Kvass anyone?

Share a basic extract recipe that you like or want to get feedback from the Borg.

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russki
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Kvass anyone?

Post by russki »

What is Kvass? It's an Eastern European low alcohol (0.5-1%) drink, traditionally made by "mashing" toasted dark rye bread, adding sugar and yeast, letting it ferment a bit (literally 24 hrs), then chilled and served uncarbonated (or with whatever residual CO2 from fermentation was left in in). What does it taste like? Bready, sweet, a bit spicy from the rye, a bit sour and very refreshing - some call it "pumpernickel in a glass". There are many bottled versions available at most LEEFSs (Local Eastern European Food Stores) - I like Ukranian Kvass Taras as far as commercial ones are concerned.

And this is how it's sold on the streets of Russia - out of a large wheeled tanker trailer:
Image

Anyway... I was shopping at my LEEFS the other day, and saw something that caught my eye - Kvass LME. Back when I was a kid, my family used to make Kvass from stuff like this all the time, and damn it was good. So I figured, $2.99 is not a lot of money to risk. I was also looking for something to fill an empty keg quickly, and Kvass is super quick to make.

Here it is:
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and in English:
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I came home and whipped up a quick batch - traditionally, one would use bread yeast, but since I had some spare S-04, I used that:
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It's even easier than Mr. Beer - no boiling required. Got some water into the pot, along with 6 2/3 cups of sugar (instructions called for 1 2/3 cup per 5 liters), warmed up a bit to get it to dissolve, then mixed the Kvass LME in:

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Added to a 6 gallon better bottle, topped off to about 5 gallons, sprinkled the yeast on top, put the airlock on, and left it on the kitchen counter. With Kvass, high temperatures are not detrimental to fermentation; you actually want it around 80F.

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I waited until krausen fell (about 3 days) before tasting and racking to a keg. There's still plenty of residual unfermented sugar, so if you're not kegging it, I would use PET bottles and refrigerate them as soon as they get hard.

And here it is freshly poured from the tap a few days later:
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What a great way to fill an empty keg!

:cheers:
In Soviet Russia, beer brews you!
My brews
Fermenting:
Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat (5-gal)(AG)
Cranberry Mead
Buck-Flower Mead
Flanders Red (5-gal)(AG) x 2
On Tap:
Hefeweizen (5-gal)(AG)
Oaked Pear Cider
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gwcr
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by gwcr »

That looks good! May have to give it a try as temps are heating up.
Fermenting: Bucket 1 - Fresh Squeezed IPA; Bucket 2 - Empty

Kegged: Keg 1 - Irish Red; Keg 2 - Cream Ale; Keg 3 - Amber Ale; Keg 4 - APA; Keg 5 - Empty; Keg 6 - Empty; Keg 7 - Empty
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BigPapaG
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by BigPapaG »

gwcr wrote:That looks good! May have to give it a try as temps are heating up.
+1 But having trouble finding a LEEFS near me... Might have to drive across town... Got to be one as we have a strong Eastern European community...

:cool:
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gwcr
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by gwcr »

Should be a LEEFS nearby me too, but will have to do some looking. Large Czech/Slovak population here (enough to have the National Czech & Slovak Museum and Library in town). Doesn't get much more Eastern European than that!
Fermenting: Bucket 1 - Fresh Squeezed IPA; Bucket 2 - Empty

Kegged: Keg 1 - Irish Red; Keg 2 - Cream Ale; Keg 3 - Amber Ale; Keg 4 - APA; Keg 5 - Empty; Keg 6 - Empty; Keg 7 - Empty
The reason why the above list is so small Home Theater Build
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John Sand
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by John Sand »

Very cool!
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mashani
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by mashani »

There is a huge Russian deli/market very close by. I think it's time for me to visit it.
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by swenocha »

I'm bookmarking this thread, as a kvass has been on my list for the last several years and I just haven't gotten to it. Turtle Anarchy, our local Franklin brewery, did one a few months ago and it was quite tasty, though he made his at 5%, so it wasn't totally, completely to style, though he did follow the normal processes.

Where the heck do you get kvass LME?!? I want me somma that...
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
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russki
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by russki »

swenocha wrote: Where the heck do you get kvass LME?!? I want me somma that...
If your LEEFS doesn't carry it, you can always order online...
In Soviet Russia, beer brews you!
My brews
Fermenting:
Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat (5-gal)(AG)
Cranberry Mead
Buck-Flower Mead
Flanders Red (5-gal)(AG) x 2
On Tap:
Hefeweizen (5-gal)(AG)
Oaked Pear Cider
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mashani
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by mashani »

Hmm... $2.50 for 1.2 pounds of extract. That is made with rye?

Hmmm...

I wonder what like... Beer... Made with that... Would turn out like. EDIT: Or just toss a jar of it into anything you want some rye in maybe...

Hmmmm...
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swenocha
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by swenocha »

Found one! Alekseys Market! And not too far from work... kinda, sorta on my way home. Making a stop tomorrow!
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
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swenocha
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by swenocha »

And... score! $2.99 per 550g jar. Picked up two. One will be done straight up, and the other will likely go into something.

Image

Question... Did you check OG/FG on this? What kind of ABV did you get on the recipe above? Not really important, but was just curious what the baseline is for the purposes of the 2nd jar.

I still have an interest in going the traditional rye bread route, so if this works out I may pursue that next. I see one recipe online that merges the two... Soaking the bread in the diluted LME and straining.
Last edited by swenocha on Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
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russki
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by russki »

swenocha wrote:And... score! $2.99 per 550g jar. Picked up two. One will be done straight up, and the other will likely go into something.

Question... Did you check OG/FG on this? What kind of ABV did you get on the recipe above? Not really important, but was just curious what the baseline is for the purposes of the 2nd jar.

I still have an interest in going the traditional rye bread route, so if this works out I may pursue that next. I see one recipe online that merges the two... Soaking the bread in the diluted LME and straining.
Nope, did not take any readings - but it certainly tastes very low in alcohol, maybe 1-2%, and still pretty sweet.
In Soviet Russia, beer brews you!
My brews
Fermenting:
Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat (5-gal)(AG)
Cranberry Mead
Buck-Flower Mead
Flanders Red (5-gal)(AG) x 2
On Tap:
Hefeweizen (5-gal)(AG)
Oaked Pear Cider
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swenocha
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by swenocha »

Just threw mine into a 3 gallon fermenter. I went for the entire jar for the 3 gallons, which was suggested on some of the sites I've read. OG was 1.020ish, so I figure I might hit 2% or a bit less on this. I'm using some fromunda that I hadn't found a use for, so this is an easy and cheap experiment.
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
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swenocha
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by swenocha »

One question for you, Russki.... What's the proper way of opening one of these jars? I puzzled over it for a min or so, trying to twist or lift it, before using a screwdriver to loosen it around the edges. There has to be a more efficient way, no?
Swenocha is a vast bastard of brewing knowledge - Wings_Fan_In_KC

Fermenting:
nada... zip...

Drinking:
nada... zip... maybe an N/A beer here and there...
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BigPapaG
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Re: Kvass anyone?

Post by BigPapaG »

Swen, I suspect an old fashioned bottle opener (rounded end) would do it...

Image

:cool:
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