Homemade kvass vs. store-bought

Just to say up front, I did not use the historical recipe Max used to make this homemade kvass. But the kvass video was the thing that pushed me over the edge and got me to finally make it.

I used some really dark rye bread which I sliced and toasted in the oven for a bit, then mixed with hot water as well as some toasted and lightly crushed caraway and coriander seeds. After soaking for two days, I strained out the water, put it back into the fermentation jar, and then added some raisins and raw linden honey. I also added 0.5 grams of a wine yeast I use, just for a good measure. That fermented for a day before I put everything into bottles and let’s sit out at room temperature overnight before putting in the refrigerator.

To compare, I went and got some actual kvass at this Eastern European/central Asian market I know about. And so I did a little side-by-side test. The store bought stuff is sweet, very carbonated, malty in the same way as a nice amber lager beer, but without any bitterness from hops. It actually reminds me somewhat of a cola or root beer minus the herbal notes you get from stuff like sassafras. My homemade stuff on the other hand is very powerful on the nose. Very yeasty and bready. It does not taste very yeasty, though. It just sort of tastes like sweet, liquid rye bread. The spices add a nice little small thing, and if I make another batch I might play around with those. I’m thinking allspice or Juniper might be a great addition. Plus, to make it darker, I could use a darker sweetener like dark brown sugar, or possibly buckwheat honey which I’ve been meaning to try.

Having previously done a bunch of different homebrew stuff that takes months or sometimes a whole year, this was a fun little short-term project. I’ll be enjoying both of them with some pickles and some homemade rye I made earlier today