Kvass

Beer Recipe Design
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A long time ago a small brewery here in Pittsburgh (East End Brewing) made a Kvass. I loved it. When I talked to the owner/head brewer he said just using bread resulted in too low OG to bother so they adjusted the recipe. Both places referenced in the article used bread yeast. Comments, suggestions, and critiques appreciated.

Here is a link to an article about the beer. http://www.themadfermentationist.com/2010/10/brewing-kvass-at-east-end.html

So I want to make something similar to this. here is what I came up with.
3 lbs Briess Pilsen Light DME
2 lbs Briess Rye LME
.75 oz LD Carlson Lemmondrop Hop pellets @ 30 min
6g Caraway @ 30 min

OG 1.042
IBU 9.81
PA 3.94

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I forgot to mention. I was going to only do a 30 min boil and also add the rye at 15 min. I have several half loaves of rye, sourdough, and pumpernickel bread to use.

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Click on to the AHA forum. They have an article and a recipe for Kvass that looks simple and good.

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Uh… that’s not kvass. Sorry. Just gotta say. You can make it, but I wouldn’t call it a kvass. More like a caraway rye beer or something. Go ahead and use the bread, and even mash and use some malt if you must. But no hops, and no caraway, IMHO. Keep it very simple. If you wanted a lemon flavor, lemon rind would be nice and actually more traditional.

I made the real stuff myself a few months ago. With Red Star bread yeast. It was okay, but… tasted like friggin bread yeast. I decided that next time (if there is a next time) I will certainly NOT use a bread yeast, never again, but would use an ale yeast such as hefeweizen yeast or maybe even a great bready yeast such as Wyeast 1007 Altbier yeast would work awesomely. Here’s the more traditional recipe that I made, and some tasting notes:

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