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[[File:Kveik vs landrace diagram.jpg|thumbnail|300px|right|Diagram of types of yeast versus traditional farmhouse styles by Richard Preiss <ref name="preiss_landrace_diagram" />.]]
'''Kveik''' (click [https://soundcloud.com/andreas-misund-berntsen/kveik-pronounciation here] and [https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2444854438876089/ here] for the pronunciation or ; sounds close to "kvike" in English) is a dialect word for "yeast" in Norwegian ("gjær" is the common word for "yeast" in Norwegian <ref>[http://en.bab.la/dictionary/norwegian-english/gjaer Bab.la Dictionary. Retrieved 01/21/2016.]</ref>), and today specifically refers to non-purified yeast that has been reused for generations in traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewing. The words "kveiken", "kveika", and "kveikja" are the dialectic definite articles for the word "kveik", which all translate to English as "the kveik" <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/kveik/permalink/1938267779562023/ Sveinung Marvik and Lars Marius Garshol. Kveik Facebook group. 01/03/2018.]</ref>. The term "kveik" does not refer to a style of beer, but only the yeast used in traditional Norwegian farmhouse brewing (Garshol has encouraged brewers brewing non-farmhouse styles with kveik to call them "X Style Beer Brewed with Kveik" or something similar <ref name="garshol_style" />). The word "kveik" is specifically used in the western part of Norway for family-owned, non-purified yeast, while other words such as "gjester" are used by central Norwegians, "gong" is used by locals in eastern Norway, "family yeast" is used by some Lithuanian brewers, and "hemjäst" is used by locals in Gotland. The term [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landrace "landrace] yeast" has been proposed to refer to kveik as well as other non-kveik farmhouse yeast cultures (for example, Simonaitis) <ref>[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/380.html "Kveik" - what does it mean?. Lars Garshol. Larsblog. 10/29/2017. Retrieved 10/29/2017.]</ref><ref name="preiss_landrace_diagram">[https://www.facebook.com/groups/MilkTheFunk/permalink/2135806453114224/?comment_id=2137238309637705&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D Richard Preiss. Milk The Funk Facebook group thread on kveik. 06/19/2018.]</ref><ref name="garshol_style" />.
Kveik yeast are extremely diverse genetically, presenting characteristics that are not typical in other brewing yeasts <ref name="larsblog_analysis">[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/349.html "Analysis of farmhouse yeast (kveik)." Larsblog. Lars Marius Garshol. 09/06/2016. Retrieved 09/06/2016.]</ref>. Most farmhouse brewers have started buying their yeast, but some kveik cultures have been passed down from generations and inherited by modern farmhouse brewers in Norway who still use this yeast today and brew with traditional farmhouse methods. Much of the knowledge about kveik and historical farmhouse brewing in Norway has been researched and publicized by Lars Marius Garshol on his blog, ''[http://www.garshol.priv.no/ Larsblog]'', and in the book ''Beer and Brewing Traditions in Norway'' by Odd Nordland (1969). In recent years kveik cultures have been sent to yeast labs for propagation and distribution to brewers around the world <ref name="larsblog_kveik">[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/264.html Kveik: Norwegian farmhouse yeast. Larsblog. 11/07/2013. Retrieved 01/14/2016.]</ref>. The use of kveik is one of the many traditional methods still used by a few farmhouse brewers and homebrewers in Norway, along with other historical methods such as infusing the mash or boil with juniper (''Juniperus communis'' <ref>[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/368.html Lars Marius Garshol. "The juniper mystery". Larsblog blog. 02/02/2017. Retrieved 12/13/2018.]</ref>), not filtering, using short fermentations to achieve low carbonation, the use of wood-fired copper or iron kettles, and sometimes not boiling the wort ([[Kveik#Raw_Ale|Raw Ale]]) <ref>[http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/303.html Maltøl, or Norwegian farmhouse ale. Larsblog. 10/11/2016. Retrieved 01/14/2016.]</ref>. Kveik can also be used effectively to ferment a wide range of non-farmhouse styles, such as New England IPA and English beer styles, as well as cider, mead, and mash/wash for distillation.