Tennessee Home Brews Russian Kvass

[Tennessee Brew]

I decided to do some experiments with Russian Kvass. I like the bread like taste so our to start we are going to do a traditional Kvass with dark rye bread.
Second we are going to change it up a bit and do a Wheat Bread.
As we move along we may experiment with different things, flavors, stronger brews etc. I've also been wondering what Kvass might taste like with a slight bit of oats or perhaps some malt? Hey if you cant experiment then your not having fun!

Kvass experts feel free to chime in and we will update everyone as we go.

 

[jtratcliff]

I tried a bread kvass using leftovers from my own homemade 100% rye sourdough... Recipe I followed called for the bread to be heavily toasted, almost burnt.... Didn't particularly care for the final result... Was OK... drinkable.... just too toasty-bready for me... Only made it once

I much preferred beet kvass... though the recipe I followed was a bit heavy on the salt...

Very earthy and refreshing. Made it few times but still trying to find the right salt level for me...

Also look into Tepache ... fermented pineapple scraps... Peel and core a pine apple... keep the fruit, add the peel and core to a fermenter, add sugar, top with water... let it go a few days, strain and drink... too long and it turns to vinegar (which is also good)

 

[Tennessee Brew]

Picked up everything I need today, got a dark rye and a light rye, going to do those first. Light toasted, don't want that burnt flavor. Ill let yall know how it turns out.

 

[Miraculix]

How is bread kvass made? I only know the red beet kvass.

 

[Tennessee Brew]

How is bread kvass made? I only know the red beet kvass.

Pretty much same process except you use the toasted rye bread. As I understand it this recipe can vary a lot according to preference. Some like dark toasted bread, some like light. I'm also going to try a wheat Kvass and maybe even a pinch of malt.

1/2 gallon water
3-4 slices light toasted rye bread
1 cup of sugar
about 1 ounce of crushed raisins

** The amount of bread is pretty much preference. My Russian friend says too much makes it too bready and toasty.

Bring water to a boil, put in the bread, cover let it cool and sit 8 hours.

Next day you will mix in your sugars and raisins. Best to bring temp back up to about 90 degrees to help sugars dissolve well.

You can drink this in about 8-12 hours. Some folks use added yeast some don't. You can ferment this longer and get a stronger brew. I think I will dry one and shoot for a beer like drink.

 

[Miraculix]

Pretty much same process except you use the toasted rye bread. As I understand it this recipe can vary a lot according to preference. Some like dark toasted bread, some like light. I'm also going to try a wheat Kvass and maybe even a pinch of malt.

1/2 gallon water
3-4 slices light toasted rye bread
1 cup of sugar
about 1 ounce of crushed raisins

** The amount of bread is pretty much preference. My Russian friend says too much makes it too bready and toasty.

Bring water to a boil, put in the bread, cover let it cool and sit 8 hours.

Next day you will mix in your sugars and raisins. Best to bring temp back up to about 90 degrees to help sugars dissolve well.

You can drink this in about 8-12 hours. Some folks use added yeast some don't. You can ferment this longer and get a stronger brew. I think I will dry one and shoot for a beer like drink.

Thanks, so it is basically a wild yeast from raisins based drink. I wonder how much alcohol can be expected, as most of the carbs in there are still starches and not very accessible to yeasts.

 

[jtratcliff]

The bread kvass recipe I used didn't use raisins but called for a spoonful of sourdough starter...

 

[Tennessee Brew]

Thanks, so it is basically a wild yeast from raisins based drink. I wonder how much alcohol can be expected, as most of the carbs in there are still starches and not very accessible to yeasts.

Yes it can be a wild yeast fermentation. Question is will there be any viable yeast in the bread? Some say there will some say no. I'm not sure so I guess we will see. If not then I will try with some yeast.

Its known for its low ABV but I would assume adding some yeast and maybe bumping the sugars a bit you would get more? Problem is as I understand it different types of yeast can sometimes cause off flavors as they begin to compete. I would also assume if you simply let this ferment longer you will get a bit more ABV. I will experiment some, that is what I love about this.

 

[Tennessee Brew]

Starting the first one, 2 half gallon batches. One with yeast, one without. I used 3 slices of bread per half gallon, about 2 ounces of crushed raisins and since I like sweetness I used 1.5 cups of sugar per gallon.

The dark rye is going to have yeast, I still don't know for sure yet if I will use yeast on the light rye or not. I'm curious if the yeast in the bread may still be alive.

 

[Timur]

My Russian friend says too much makes it too bready and toasty.

I'm Russian too, so I can attest that what you said generally holds true.

 

[Timur]

I'm curious if the yeast in the bread may still be alive.

So how did you end up with your yeast in the bread? Was it a success? Thanks for sharing!

 

[Andres Falconer]

How has the experimentation gone? I’ve been making kvass for a few years using sourdough rye bread my wife bakes, and I always ferment with a starter from my last batch of kvass - it’s never failed. The starter itself was created by making a first batch of kvass with the same sourdough starter. I never use yeast and haven’t used raisins either. As I experiment with bread (dry, lightly toasted or baked into near-charcoal) I’ve been amazed by the differences from the caramelization and Maillard reaction at different bake levels.

What I’ll be trying next is mixing bread toasted at different levels - much as we do with beer, with base malts and caramel and darker specialty malts. Has anyone tried this? When I made my last batch, with very roasted bread, it occurred to me that the result could be improved by mixing, since the taste was excellent, but the roasting of the bread likely altered the starches and sugars and there was far less fermentation going on.

Please continue sharing your experiments!

 

[Miraculix]

How has the experimentation gone? I’ve been making kvass for a few years using sourdough rye bread my wife bakes, and I always ferment with a starter from my last batch of kvass - it’s never failed. The starter itself was created by making a first batch of kvass with the same sourdough starter. I never use yeast and haven’t used raisins either. As I experiment with bread (dry, lightly toasted or baked into near-charcoal) I’ve been amazed by the differences from the caramelization and Maillard reaction at different bake levels.

What I’ll be trying next is mixing bread toasted at different levels - much as we do with beer, with base malts and caramel and darker specialty malts. Has anyone tried this? When I made my last batch, with very roasted bread, it occurred to me that the result could be improved by mixing, since the taste was excellent, but the roasting of the bread likely altered the starches and sugars and there was far less fermentation going on.

Please continue sharing your experiments!

What's exactly your process, if You wouldn't mind sharing? I got a sourdough going on for two years now, would be interesting to ferment a beverage with it instead of only bread. I bake mostly mixed spelt and rye bread with it. Sometimes spelt only and sometimes rye only. I started it from scratch, it never saw bakers yeast or commercial starter.

 

[Andres Falconer]

My process: I boil 4l of water, dissolve 2 cups of whatever sugar I have around into it, cool to about 45C and add the bread (about 750 ml measured in a Pyrex jar) and a small mason jar with some of the previous batch of kvass (including the bread). I put it in a glass jar with an airlock and let it sit for at least 2 days. Sometimes there is no noticeable bubbling, but you can see the activity thru the glass. I occasionally leave the jar in a sink full of warm water so it speeds up the fermentation (40-45C seems to be ideal). 2-3 days later I sieve into PET bottles, with a couple of teaspoons of extra sugar to help carbonation. I reserve some of the bread and some kvass into a mason jar for the next batch and refrigerate the starter. The bottles are ready in a couple of days. You can feel the pressure in the plastic bottles. Refrigerate when ready or the pressure will keep building up and you’ll get gushers. I usually leave a bottle out of the fridge after I open it, for the carbonation to build up again. Since it’s very active, there usually is a sweet spot for taste, as it gradually gets drier and more sour. You can always add more sugar to the bottle if it dries up too much.

For the first batch, I followed the same process, but added a dollop of sourdough starter instead of the kvass starter.

The bread is eastern-European style dark rye bread. Cut into cubes. It can be simply left to dry in the open, oven dried at 120c or roasted at higher temps.

For my next batch I’m mixing a proportion of 1/2 dried bread and 1/4 of lightly toasted (160C) and 1/4 dark roasted bread. Will report back with results!

 

[Miraculix]

My process: I boil 4l of water, dissolve 2 cups of whatever sugar I have around into it, cool to about 45C and add the bread (about 750 ml measured in a Pyrex jar) and a small mason jar with some of the previous batch of kvass (including the bread). I put it in a glass jar with an airlock and let it sit for at least 2 days. Sometimes there is no noticeable bubbling, but you can see the activity thru the glass. I occasionally leave the jar in a sink full of warm water so it speeds up the fermentation (40-45C seems to be ideal). 2-3 days later I sieve into PET bottles, with a couple of teaspoons of extra sugar to help carbonation. I reserve some of the bread and some kvass into a mason jar for the next batch and refrigerate the starter. The bottles are ready in a couple of days. You can feel the pressure in the plastic bottles. Refrigerate when ready or the pressure will keep building up and you’ll get gushers. I usually leave a bottle out of the fridge after I open it, for the carbonation to build up again. Since it’s very active, there usually is a sweet spot for taste, as it gradually gets drier and more sour. You can always add more sugar to the bottle if it dries up too much.

For the first batch, I followed the same process, but added a dollop of sourdough starter instead of the kvass starter.

The bread is eastern-European style dark rye bread. Cut into cubes. It can be simply left to dry in the open, oven dried at 120c or roasted at higher temps.

For my next batch I’m mixing a proportion of 1/2 dried bread and 1/4 of lightly toasted (160C) and 1/4 dark roasted bread. Will report back with results!

Thank you, I will make some kvass tomorrow, following your process

 

[Andres Falconer]

Thank you, I will make some kvass tomorrow, following your process

Good luck and share your results. I’m making mine now, too. Note that all measurements are somewhat arbitrary/by eye. I’ve seen many different recipes online. Most call for yeast. In Russia and Eastern Europe they sell special kvass yeast.

This one seems interesting: How to Make Russian Bread Kvass | Beets & Bones

Kvass is traditionally a drink for the kids. Historically, also a way to make water safe to drink. So typically low ABV. But I’ve seen some people getting fancy about it and really blurring the boundaries between kvass and beer. Kvass IPA, anyone?

 

[Miraculix]

Good luck and share your results. I’m making mine now, too. Note that all measurements are somewhat arbitrary/by eye. I’ve seen many different recipes online. Most call for yeast. In Russia and Eastern Europe they sell special kvass yeast.

This one seems interesting: How to Make Russian Bread Kvass | Beets & Bones

Kvass is traditionally a drink for the kids. Historically, also a way to make water safe to drink. So typically low ABV. But I’ve seen some people getting fancy about it and really blurring the boundaries between kvass and beer. Kvass IPA, anyone?

I'll stick to the traditional way for now

 

[madscientist451]

I’ve seen some people getting fancy about it and really blurring the boundaries between kvass and beer. Kvass IPA, anyone?

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/51312/435013/

 

[Miraculix]

Good luck and share your results. I’m making mine now, too. Note that all measurements are somewhat arbitrary/by eye. I’ve seen many different recipes online. Most call for yeast. In Russia and Eastern Europe they sell special kvass yeast.

This one seems interesting: How to Make Russian Bread Kvass | Beets & Bones

Kvass is traditionally a drink for the kids. Historically, also a way to make water safe to drink. So typically low ABV. But I’ve seen some people getting fancy about it and really blurring the boundaries between kvass and beer. Kvass IPA, anyone?

I made it and it's mighty tasty! Like a mix between Apple juice/Federweißer/Cidre. Really good! Didn't know that a bit of sugar, old bread and a bit of sour dough can create such a nice drink. Even my girlfriend likes it, and she doesn't like stuff that tastes fermented or yeastie.

Took one day to go, now it's bubbling in the bottle.

 

[Andres Falconer]

I made it and it's mighty tasty! Like a mix between Apple juice/Federweißer/Cidre. Really good! Didn't know that a bit of sugar, old bread and a bit of sour dough can create such a nice drink. Even my girlfriend likes it, and she doesn't like stuff that tastes fermented or yeastie.

Took one day to go, now it's bubbling in the bottle.

Work in progress. I put my jar on the heating mat and it’s working wonders! Will bottle tomorrow morning.

 

[Miraculix]

Work in progress. I put my jar on the heating mat and it’s working wonders! Will bottle tomorrow morning. View attachment 754645

I see! I basically added boiling hot water to the bread and sugar, which I then stirred. Afterwards it was quite mash-like, you obviously did not do that, as your bread looks way more intact then my bread sludge here

I added some raisins as well, but together with the sourdough, when it was all cooled down to about 30C or something like that. I wanted the wild yeasts on the raisins to stay alive to contribute to the kvass. They are organic and not treated in any way, so there should be at least something on it. Afterwards, it all stayed next to the ehater, which helped speading things up I guess.

I store the bread sludge in a glas now and the liquid in a bottle. It is really good by now. I transferred it to the fridge, it took not even two full days from mixing everything together to bottling it and having decent carbonation in about 6 hours.

I guess I got quite a powerfull sourdough going here!

 

[Andres Falconer]

I see! I basically added boiling hot water to the bread and sugar, which I then stirred. Afterwards it was quite mash-like, you obviously did not do that, as your bread looks way more intact then my bread sludge here

I added some raisins as well, but together with the sourdough, when it was all cooled down to about 30C or something like that. I wanted the wild yeasts on the raisins to stay alive to contribute to the kvass. They are organic and not treated in any way, so there should be at least something on it. Afterwards, it all stayed next to the ehater, which helped speading things up I guess.

I store the bread sludge in a glas now and the liquid in a bottle. It is really good by now. I transferred it to the fridge, it took not even two full days from mixing everything together to bottling it and having decent carbonation in about 6 hours.

I guess I got quite a powerfull sourdough going here!

Some recipes call for just boiling enough water to dissolve the sugar, then completing with warm water to the right fermentation temp. I don't think there's any viable yeast in the bread itself, but perhaps adding boiling water to the bread may also extract harsher flavors, especially if it's well toasted. I do get a bit of sludge, too, and the very dark bread loses much of its color, but mostly stays intact.

It's a lot of added sugar, too, so no surprise the sourdough went crazy!

 

[Miraculix]

Some recipes call for just boiling enough water to dissolve the sugar, then completing with warm water to the right fermentation temp. I don't think there's any viable yeast in the bread itself, but perhaps adding boiling water to the bread may also extract harsher flavors, especially if it's well toasted. I do get a bit of sludge, too, and the very dark bread loses much of its color, but mostly stays intact.

It's a lot of added sugar, too, so no surprise the sourdough went crazy!

I actually did not meassure the sugar, I went by feeling, like 2 or 3 tablespoons per 1 or 1.5l of water. It was sweet, but not unbareably sweet. Now after 2 days of fermentation, it is nicely balanced, a bit sweet and sour. I obviously tasted each step and you are right, after adding the boiling water, the water became very flavourfull, really like a bread tea. I think it is good, it extracts much flavour, I like that and will keep on doing that.

I also do not think that there are enough viable yeasts on the bread to make a difference and anyway, I made this bread with the sourdough I started the kvass with, so technically, not much of a difference, even if there were viable yeasts on the bread.

 

[Andres Falconer]

You could do mash temperature (eg. up to 76C) rather than fermentation temp (40-45), to get good flavor extraction.

 

[Andres Falconer]

And then there’s this, which definitely blurs the boundary between beer and kvass:

https://savadas.lnkc.lt/keptinis_alus_en.html
https://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/394.html

 

[Miraculix]

And then there’s this, which definitely blurs the boundary between beer and kvass:

https://savadas.lnkc.lt/keptinis_alus_en.html
https://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/394.html

I brewed a Keptinis once, it is basically a very thick and baked malt-mash, but has not much to do with bread. I see no real connection, except that both use the oven. Keotinis is nice! Very flavourfull, do not be afraid of a very dark mash in the oven, that is where the flavour comes from.

 

[Andres Falconer]

I don’t think I’m going to try brewing keptinis, but I sure do intend to try one when I travel to those lands again.

Here is my finished product.

The one on the right was bottled this morning, from the recipe mixing different levels of drying/toasting (I have 4 1l bottles). The left is from my previous batch, from dark roasted bread.

 

[Miraculix]

I don’t think I’m going to try brewing keptinis, but I sure do intend to try one when I travel to those lands again.

Here is my finished product.

The one on the right was bottled this morning, from the recipe mixing different levels of drying/toasting (I have 4 1l bottles). The left is from my previous batch, from dark roasted bread.

View attachment 754720

Mine looks much paler and is almost empty by now. Really good stuff, can't believe it, kombucha can seriously go home. Next batch sits already next to the heater