No.543
So hopefully today I will be starting what is a long and successful journey into making slavic drink in my house. I've been researching this for a while, and in light of our recent merger, i think I should finally get started. For references I'm using kvass.biz, some advice from one of my friend's parents, some notes scribbled in cheeki breeki that I can't read, and some other notes I took from everyone I could find in mumble who was eastern european. I'm mostly interested because the ingredients are basically free, I'll be loosely following this recipe.
Thick kvass with raisins
Pour over dried rye bread boiling water. After it cools filter it well, add sugar, yeast and mix well. Allow to ferment in a warm room for 12 hours. Then pour into bottles, add raisins and place in a cool room. In 48 hours kvass is ready.
For 4 l water 1 kg dried rye bread, 1 cup sugar, 20 g yeast, 2 spoons raisins.
I'll be adding lemon to the recipe as well, two slices, ignoring the heel. I'll try to do a proper step by step.
First step, which is now, I'm boiling the fuck out of everything that's going to touch the kvass so I don't die. So, I won't actually be starting for a little bit yet. This is a very important step, so if you're going to use this thread as a guide, please read this section.
No.544
>>543The initial goal is essentially a proof of concept, I'd like to first prove I can actually make kvass successfully, and highlight any points of failure, or other equipment I might need. After that I'm going to experiment with ingredients, I'd like to use proper Rye bread, but you can't buy that here so I would probably need to make it. I won't test the ABV of this batch, but in subsequent batches I would like to experiment with varieties of yeast, fermentation time, amount of sugar, etc. to see how it affects alcohol content. It is basically a very light beer, but from what I've seen you'll only be looking at around 2-3% ABV so it's not a very good option if you just want to get drunk. However, it's very fun as an experiment.
Some things I've noted already, my pot is absolute garbage, the sidewalls and especially the bottom are way too thin. It was only five dollars, but I might need to look around at thrift shops if I'm going to do this more often.
I'm considering sterilizing the containers in the oven next time, and maybe using a smaller pot to boil the dishcloths I'll be using as filters.
No.545
>>544Second issue, which arose from the first. There is now approximately 5L of boiling water on the stove in a pot that now has extremely questionable structural integrity.
I actually don't know how I'm going to move on from here, mistakes have been made.
No.546
>>545So the internet tells me I only need to bring the water to around 80C to kill bacteria, I don't have a thermistor around, or a multimeter, but I'm going to call it good now before I get horribly burned
No.548
>>547In the future, i.e. once I have a scale, I'll weigh each slice before and after to try and determine how much moisture is being lost.
Some of this bread became carbon foam, but overall it's not so bad.
No.550
>>549Now it's sat for 6 hours, I've filtered it through a strainer, added 1/2 cup of sugar, 10g of yeast, and 6 raisins which I washed. Now it will sit someplace warm for 48 hours, luckily I do not have AC so my whole apartment as a rule is over 80 degrees fahrenheit.
I don't think I've fucked up anything too serious, so hopefully at the end of 48 hours it will at least be drinkable. I'm going to filter it through a dishcloth that I've boiled to sterilize into smaller mason jars that I'll also boil over the next couple days.
No.551
>>543For the next attempt try to make orange kvass, it is unironically good.
No.552
Once it gets cold I will post a guide on making apple jack.
No.567
>>551Is regular kvass only ironically good?
Also four and a half hours remain. After it's done fermenting you need to filter it and most importantly CHILL it to kill the yeast. All the potentially contamination I was worrying about earlier is noting compared to straight up drinking live yeast. Stick it in the fridge and be patient.
I think I fucked some things up, but once I have it filtered and bottled I'll do a proper AAR
No.568
>>567Here's how I set up the final filter
No.571
>>570It's tasty as fuck boys, chalking this up as a win. I really thought I would totally fuck the first batch and it would be barely drinkable, but this is a million times better than light beer or other equivalent soykaf. Definitely going to try orange kvass.
No.572
>>571Should not have made a half batch, it's already gone.
Gonna hit the store and get more supplies, hopefully I'll be able to try out multiple recipes simultaneously
No.574
>>567I may be a bit late, but kvass is really good. It used to be the most popular drink in eastern europe for a reason, it had a stronger flavour and aroma than local beer. If done properly, it is achievable nowadays as well.
No.578
Okay, I've been doing some more work. The color varies HEAVILY based on how the bread is cooked, first two batches I did I cooked the bread in a pan, the second result is the one on the right. So, today I went out and bought a large cookie sheet so I can cook the bread in the oven, and have proper control over time and temperature. The one on the left was cooked for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
There is around 24 hours left to go on the one on the right, the one on the left will be 48 because I just started it, the recipe for all three batches has been identical. I'm going to push off ABV testing because this seems more important, although I don't know how different the taste will actually be. I'm going to do a side by side comparison of these two once the second one is finished fermenting, if the taste is drastically different, which I assume it will be, I'll probably do many small batches to determine how long and at what temperature the bread needs to be baked to achieve what color.
After that I'll move on to messing around with the actual fermentation process. As a side note I've been looking around for a kefir starter, it's tangentially related in that it's a fermented drink you can make in your own home, and I think it'd be a nice addition to this project.
No.582
>>578Next batch is done and bottled, should be ready to drink in around half an hour.
No.591
Ah, fellow Kvas brewer!
I have finished up my third successful 5 gallon batch just yesterday.
I suppose it's a little less than 5.. This also includes the volume of the bread and raisins.
It is well worth the wait! As long as you can find yourself two large enough containers, it is very little extra work to make a batch that lasts long enough for the next to ferment.
Great to share with friends, and drink on hot summer days.
I'm currently trying to discover how to achieve more carbonation.
My base recipe for 5 gallons has been:
20 slices of the darkest bread I can find (black rye or pumpernickel preferred)
3 small lemons (one sliced for the steep, the other two I juice and add at the end)
5 gallons of water
2 heaping handfuls of raisins
3.5 cups of honey
1 package of brewers yeast
I hope you enjoy the fruits of your labor lainons
No.592
>>591>I'm currently trying to discover how to achieve more carbonation.This is what I'm working on as well, after I get the heat and time on the bread down. I've made four more batches since but no real progress. I'm considering making some seals for my bottles of of proper material, and adjusting the amount of force on the lid. If I anything works out I'll definitely post it here.
I've started making kefir, which is pretty nice. I got a super old strain from a friend, so that's pretty cool. It's a nice drink, but I think I like kvass more.
I've read a lot about using honey instead of sugar, do you think it adds that much to the flavor?
Honey is way more expensive, but I might give it a shot and see if it's worth it.
No.593
>>592My first large batch was all sugar, but I've been using honey since I had bought 12lb of it for brewing mead.
Long story short, after procrastination the honey has been getting used for other purposes, and I thought what else better than kvass?
While I notice little difference in taste, those I've shared it with appear to prefer the honey. If it was just me, I'd most likely save on cost and use sugar.
By the end of the week I will have to make two batches, one honey and the other sugar, to initiate a blind taste test.
No.594
Seems you are very well practiced in brewing fermented drinks. Any of you have any tips for brewing a good batch of Kombucha with some sort of flavor?
It has been something I've been interested in but haven't had time to do so.
No.616
>>595for next project make rakia
