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In fact, beer differs from kvass only in the concentration of alcohol and the presence of hops in the composition, so the craftsmen learned how to make beer from kvass wort at home. The advantage is that this preparation technology is much simpler than classical brewing, but since the resulting drink still cannot be considered real beer, it received a separate name – “kvass beer”. For lovers of porters, stouts and other dark varieties, I recommend brewing at least one batch. Of the fixtures, you only need a capacious pan or bucket.
Theory
Liquid barley or barley-rye concentrate of any brand is suitable, it is possible with the addition of flour (rye or corn). The less preservatives and chemical additives in the composition, the better. It is desirable that the content of solids in the concentrate be as high as possible, then the beer will be denser and tastier. Even if the label says that 0,5 kg of concentrate is enough for 15-25 liters of kvass, then this amount is enough for making beer only for 5 liters of water, otherwise the taste will be very watery.
The concentrate of kvass wort contains practically no fermentable sugars, so the yeast has nothing to process into alcohol. For kvass, which should be non-alcoholic, this is normal, but in the case of beer, you will have to add sugar to get a fortress.
The amount of sugar depends on the desired strength of the beer, 1% fermented sugar in the wort gives approximately 0,6% strength, to simplify the calculations, we will only take into account the mixture of sugar and water without correction for concentrate. The amount of sugar can be calculated using the formula:
Required sugar (kg) = desired strength (%) * amount of water (l) / 60.
For example, to obtain beer with a strength of 6% for 5 liters of water, 500 grams of sugar are required (6 * 5 / 60 = 0,5).
To prepare non-alcoholic beer from kvass wort, you need to add sugar only at the carbonization stage and reduce the fermentation time to 1-2 days.
At home, pharmacy or self-harvested hops are often used. Only dried buds are suitable. The more hops, the stronger the bitterness and characteristic hop aroma.
To make beer, and not a banal brew with hops, top-fermenting brewer’s yeast (ale) is required, which can be purchased at brewing stores. In extreme cases, dry bakery products are suitable (10 grams per 0,5 kg of sugar is enough), but the taste of beer will be noticeably worse.
Fermented (baking malt) increases the body of the beer, making the taste and aroma more intense. Rye malt adds chocolate notes, while barley malt adds bready notes.
Ingredients:
- yeast wort concentrate – 0,5 kg;
- water – 5 liters;
- sugar – 0,3-05 kg;
- hops – 10-15 grams;
- yeast (preferably beer for ale) – for 6 liters of wort;
- fermented malt (rye or barley) – 100-150 grams (optional).
Kvass Wort Beer Recipe
1. In an enameled 10-liter pot or bucket, bring water to a boil. Add sugar, mix.
2. Add kvass wort and fermented malt (optional). Stir until the wort is homogeneous.
3. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add 75% hops (forms beer bitterness). Mix.
4. Simmer the wort for 30 minutes (should not boil), stirring every 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove the decoction from the stove, add the remaining 25% hops (for aroma), mix.
6. To minimize the risk of pathogen contamination, chill the wort as quickly as possible. To do this, the container can be placed in a bathroom with cold water or ice, and in winter – outside in the snow or simply taken out into the cold.
7. When the wort has cooled down to +25-28 °C, pour the future kvass beer into a fermentation tank and add yeast (pre-activate according to the instructions on the bag label). Install a water seal. Transfer to fermentation in a dark place with room temperature (+ 18-25 ° C).
8. Leave the wort for 5-7 days to ferment (until the water seal stops releasing gas).
9. Filter the beer through gauze folded in 3-4 layers.
10. At the bottom of each storage bottle (preferably plastic), add sugar at the rate of 5 grams per 1 liter of volume.
11. Fill the bottles with beer, leaving at least 5-6 cm of free space. Close tightly with stoppers. Shake several times.
12. Leave the beer for 5 days in a dark place with a temperature of + 18-28 ° C for carbonization (saturation with carbon dioxide). Then transfer the bottles to the refrigerator or cellar for maturation. Leave for at least 7-10 days (25-40 is better).
Attention! Periodically check the pressure of the gas in the bottles (the plastic ones have puffed up and become very hard) and bleed the excess if necessary to prevent an explosion.
You will get a dark kvass beer of medium carbonation with a characteristic aroma of malt and hops, notes of caramel, coffee and malt, without a clear smell of alcohol. The taste is soft, in the aftertaste notes of bitter chocolate are felt, reminiscent of stout and porter.
Shelf life in the refrigerator or cellar is 6-8 months, an open bottle can be stored for 2-3 days.
Another kvass wort beer recipe is shown in the video.
