Basic Kveik Melomel

Making a Basic Hornindal Kveik Melomel (The Easy Way)

Melomel, mead fermented with fruit, using Kveik yeast is often portrayed as complex: staggered nutrients, careful temperature control, and long aging schedules. In practice, especially when using Hornindal kveik, it can be extremely simple, while preserving a nuanced taste profile. This yeast is tough, fast, and forgiving, making it ideal for a low-effort, high-reliability melomel.

This method is intentionally minimalist: dump everything in, let it ferment, clarify, and bottle.

Why Hornindal Kveik?

Hornindal kveik is a Norwegian farmhouse yeast known for:

Very fast fermentation
High alcohol tolerance
Strong performance in low-nutrient environments
Pleasant tropical and stone-fruit esters

These traits make it particularly well suited for mead and melomel, where yeast stress would normally be a concern.

Ingredients

Fermentables & Base

6 × 450 g honey (≈ 2.7 kg total)
12 L non-fibrous fruit juice
- Examples: apple, grape, berry blends
- For highly fibrous juices (e.g. mango), increase total juice to 16 L

Yeast & Nutrition

A dash of dried Hornindal kveik
21 g baker’s yeast, boiled
- Boil ~10 minutes to kill it; this acts as yeast nutrient
A dash of potassium carbonate
- Helps buffer acidity and keep fermentation stable
Zymex – 1 teaspoon, added at the start
- Assists fruit breakdown and improves clarity

Structure, Clarity & Balance

Bentonite – 1 tablespoon, soaked and mixed 24 hours in advance
Black tea – 400 ml, brewed very dark and cooled
- Adds tannins and structure
Erythritol – 150 g, added in secondary
- Non-fermentable sweetener for balance

Equipment

One large fermentation vat or bucket with airlock
One secondary vessel
Bottles

No specialized equipment required.

Method

1. Preparation

Soak the bentonite in water 24 hours before brewing, mixing occasionally.
Brew 400 ml of very dark black tea and allow it to cool completely.
Boil the baker’s yeast for ~10 minutes to deactivate it.

That’s all the prep needed.

2. Primary Fermentation (Dump-and-Go)

Add the following directly into the fermentation vat:

Fruit juice
Honey
Boiled baker’s yeast
Hornindal kveik
Potassium carbonate
Bentonite slurry
Black tea (400 ml)
Zymex (1 teaspoon)

Stir thoroughly to dissolve the honey and evenly distribute all additions.

Seal with an airlock.

3. Fermentation

Allow to ferment for 14–21 days
Temperature control is optional—Hornindal kveik performs well across a wide range
Expect fast and vigorous fermentation

No stirring, degassing, or nutrient additions are required.

4. Secondary & Sweetening

Once fermentation has clearly slowed or stopped:

Rack into a secondary vessel
Add 150 g erythritol
Let sit for a few days to allow flavors to integrate and sediment to settle

5. Cold Crash

Cold-crash the melomel for 7–14 days at refrigerator temperatures.
This significantly improves clarity and drops remaining yeast out of suspension.

6. Bottle

Bottle directly after cold-crashing.

The melomel is drinkable immediately, though additional aging will further smooth and round the flavors.

Final Notes

This recipe prioritizes simplicity and robustness
Hornindal kveik compensates for minimal process control
The result is a bold, fruit-forward melomel with good body and fast turnaround
Easily adaptable to different juices or honey varieties

If your goal is a reliable, no-nonsense melomel that works more like farmhouse brewing than precision winemaking, this method fits perfectly.

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