Pass The Kvassia
Long Beach Beer Lab

 

kvass is a style i always get stoked to see, its so interesting to me, so i bucked up 11 dollars for the little bottle of this, having had good experience with this brewery so far. its a really cool beer, just 2.8% abv, contrary to what is listed here, its a small beer, but not small on flavor. i believe its done with sourdough bread, but also mosaic hops, pineapple, and mango, i was suspicious of the fruit, but its an accent at best here, which is smart, any more than that would easily overwhelm the interesting parts of this, so they were smart to keep it subtle, its a summery twist but its still grain and fermentation driven to me. super pale in color, lightly murky looking with a fast fading head, like late runnings from an already light mash, almost watery. the aroma and flavor here are a little funky, but less wild and weird than i hoped it would be, was expecting a little more sour, its maybe lightly bretty, more saison-esque, and without a ton of character from the bread to me, a little doughy maybe, a slight baked taste to the center of it, but just a really light beer in general, nuanced and cohesive, perhaps not as intriguing as it could have been, but it works. the pineapple is fresh and very light, the hops and mango are even less than that, and the whole thing is super dry, faintly white winey, and weirdly fresh tasting for what it is. i think this is pretty well executed, a bit thin feeling, and not as effervescent as i want it to be, but its very good, a unique take on a style i adore, and another solid beer from these guys overall, but probably only worth the price for the total kvass enthusiast such as myself, its neither unique enough on the whole to be incredible, nor bready or funky enough to really be educational to me, but i still dug it. i wish their beer was more affordable, but ive liked what ive had from these guys so far!

edit: i did not see a date on this bottle, but i cant imagine this was brought to idaho more than once, so this has to be getting pretty old now, and even with some wild funky yeast character here, its definitely getting past its moment, shared generously by a friend last night four and a half years after the above review, clear and bubbly but not holding any head, crazy light looking but muted too, thin, smells like bacteria and light smoke, the fruit is fermented out mostly now, not sure that was ever a great add to this, and it now feels tired and disjointed, although even with all that and a little iodine thing is still somehow kind of refreshing. i like weird beer and this is certainly that, but time has not been particularly good to this. not surprised these didnt sell here at this abv and price ratio, a shame because it was cool when it was fresher, on the edge of worthless at this point, but as a novelty item it was fun to dip back into it and see how its changed. im no authority on the subject, but i dont think i need tropical fruit in my kvass. yeast weirdness the best part of this but also the most challenging at this point...

Note: Mosaic Hop W/ Pineapple And Mango Variant

A: Pours a cloudy pale straw yellow in color with moderate amounts of active visible carbonation rising quickly along the edges of the glass and faint pale lemon yellow colored highlights. The beer has a finger tall fizzy white head that quickly reduces to a small to medium sized patch of extremely thin film and a very thin ring at the edges of the glass. Minimal amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of pineapple + mango tropical fruits along with moderate aromas of lemon citrus lactic tartness. Light aromas of sourdough bread.

T: Upfront there are light flavors of sourdough bread. That is followed by slightly stronger than moderate flavors of lemon citrus lactic tartness. Finally there are slightly heavier than light flavors of pineapple + mango tropical fruits. Light amounts of lingering tartness in the finish.

M: Light bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Moderate amounts of acidic prickliness.

O: Easy to drink with well hidden alcohol and extremely refreshing. Enjoyable.

A: The beer is a little hazy light pale yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a narrow white collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Faint aromas of lemons are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and has light aromas of lemons with a bit of yeast.
M: It feels light-bodied (but not watery) and faintly tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink and actually has some refreshing properties.

Serving type: bottle

 

 

 

 

L: Unhealthy light shade of yellow. Strong head but dissipates quickly.
S: Strong pineapple notes but overall doesn't linger too long. After a few minutes there's no odor left.
T: Tastes more like a light soda. Not much flavor, hops or fruit notes.
F: Very light and muted.
O: Great smell but an overall disappointing beer.

Had on tap. Pours radioactive hot pink, with slimy foam on top. Smells of cherry and bagels. This is not a kvass, but a super sweet and weirdly sourdough bready, cherry sour. The resulting taste is vomit: acidic and a mess. Reminds me of the awful bud light a-ritas. Pass on ordering this beer!