Kvas(s)

Kvas(s). (ke-vas')

A Russian beery drink, mildly alcoholic (0.2-2 percent), traditionally made by fermenting rye bread, one that does not include any other grain besides rye. The fermenting liquid will be turned bitter by oats or other grains. Kvas was brewed by the proto-Slavs as early as 2,000 years ago. The basic recipe consisted of mixing dried breadcrumbs with hot water, then adding a sugar solution and yeast for fermentation. The brew was flavored with raisins, mint, absinth, juniper, honey, sugar, or (rarely) hops during fermentation. Wealthy people flavored their kvas with bilberries, Morello cherries, currants, apples, lemons, pears, raspberries, and lingonberries. The importation of English ales in the eighteenth century marked the decline of this beverage. Kvas is still produced in the northern Republic of Soviet States. Rye bread is covered with boiling water, churned, and left standing for 24 hours after which time more water and yeasts are added and the brew is fermented in casks for two to three days. It is later delivered in cistern trucks, and people buy it directly from the cistern on street corners and market places.

Also spelled: kwas(s); quas(s)

See also: grouchevoï; iablochny; malinovoï