How did Monks and farmers do it? Farmers in Norway apparently do it with even less fanfare.   http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/342.html

>  Terje took some wort in a plastic bucket. Then he brought out a plastic box of pale gray flakes. This was the kveik, which Terje got from a friend in Hornindal twenty years ago, and has been using since. Terje collects the yeast after fermentation each time, and hands it to his father-in-law, who then cleans and dries it, before storing it in the freezer.