Old Kiev Kvas (Древнекиевский Квас)
Rosinka (Росинка)

A thanks to the Czar of the Kvass kick, woodychandler, for this beer. Poured from a large, clear plastic bottle. Has an iced tea color with no head at all. Smell is light, some cocoa powder. Taste is of breads, hints of cocoa, light sweetness. Feels watery in the mouth and overall, I have had worse Kvass, but this one ain't good.

All of a sudden, the Kvass Kick is back up an running, Kamarades! There were three (3) of us who were hardcore for a while ( @TMoney , @NeroFiddled & @woodychandler ) until @UCLABrewN84 raised the question as to whether Kvass was worthy of or even merited inclusion. 8=( The wind left my sails as the debate protracted & I simply moved on. Time has borne me out & Kvass has a solid place on this site! Happy happy joy joy! Which brings me to my current, renewed interest. I took some Kvass to a monthly bottle share last Saturday & while it was not wildly received, it was still pooh-poohed by some attendees! 8={} I ALREADY fought in this battle & won! Now, I am simply drinking the fruits of my success in advance of tomorrow's visit from @tone77 who will get halvsies of everything today & tomorrow.

From the Bottle: " Древнекиевский Квас".

I unscrewed the plastic cap from the plastic bottle (!) 8=( & began a slow C-Line pour into my awaiting Saint-Petersburg souvenir glass, procured a few weeks ago at Otterbein Church's monthly Attic Treasures rummage sale. It was still another still Kvass, evincing no carbonation nor producing any head. Fine by me as I charged my glass up to the rim! More for me. Color was solid Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with NE-quality clarity. Nose was bready, but not as pronounced as in some other examples of the style. Mouthfeel was thin & watery, but that is kind of a hallmark of this oddball style. The taste was more raisin-y than prune, which was actually a welcome change of pace. I'm unwilling to go as far as to say "raisin bread", but it definitely had a raisin-y breadiness, but it simply did not quite add up to raisin bread. The other thing to bear in mind, especially on this one, is that this style is intended as a summertime refreshing drink that is sold on the street. On a cold Winter's day in February, it becomes tough to dun it. Finish was semi-dry & certainly refreshing, so it seems to have done its intended job. Jeez-O, man, I am going to need a beer after all of this!

Served in a Chicago Bears shaker pint glass.

The Original Kvass Kick has been moving kinda slow lately, but luckily this newbie found his way into my fridge. To Kiev, OKK: It pours a clear sickly brown (Think about the sky during sunset far from the setting sun itself: There's all sorts of cool red, orange, and brown hues alongside streaks of cloud that remain a cobalt blue-gray. Where they meet, there's a slight blending, giving the impression that the brighter color isn't so bright, like it's waning into gray, aging, if you will...) topped by at best a moment's worth of dirty tan fizz. Not at all the most appetizing sight. The nose comprises fennel, maple syrup, pumpernickel, and a touch of cocoa powder. And this smell comes off strong, baby! Unfortunately, a strong undercurrent of mineral water lurks beneath all of this, subverting all that would have been better than the final product. The taste takes the elements from the smell, ages them in an old limestone cave, and adds a splash of watered-down lime juice. Yuck-o. To the max. The body is a rather light medium, with a lightly fizzy carbonation and an oddly slick feel, akin to allowing Jell-O to melt in your mouth and then kinda sucking it down your gullet. Overall, this was one of the worst encounters the OKK has yet seen. It was very difficult to finish my glass, and I pity the pour soul around here who helps me finish the rest of the two-liter bottle. Here's hoping the next Ukrainian kvass holds up better...(coming soon)