California brewery launches non-alcoholic beer made with Kveik yeast

California’s Surreal Brewing Co. has launched a new non-alcoholic beer made with a type of Norwegian yeast.

Called Creatives IPA, the non-alcoholic beer will be initially rolled out online, before being made available at select stores in California.

Surreal said the beer, which is made with Kveik yeast, has “an unconventional beverage of tropical aromas and flavours punctuated by a restrained piney West Coast hop finish.”

Kveik is a type of yeast specifically used in farmhouse brewing.

It can tolerate temperatures from 20° to 40° C with no faults such as diacetyl or acetaldehyde, and depending on the strain, can produce beers with fruity ester profiles.

The yeast strand has become popular with craft brewers over the past couple of years due to a renewed demand for farmhouse ales, and enables people to brew beer quickly with less temperature control.

California’s Stone Brewing partnered with Norwegian brewer Lervig to create a 6.2% hot-fermented IPA called Kveik, while Chicago’s Burnt City Brewing even hosted a beer festival dedicated to the yeast strain last year.

Alcohol-free beer sales have soared over the past few years, but have a tendency to show faults, producing them can be a challenge for smaller brewers.

“We were intrigued by Kveik yeast as soon as we heard of it a couple of years ago. We have a deep appreciation for every ingredient we use, especially the yeast, which as the old axiom goes: the brewer makes the wort and the yeast makes the beer,“ said Surreal’s co-founder, Tammer Zein-El-Abedein.

“This brew is a shout out to all creatives, whether that is through the arts, technology, or any other creative outlet, to everyone who creates positive change. This beer is made for all who Dare to Be Different,” said co-founder Donna Hockey.