kvass

American  

[kvahs, kwahs] / kvɑs, kwɑs /

Or quass

noun

1. a Russian beer made from fermenting rye or barley and having a dark color and sour taste.

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kvass British  

/ kvɑːs /

noun

1. an alcoholic drink of low strength made in Russia and E Europe from cereals and stale bread

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Etymology

Origin of kvass

First recorded in 1545–55, kvass is from the Russian word kvas

Example Sentences

It also sells local products, including the fermented beverage kvass.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 25, 2024

Eastern Europe seems to inspire the sweet and smoky wedge of grilled caraflex cabbage, dusted with powdered caraway seeds and served in a sourdough consommé — a bread broth that may bring to mind kvass.

From New York Times • Mar. 8, 2022

Demand for Lithuanian chocolate, beer and kvass — a fermented drink — has skyrocketed, sending suppliers scrambling for inventory.

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2022

There’s also a drink called beetroot kvass, which tastes deep and life-giving and quite unlike anything else: rich and earthy, with a twang.

From Scientific American • Jun. 24, 2020

And at that moment, as luck would have it, we were eating grated radish with kvass and frying fish, and there was a stink enough in the flat to make the devil sick.

From The Chorus Girl and Other Stories by Garnett, Constance