to this flexibility, it serves as an excellent tool for experimental brewing, allowing for great variety without compromising consistency or stability.”
Baku Yanagi, Head brewer
About you and your brewery?
MAHOWBREW is a small craft brewery located in Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa. Tsuboya is a historic district known as the birthplace of yachimun, Okinawa’s traditional pottery, a place where history and culture are alive. Inspired by the “bold yet delicate, earthy yet powerful” qualities of this craft, we aim to create beers with the same spirit.
Our goal is to brew beer that is carefully crafted, full of expression, and deeply rooted in the local land. Though our production scale is small—around 20 hectoliters per month—we are dedicated to beers that reflect Okinawa’s climate and culture. Our lineup ranges from Mexican Lager, to slightly salty and tart Gose, to hop-forward IPAs. We deliberately avoid having a fixed flagship beer, instead offering a menu where customers discover something new each time they visit.
The people behind your brewery?
MAHOWBREW was founded by Tatsuro Omokawa and Baku Yanagi, who met in Okinawa and bonded over their passion for craft beer.
Omokawa, originally from Fukushima Prefecture, deepened his knowledge of beer culture and brewing through his experience running restaurants and working at breweries before opening MAHOWBREW.
Yanagi, from Hyogo Prefecture, has a strong technical background in brewing. While at Derailleur Brew Works in Nishinari, Osaka, he worked as both brewer and quality control manager. With expertise in both brewing and quality management, he now serves as the backbone of MAHOWBREW.
What kind of beer are you known for?
We intentionally do not produce a permanent flagship beer. This allows us to challenge ourselves with flexible styles of brewing.
That said, some beers have become especially popular with our customers. For example, our series of Imperial Goses brewed with Okinawan fruits and spices is in high demand. Another favorite is our Oat Cream IPA, which has a smooth mouthfeel and juicy hop character. We also experiment with a wide range of styles—from lagers to British and Belgian-inspired beers. For us, each brew is both a new experiment and an opportunity to grow.
What Beer Did You Brew This Time?
This time, we brewed the fourth release of our DDH IPA series “V.I.T.R.I.Ø.L”, using Eitrheim Kveik. The hop bill combined Talus, Cascade Cryo, and Azacca. Fermentation began at 38°C, and dry hopping was carried out at 15°C.
This approach allowed us to highlight the character of both the yeast and the hops. The finished beer has tropical aromas from the yeast balanced with the woody and citrusy notes of the hops. It’s a beer we are especially proud of—one that fully showcases the appeal of Eitrheim Kveik.
What would you tell other brewers about this yeast?
Kveik yeasts—especially multi-strain ones—are extremely versatile. They ferment cleanly and quickly even at high temperatures, which makes them a perfect match for Okinawa’s warm climate.
Each strain has its own distinctive aromatic profile, and by making small adjustments to fermentation temperature and timing, you can shape the character to fit your vision. Thanks to this flexibility, you can brew a wide variety of experimental beers without sacrificing consistency or stability.
PEACEFUL SIDE BREWERY
MARYVILLE, TENNESSEE
"Kveik yeast is fantastic! There is a lot of potential for the Norwegian strains when you consider the performance at a wide range of temperatures and flavor profiles."
Chris Meadows, Head brewer
About you and your brewery?
Peaceful Side Brewery is located in Maryville TN in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We are a medium sized brewery that produces quality beer with intentionality by offering core and seasonal beers on draft at their Taproom, served alongside well-crafted burgers, tenders, snacks, and salads. The brewery focuses on creating beers that reflect the flavors and ingredients of our region including regionally grown barley and hops.
Who are the people behind your brewery?
Peaceful Side Brewery is owned an operated by Oldham Hospitality
What type of beers are you known for?
We have a wide variety available, ranging from traditional German & Belgian styles, expressive American styles, fruity seltzers & sours.
What is your favorite beer?
This is a trick question! It largely depends on the setting, but a favorite of late is our Solveza Mexican Lager which recently brougth home a gold medal at the World Beer Cup for best International Light Lager.
What did you brew?
We have brewed several beers with Enzyferm yeast and have been happy with its performance and adaptability. A brown ale and a red IPA are two of the most recent ones. In a few weeks we will use your yeast again for a mushroom farmhouse ale.
What yeast did you use?
We've used the Voss, Ebbegarden, Eitrheim, & Stalljen in various projects.
What would you tell other brewers about this yeast?
The versatility of these strains is truly a ground-breaking thing for craft beer. There is a something for every style of beer depending on the brewer's needs.
FEDDIE OCEAN DISTILLERY
FEDJE, NORWAY
"Incredibly quick fermentation with hight temperature tolerance. Gives esters that are clean yet direct and upfront. Really a pleasure to work with."
Kevin Jo Hansen, Head distiller
About you and your distillery?
Feddie Ocean Distillery is a distillery located on the small island of Fedje, northwest of Bergen. We’re 100% female owned distillery, and our production is organic certified. We produce single malt whisky, where we emphasize the impact fermentation has on the final product.
Who are the people behind your distillery?
The distillery was founded by Anne Koppang in 2019 and production started in 2020 – just before the pandemic broke out. Now we have more than 1100 owners – all female – and we released our first whisky (4 years of age) in November 2024. We’re a small team on the island with 4 in the production, 1 in charge of our cask warehouse and a general manager. We do also have several part time employees working at our visitor centre and an administrative team of 3 spread out in Bergen and Oslo. And last, but not least our brand ambassador who travels around Norway when she’s not on the island distilling gin.
What type of spirits are you known for?
When we released our first batch of whisky, it quickly became the most selling Norwegian whisky on the Norwegian Vinmonopol, so I’m guessing and hoping we’re known for our singel malt. At the moment we have a limited release in the marrying tank waiting for final dilution and bottling in late August. In approximately 4 years that marrying tank will hold our first “yeast series” limited release whisky with Ebbegarden as the main flavour contributor.
What's your experience with our yeast?
We tried the four available multi-strain kveiks small scale before settling in on Ebbegarden as our workhorse for our Norwegian malt and yeast distillation period. We mashed in with organic pilsner malt from Bonsak, started draining off and collected wort in our washback and pitched Ebbegarden at 25 degrees. We gave it a lot of oxygen and pitched below recommended values. Temperature peaked at 37 degrees and alcoholic fermentation was done way before 48 hours had passed. After another 48 hours we distilled the wash in our 4-plate hybrid still and collected hearts. This was then later diluted to cask strength and put to rest in first fill bourbon barrels as well as some second fill sherry casks.
What yeast did you end up using?
For this particular run we used Ebbegarden, since we know some of the main flavour profile (apples and pears) are something that functions well with our style of whisky.
What would you tell other distillers about this yeast?
It’s a work horse given the right food. The esters are pleasant, and it just sits right.
ØLSMIA
OSLO, NORWAY
"Having a tiny production brewery is stupid and feels at time like a sisyphusean endeavor, having these multi-strain kveiks in my toolkit is a game-changer for making tight production schedules line up.
Also the flavour is unique and amazing, I feel people should be more stoked on it. It really makes the whole difference."
Lars Huse, Head brewer
About you and your brewery?
We are a tiny production brewery in one of Norway´s most central locations. We are located on the first sub-level of Rebel in downtown Oslo in what used to be the parking garage for the Norwegian Directory of Health. The brewery was started in 2015 in Follo, just outside Oslo but moved in 2021 to our current location. We do not follow trends or produce so called "hype-beers". Our main focus is not only to make the most Norwegian beer, but also the most local beer possible. Beer that is endemic to Oslo and Norway, which reflects our current time but often finds historical inspiration.
Who are the people behind your brewery?
The Brewery was started in Follo, outside Oslo by a group of hobby-enthusiasts who wanted to drink their own beer at the pub. One of the founders (Richard) is a blacksmith and metal fabricator who had extra space in his Forge/ workshop. This is where Ølsmia was located, hence the name. Ølsmia pretty much means Alesmith/Beersmith/ Ale Forge (pick one). I personally started in January 2022 as the first and only employee and I do most of all things. My background is from Crowbar & Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri, and I also used to run a hombrew shop (Bryggeland Oslo/Ila Hjemmebrygg). Other that that I am originally an illustrator, so I do all labels, design/graphics/branding for the brewery.
What type of beers are you known for?
Uniquely local beers reflecting seasonality with focus on drinkability and subtle complexity.
What is your favorite beer?
It is a tie between a few different beers: Orval/Anchor Liberty/Saison Dupont/Timothy Taylor´s Landlord/Augustiner Edelstoff. I lived in England when I went to University (Hertfordshire and Cornwall) and am also a sucker for local, fresh cask ales.
What did you brew?
I use multi-strain kveik for most of my beer these days (probably 90% of them) haha. One of the lastest beers I brewed, at least the most fun of them was a beer made for Oslo Medieval Festival at Akerhus Festning. It was a gruit made completely without the use of hops. Instead it was flavoured with Juniper Infusion (Einerlåg), St. Johns Wort (Johannesurt, Myrica Gale (Pors), Yarrow (Ryllik) and Calendula/ Pot Marigold (Ringblomst). It was made on a base of Fairytale Pilsner malt from Bonsak in Trøndelag and flaked wheat from Stangeland Mølle in Rogaland.
What yeast did you use?
I fermented it with Stalljen multi-strain kveik.
What would you tell other brewers about this yeast?
A fantastic yeast with a phenomenal flavor-profile and a super-wide range of uses. It is pretty much a one-stop-shop for (almost) all your (my) brewing needs.
BRIMMING HORN MEADERY
MILTON, DELAWARE
" Multi-strain kveik is a versatile, reliable yeast that brings great depth and character to fermentation."
Jon Talkington, Owner and Mead Maker
About you and your brewery?
Founded in 2017 by Jon Talkington and Robert Walker Jr., Brimming Horn Meadery and Bear Cult Brewery specialize in mead, fruit wines, cider, and beer that blend tradition with innovation. Based in Seaford & Milton, Delaware, we focus on traditional, melomel, and metheglin-style meads, while our brewery explores classic beer styles, porters, stouts, lagers, farmhouse ales, and rarer brews like braggot and graf. We honor ancient fermentation techniques while pushing boundaries with bold, modern approaches.
Who are the people behind your brewery?
Our Team, Jon and Robert, founded Brimming Horn Meadery based on a passion for fermentation and historical brewing. Our team includes mead makers, brewers, and artisans committed to blending traditional techniques with new ideas. Jon is the owner, head mead maker, and brewer, overseeing recipe development and fermentation. He works alongside his assistant brewer, Shawn Hager, ensuring consistency and quality in production. Robert is the business manager and co-owner, handling operations, logistics, and keeping things running smoothly behind the scenes.
What type of beers are you known for?
Bear Cult Brewery is built on traditional beer styles with a deep respect for heritage, including porters, stouts, lagers, farmhouse ales, and obscure historical styles like braggot and graf. We incorporate honey, unique malts, and unconventional yeasts, creating complex beers that showcase flavor, fermentation, and brewing history.
What is your favorite Kveik yeast?
Each strain offers something unique, but Voss Kveik stands out for its bold citrus esters, pairing exceptionally well with our spruce, honey, and malt-forward ales. Ebbegarden adds rich fruity depth, while Stalljen introduces subtle earthy complexity, each contributing to our fermentation experiments.
What did you brew?
We’ve used multi-strain kveik in different styles. Ebbegarden kveik was used in a traditional mead fermented in a terracotta amphora, which helped bring out fruit esters and enhance the honey’s aroma. We also brewed a Graf with Stalljen kveik, combining malt and apple, where the yeast added earthy and spicy undertones that complemented the flavors. For a spruce ale, we used Voss kveik, which brought out citrus-forward esters that blended well with spruce tips, honey, wheat malts, and dried lemon peel. The result was a beer with bright, resinous aromatics and a clean fermentation profile.
What yeast did you use?
Our experiments featured Voss, Ebbegarden, and Stalljen Kveik, each bringing distinct fermentation characteristics. Voss created citrus-forward esters, Ebbegarden amplified fruity honey notes, and Stalljen deepened complexity in malt-and-apple fermentations.
What would you tell other brewers about this yeast?
Multi-strain kveik offers exceptional reliability, versatility, and fermentation speed, thriving at high temperatures while producing clean, expressive esters. For brewers seeking bold, complex flavors without sacrificing efficiency, kveik is an invaluable tool.
GOT A STORY FOR US?
Brewed with our yeast and want to share a great story? Contact us and we will set it up!