13.08 As Americans Quaff More Kvas, Sales of Russian Beverage Bubble up
WASHINGTON, August 12 (By Karin Zeitvogel for RIA Novosti) Americans have developed quite an appetite for many of Russias well known and not so well known food and drink items drinking enough vodka to make it the most popular alcoholic spirit in the United States; eating Beef Stroganoff; licking popsicles made from pickle juice, a popular hangover cure in Russia; and dipping into Beluga caviar from the Caspian Sea, if they can afford it.
But are Americans ready for kvas, the ever-so-slightly alcoholic drink made from fermented grain that Russians down on a hot summers day the way Americans quaff sweet iced tea or a can of Coke? One US brewery and several specialty food makers think so.
Competitors at a pinball tournament hosted last week by Pennsylvania-based Beaver Brewing were served fresh kvas made from caraway bread, blueberries and lemon balm.
Beaver Brewing owner Dan Woodske has written a book about the beverage, which according to a report on National Public Radio (NPR) has been consumed in Russia and eastern Europe since the 10th century.
In New York, kvas lovers can drink a version of the age-old Russian beverage made by The Gefilteria, a company that adapts old world Jewish foods to the tastes of younger consumers.
The Gefilterias kvas is made with beet juice and fermented with ginger, giving it a vivid purple head of foam when the bottle is opened and a piquant, sweet fizz when its drunk.
Jeffrey Yoskowitz, The Gefilterias co-founder and chief pickler, described the beet kvas as having a somewhat sour flavor, but being a little more sweet than other kvas on the market because we ferment with ginger and, I believe, longer than other people for seven to 10 days.
Our kvas is an effervescent drink, with a little natural carbonation throughout. Its very smooth and theres an earthiness and light fruitiness about it, he told RIA Novosti, adding that he fully expects kvas to be the next big thing on the American beverage market.
