Street Tank · Fermented Rye Drink

Kvass

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Kvass is so mild it was traditionally served to Russian children instead of plain water.

Kvass is a dark, faintly sweet-and-sour drink brewed by fermenting rye bread or rye flour with water, sugar, and a touch of yeast for about a day. In summer, Russian streets fill with bright tanker trucks and barrels where vendors pump it straight into cups or refill customers' own bottles for a few coins. Mildly fizzy and only around 1% alcohol, it's treated more like a soft drink than a beer.

Why it's made this way: Kvass has been documented in Russia since at least the 10th century, and its negligible alcohol content made it common enough that peasants — and even children — traditionally drank it daily instead of water.