Talk:Kvass/Archive 1

Kvass is beer?
"is a fermented mildly alcoholic beverage or beer"

Kvass may be mildly alcoholic, but it is definitely not beer. It is not nearly as strong as beer, around 1% and up to 2%, whereas beers are somewhat 4-5% and up to 12% (and more in some cases). But even more important — it's just another drink, it doesn't taste like beer :)--Sascha. 09:39, 16 June 2006 (UTC)


 * It's more like small beer (both in taste and colour), but the manufacturing is different. // Liftarn

Kvass is an ancient beer. The production method dates back thousands of years. SilkTork 18:49, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

It is not beer, not ale, it is kvass. `'Míkka 19:30, 24 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Kvass is not alcoholic otherwise you should consider kefir alchoholic.--Dojarca 20:59, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Kvass
This article is about "bread kvass". I have no idea the usage in English, but in Russia kvass may be traditionally made from every possible fruit or berry. In my childhood's village the most popular kvasses were from brusnika, golubika, apples and pears, especially from wild ones. Produced without any fermentation starters. I guess, it is cider or prehistoric ale (the latter article is quite poor in its historical part. "Fermented beverage" is even worse: it is simply a redirect to alcoholic beverage, which is plain wrong). `'Míkka 03:03, 30 August 2007 (UTC)
 * When we talk about wine, we tend to think about grape wine rather than fruit wine. It's the same with kvass. You should write that kvass is not always a bread drink (although the awareness of the fact seems to fade away with time). --Ghirla-трёп- 07:34, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Merge?
Should this be merged with the Kombucha article? They are the same drink, just with differing histories which can be related in one article. What do people think? Malick78 (talk) 18:30, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * They're not the same drink at all...kombucha is made with tea, kvass is made with grain --Stlemur (talk) 18:56, 3 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Oops. Don't know how I missed that. Sorry:) Malick78 (talk) 11:07, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

Summer drink
As a Russian native, I would like to note that kvass is viewed here as a summer drink, and it is on the hottest days of the year that it is peddled on the streets. Almost nobody drinks it in cold winter months. I don't know why a foreigner insists on removing every mention of this fact. --Ghirla-трёп- 21:10, 29 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Because it's not a fact. Find a citation that says that kvass is only served during the summer. --Stlemur 21:38, 29 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Who claims that it "is only served during the summer"? Every summer drink may be consumed all year round, if you are up to it. --Ghirla-трёп- 21:42, 29 August 2007 (UTC)


 * There's a story to it, actually. By some strange quirk of bureocracy, in Soviet times factory-made kvass was never bottled. Dunno why. Maybe it was just a way of soft-drink factories to meet planned revenue (it could be easily diluted this way) or whatever, but it was sold only in bulk from those huge wheeled barrels on the streets back then. You couldn't even buy it in a grocery store. And these barrels appeared on the streets only in summer, which was quite logical, as there was very little demand on a street vending of a soft drinks in winter. ;) So the rest is easy: winter => no street vendors => no kvass. And so kvass became established as a summer drink in Soviet Union. Homemade kvass is another story, but it was generally produced by much smaller scale, thus hardly making a point here. --Khathi 15:26, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Well, it was not "quirk of burocracy". Bottled kvass sucks. But you young guys probably don't remember "real" bread kvass. Anyway, the question is interesting indeed. As far as I remember, I never actually wanted kvass in winter. Kvass is best drunk cold. In winter I'd rather have something hot. `'Míkka 20:17, 18 September 2007 (UTC)
 * Correction: most brands of bottled kvass suck. We've here got one that doesn't, actually. It has a shelf life of about 3-4 days, though, as it's unpasteurized, unfiltered and doesn't have much in the way of preservatives -- in hot weather it even continues to brew in the bottle. ;) --Khathi 04:34, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
 * An exception that only confirms the rule. I was talking history. Microbrewery approach has greater flexibility, but you cannot do this in big industry. `'Míkka 16:11, 21 September 2007 (UTC)
 * It doesn't have anything to do with a microbrewery. It's a pretty massive plant serving a region with about 2M people. So you CAN do it industrially. Their quality isn't very consistent, though. Some batches are noticeably worse than others, while some are better than usually. --Khathi 08:35, 13 October 2007 (UTC)


 * It also takes longer to brew in the winter. It is mainly a summer drink, though you can now buy bottled stuff year-round, so I do think mention should be made. AllenHansen (talk) 13:54, 4 March 2008 (UTC)

WikiProject Food and drink Tagging
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Gira?
Can anybody add some text to explain what gira is and why the "gira" page redirects to this one? Rks13 (talk) 22:32, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Gira = kvass in Lithuania. See ausis.gf.vu and food-depot.us and gubernija.lt. --RossF18 (talk) 01:02, 3 January 2009 (UTC)

"leaven" = kvas
Reliable book sources say that the word root of kvass is the Russian word for leaven, or ferment. Yet, this fact was deleted from the article with the comment "leaven" is "zakvaska", not "kvas". I don't speak Russian, but it seems likely that kvass and zakvaska are of the same root. It may not be the literal modern word, but these words seem related and probably of Nordic origin, according to one source. Green Cardamom (talk) 02:34, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Once again, kvas does not mean leaven and never did, period. What you see in "reliable sources" is a dumb copycat from 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica, which authors confused the word квас with кваша, which is also not leaven per se, but a "starter": an appropriate substance with added leavening agent so that the fermenting process is already started. For example, when used in bread, it is small amount of flour mixed with warm water and leaven. In other words, lease don't confuse "printed books" with "reliable books". - Altenmann >t 05:28, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * As a general advice, please leave subtle etymological issues of foreign language to speakers of the language. A peculiarity of English wikipedia is that it has a wide variety of international community. - Altenmann >t 05:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Seems like you should be able to clear this 100 year long Encyclopedia Britannica confusion up by writing about it on Wikipedia. How about it, native speaker? Here's your chance to set to bed a long misunderstood problem by using the power of Wikipedia. Green Cardamom (talk) 01:36, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Varient names
The below section was deleted with the comment "not a dictionary"


 * Russian, Belarusian, Serbian and Ukrainian: квас (kvas);
 * Polish: kwas chlebowy (lit. "bread leaven"), kwas on its own means acid.
 * Latvian: kvass
 * Lithuanian: gira
 * Estonian: kali

Encyclopedia articles often contain information also contained in dictionaries, there is cross over. Given the limited number of countries which drink kvass (a well defined small list), and the variety of names used, I believe it is important that we incorporate this information into the article. Perhaps as a footnote to the opening bold name. In addition I think it's worth mentioning since there are (or should be) redirects for these name variants, so that readers know which language the redirect is for. Green Cardamom (talk) 02:40, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * We don't create redirects from foreign languages. Otherwise we would already have over 900 mln pages rather than meager 9 mln. :-) This is an English wikipedia. In English speech and texts the word gira is not used. - Altenmann >t 05:15, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * True, but we often include non-English versions of words. And there is no limit to the number of redirects, the only limit is if the redirect is correct or not, and if someone believes that is required. It's certainly possible that an English reader will come across gira, perhaps in an English translation of a Lithuania novel in which the translator kept the native word (as is often the case with kvass in English texts), and not knowing what it is, plug it into Wikipedia and see what comes up, in which case a redirect would be essential. Green Cardamom (talk) 01:40, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Mention of commercial Kvass brewers
There has been a very dedicated effort to remove mention of any commercial kvass brewers from the article. I believe this is a mistake. I do agree we need to watch out for commercial intention, but it would also be a disservice to the reader not to mention even a few of the largest or most important kvass brewers in Europe and North America. For example the article on beer would be useless if it didn't mention particular brand names of beer. I suggest we add mention of the largest and/or most important brewers of kvass into the article. Green Cardamom (talk) 03:21, 21 November 2009 (UTC)


 * As long it's cited information, i.e., you have sources for sales numbers and sources naming the largest/most important brewers, that wouldn't be a problem. However, without sales sources and sources naming a brewer the largest or most important brewer, we cannot ourselves make a conclusion about which brand is the largest or most important. Otherwise, no objections. --RossF18 (talk) 04:19, 21 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Well, all four points I made above (literature, commercial sellers, name variants, name meaning) were really addressed to user:Altenmann since he/she was the one who at various points in the past deleted the content from the article. I would be interested what Altenmann thinks about these four points, but he/she has chosen not to respond (other than to one about literature). Altenmann has edited this article since 2003. I basically disagree with Altenmann's deletions as explained in my posts above, but I don't have the time to get involved like Altenmann has, and don't want to get into edit disputes. Green Cardamom (talk) 04:27, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * "Chosen not to respond": I responded immediately to what you asked in my talk page. I have real life, you know, I have no time to immediately act on everything what pops up in my 9,000+ long watchlist. Please be more patient when waiting for answers. - Altenmann >t 05:24, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Please address each commercial brewer according to its merits. Wikipedia has nothing against businesses. We have not only mentionling, but full-blown articles about them. Wikipedia has two most basic rules for content: notability and verifiability. If you contest some deletion, please provide solid arguments about each separate item deleted, rather than "I disagree". - Altenmann >t 05:24, 22 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Amateur editors have made good faith efforts to include manufacturers in the past, but you deleted it outright with comments like "spam". As a veteran long term editor who has worked on this article for almost 6 years, you should be trying to improve the article, by building on what the amateurs try to include. This article is very incomplete without discussion of commercial brewers of kvass - not that others have tried. A good faith assumption is that the mentioned companies are indeed notable, and all it takes is a quick Google search to find some sources to verify and add a footnote - something only an experienced editor will do. And since you speak Russian, you are in a much better position to do this than anyone else. There might also be information on the Russian Wikipedia. Green Cardamom (talk) 01:55, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

References in Literature
Regarding this section:
 * In Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, monastery kvass is mentioned in the dinner scene as being famous throughout the neighborhood. In Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, kvass is made first thing on a holiday morning. In Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, kvass is mentioned early in the play, "Bring me some kvass, would you?" . In Ivan Goncharov's Oblomov, and in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, kvass is repeatedly mentioned. In Sholem Aleichem's Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son, diluted kvass is the focus of one of Motl's older brother's get rich quick schemes.

It is important to illustrate Kvass' importance in Russian culture. Also Russian literature is the one place most non-Russian's will be exposed to Kvass. Green Cardamom (talk) 01:51, 21 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Please read "In popular culture" articles. The main point is that any "cultural" references must match the general concept of "notability" in wikipedia. In this particular case, a particular factoid deserves to be mentioned if
 * it contributes to understanding of article topic (in this case a better solution would be to incorporate it into the main text of the aricle, but in case of underdeveloped articles it is tolerable to keep various facts in kind of "miscellanea" section, until a proper context emerges in the article)
 * It plays a notable role in the work of art/literature, not just mentioned in passing.

Therefore I am leaving only oe item of the above.
 * As I've seen somewhere some other wikipedian put it, we don't list all books where people eat in the article "spoon". - Altenmann >t 02:12, 22 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately there is no context, all you made is a meaningless list. We are supposed to write prose, not lists, and provide some meaning and context why it is important. I tried to do so, but you deleted it as "original research" - and maybe it was, a little bit (but not all), I had planned to improve some more over the next few days - so I pared it down to the above paragraph just to keep you happy for the short term - and then you deleted the entire thing! You act so quickly and aggressively I dare not even try to work on the article again. This article will continue to languish so long as it is so damn difficult to work on. Green Cardamom (talk) 02:00, 23 November 2009 (UTC)

Brottrunk-Bread drink
Hello, I think we can add Brottrunk or Bread drink as a similar drink that is produced in Germany. By far not as popular as Kvass and it relatively new to the market, with we compare, and not sold on the streets. Marie-Anne92.225.81.241 (talk) 08:47, 2 April 2010 (UTC)
 * If it's not Kvass, why would we include it on the Kvass page, aside from the fact that it's not popular enough for it's own page and you'd like to include it on a page that has nothing to do with it.--RossF18 (talk) 23:46, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Alcohol
Kvas is not an aclohol drink in Russia in terms of the law. But if you drink it and drive - it can be your problem. PavelSI (talk) 07:01, 5 February 2011 (UTC)

" Polish kwas; meaning "acid" in the 16th century" I don't exacly know how it is in other languages, but in present Polish 'kwas' means acid too ;) 78.88.250.68 (talk) 09:49, 1 July 2011 (UTC)

meaning "acid" in the 16th century (?)
Polish kwas; meaning "acid" in the 16th century

I do not understand this information. The drink in question in Polish is not called "kwas", but "kwas chlebowy". The word "kwas" alone means something else, namely "acid", and not (or not only) "in the 16th century", but now! And the difference between "kwas" and "kwas chlebowy" is kinda like between "water" and "royal water". In practice, when you go to a store and ask "kwas", you are not going to be understood, because the the people in the store won't know what "acid" (!) you are willing to buy. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.87.13.74 (talk) 12:30, 5 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Removed it, needs more clarification in another part of the article, if you'd like to help please share your knowledge. Green Cardamom (talk) 14:36, 5 July 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't get what clarification you need. See |en|kwas here and |en|kwas%20chlebowy here. "Polish kwas" is a nonsense too, as I already wrote: "kwas" means "acid". The drink being described in the article is not "kwas" (acid) but "kwas chlebowy" (kvass). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.87.13.74 (talk) 14:02, 6 July 2011 (UTC)
 * No I was just saying that what your saying is good and the article could use clarification on those points and since you know about it you would be good person to edit the article. Green Cardamom (talk) 15:31, 6 July 2011 (UTC)

Nikola does NOT mean "not cola"
I think there is wrong understanding of company name Nikola, which produces kvass, as "not cola".Nikola in Russian sounds as male name.It is similar to Nikolas.I think that this word sounds too far for Russian ear to understand it as "not cola". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.73.149.123 (talk) 04:06, 19 June 2009 (UTC)


 * It does sound a bit too far to be understood as "not Cola" as it is. But  producer goes to some length to put the message through, like they unmistakably rhyme Nikola and not Cola ("не кола" ne cola in russian) in their slogan.--Sascha. (talk) 09:02, 19 June 2009 (UTC)


 * That's the first time I've heard about "Никола" == "Не Кола". I'm the Muscovite but this association just never occurred to me. The rhyme is ok, but it's just rhyme - I think you're stretching it that they've deliberately named it after "Ne Cola" and not the Nikola as the Russian male name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.178.199.78 (talk) 15:05, 12 August 2009 (UTC)


 * The advertisement is trying to encourage people to drink kvas instead of cola and other soft drinks, because it's probably healthier to drink a fermented beverage than a few ounces of liquid sugar. The rhyme is there, but I think the point was misunderstood. Also, Nikola is a common name in Eastern/Southern Europe. 93.137.55.126 (talk) 19:34, 3 April 2012 (UTC)

The majority of kvas consuming countries spell the word with one s.
Not two. 76.120.17.197 (talk) 16:13, 28 June 2012 (UTC)


 * Going with most common English usage, per WP:MoS. kvas links here. Green Cardamom (talk) 19:05, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Kvas
I think that should be "kvas" with one "s". Check czech, polish and russian vesion of article. Asab —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.26.251.160 (talk) 21:10, 3 February 2008 (UTC)
 * I second this, I was actually directed here by an article stating Kvas — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mojosa (talk • contribs) 06:59, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

Kvass translation favoritism
Kvass is enjoyed in many countries and by people of many languages. Thus we created a sub-section where the many translations of the word kvass are listed. There are so many variations that it doesn't make sense to list them in the first sentence of the lead section, there are too many to cram into the first sentence. If you pick one language and favor it (eg. Russian), then someone else will add another one (eg. Belarus), then another one (eg. Polish) etc.. and the article becomes unreadable. It's been an ongoing problem with this article. The solution is list the variations in a separate section, alphabetically. It shows no favoritism. Green Cardamom (talk) 21:05, 11 May 2012 (UTC)
 * Support. The article's lead certainly reads as if it were a more contemporary Russian favourite adopted by other Eastern Slavic and exported to neighbouring ex-Soviet satellite states. It would make far more sense to rework the lead to incorporate the historical information. Perhaps I should be pro-active (read as ludicrous) by adding a Ukrainian section to the article. Wikipedia articles should impart information, not be constructed to vie for 'ownership' of an ancient fermented beverage by modern nation-states. --Iryna Harpy (talk) 22:04, 24 September 2013 (UTC)

Article rename?
According to our article, Bread kvass "is the most common type of kvass, so it is most commonly callsed [sic] simply "kvass"" .. then the article should be called "Kvass". The guidelines for article titles are based on what users expect to find when they look up Kvass. The article rename was done without discussion because it's not even clear we need a separate article, much less renaming this one to bread kvass. Kvass is kvass, the ingredients used in making it probably shouldn't necessitate a separate article. There's too much overlap and looks like a WP:CFORK confusing readers. -- Green  C  14:32, 18 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Agreed, this is very silly. Kvass is called "bread kvass" only in some countries, where the word kvass has a different meaning on its own (e.g. in Polish kwas meaning acid, whilst kwas chlebowy means kvass). As such, this is not a problem in English so the longer variant of the name has not entered common usage. The article should be renamed back to kvass. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 20:25, 18 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Ok, it looks like it was actually split into two separate articles... I am very confused as to what on earth Altenmann is thinking. I think the easiest way of handling this would be to delete the new Kvass article and rename the old article back to this name. But I don't want to upset this person so I hope he gets involved in this discussion. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 20:53, 18 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Right, I think Altenmann is trying to distinguish between two distinct types of kvass. However, this does not require two separate articles. The original article dealt with all types of kvass (various recipes, regional variants and the carbonated kvass-imitation drink sold in plastic bottles). I tried to move the original article back to its first name and renamed the new one to "Kvass (duplicate)", but for some reason it is still impossible to move the first article to its original name. I thought this was due to the redirect page, so I tried to move that temporarily to a new page, yet that didn't help either. I think I just made things worse... --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 21:17, 18 December 2014 (UTC)
 * The old article was 96% bread kvass. I started to write a generic article. Did you happen to read what I wrote? Did you see "under construction" template? -M.Altenmann >t 04:16, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * P.S. I do agree that may be in English kvass means "bread kvass" only. In this case please suggest better titles of the two articles. But do delete a new text in an uncivilized behavior, why nobody new wants to write wikipedia anymore, only various paid promo editors. -M.Altenmann >t 04:18, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * P.P.S. I suspended the development of the "generic" kvass article until we come to solution. From y'all side, I would kindly ask not to destroy new information I added by blank redirecting and other aggressive moves. -M.Altenmann >t 06:38, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * P.P.P.S. I slightly broke my promise: I could not help but add one cultural fact related to non-bread kvass (kiss my ass). I googled a bit and found a wealth of interesting information on the non-bread kvass subject. Shame on your know-it-all smartass laziness. -M.Altenmann >t 08:06, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * @ GreenC: commonly callsed [sic] simply "kvass"" : Yes, how wikipedian of you. Observant and friendly. Are you greeting newcomers too? As for the actual naming issue, an animal which we 99.9% call "wolf" is in the article titled grey wolf. -M.Altenmann >t 07:07, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

OK, how about a compromise solution: I will finish a careful split in my namespace and see it from there. -M.Altenmann >t 08:26, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * move Kvass-> user:Altenmann/Kvass
 * move Bread kvass to its original title, Kvass


 * Great, thanks. --  Green  C  14:07, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

Hi Altenmann, sorry for this misunderstanding (my messing about with redirect pages was in an attempt to rename the original page back to its name, but it did not help at all and I just made things worse). I do know about flavoured variants of kvass - I first heard of them a few years ago when looking at this website: http://www.kwaschlebowy.eu/en/products and tried them not long afterwards (they are very nice by the way, but I recommend that company's traditional kvass more as it tastes best... also, all of their stuff is the real deal unlike the soft drinks in plastic bottles that just use the same name). However, you cannot do something as drastic as splitting a page that so many people have worked on without consensus or at least some sort of discussion. Moreover, do you really feel that a variant of kvass deserves a whole new article? Wouldn't it be better to add a paragraph to the opening section, mentioning that there are some other less common versions of kvass as well? With a source, of course. What do you think? Once again, I apologise if my actions have upset you in any way. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 16:35, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Hi, Thanks. Still, your response shows how modern people are thoroughly confused about "kvass". I was not thinking about "flavoured variants of kvass". Hovey kvass, apple kvass etc. are not kwas chlebowy flavoured with honey or apple. A (generic) kvass is a product of fermentation, period. You don't need malt, yeast, etc. to make kvass. You you put apples in water for a while, and you get two great products: mochyonye yabloki (not the same as "pickled apples" google translate suggests) plus apple kvass, both great for hangover. :-). I.e. apple kvass is extremely mils apple cider; the only difference in alcohol content. Unfortunately this information is buried in the internet in huge ocean of what is bread kvass, i.e., kvass based on cereals. And I underestimated the speed with which I could have split the article. And hit by popculture dilettantisme dominating wikipedia. As you see, nobody even cares to discuss the subject in essence, doing little research, and happy with precious status quo of messy article, created by brainless mix of English and Slavic views on what kvass is. and yes I know that kwas in Polish is acid (bus some people know only lysergic acid, which is not called kwas, right?). -M.Altenmann >t 16:57, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Your point is that kvass can be made from more than just bread, is that correct? That is easily added to the article without a split, so long as we have sources to support it. I agree the article needs improvement but I think a split would cause more confusion. The key is sourcing. -- Green  C  18:01, 19 December 2014 (UTC)
 * All my article contributions are always 100% sourced. And my point is not my point; it is chaotically peppered all over the article, only nobody bothered to fix the intro. Anyway, I git an idea how to write a separate article without setting my ass into this surprize anthill. Good luck guarding your mess. -M.Altenmann >t 02:55, 20 December 2014 (UTC)

By the way, what the fuck with wikidata? I cannot set the English language in it to reconnect this kvass back into interwiki: I cannot read Chinese. -M.Altenmann >t 03:00, 20 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Fixed (on Polish). -- Green  C  03:11, 20 December 2014 (UTC)

Altenmann, now I understand the reasoning behind your edits. In all honesty, I admit that other types of kvass which aren't made from bread are completely alien to me. Of course, I know that fermenting various things can bring interesting results, but I didn't know that there were other types of kvass which weren't just flavoured bread kvass. As far as I'm aware, in Poland we have always had only kwas chlebowy (bread kvass), but I may be wrong as customs vary from region to region. In the present-day at least, the kvass we have in Polish stores is only bread kvass (or at least the vast majority of it is made using bread). Nevertheless, I would appreciate it if you could link us to some sources that talk about this as I've never heard of this before and can't find any sources for it. Moreover, the Russian, Polish and Ukrainian versions of this article all say the same as the English version in the opening section. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 23:46, 20 December 2014 (UTC)
 * Hi and . My apologies for not responding when the confusion was going down in this article, but I was stuck in so many edit wars in various articles that I didn't have a moment to spare.


 * I'll take a look around for information on Ukrainian (single 's') kvas and see whether I can develop the content a little more. Personally, I've only had experience in making my own bread kvass (as well as making beetroot kvas a few times), and I'm not familiar with the other fruit and other variants. I'll make a note to myself to scour Ukrainian websites for more information (hopefully for Belarusian info, also). It's not high on my priority list, but I'll try to accumulate a few refs so as to round out the article. Cheers! --Iryna Harpy (talk) 03:07, 23 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Cheers! It would be great to have a Ukrainian part of the article along with the Polish and Russian ones. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 21:35, 23 March 2015 (UTC)

Spelling
Should be "kvas". One s. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.212.138.162 (talk) 02:08, 10 April 2015 (UTC)
 * This is what it's like in many languages, but in English the Latvian spelling is the most popular. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 19:50, 11 April 2015 (UTC)

Add other links?
I suggest adding these similar world drinks:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barley_water

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugicha

Nope. This would be simply wrong. Kvass is fermented beverage, while these two are not. --Khathi (talk) 11:06, 28 January 2008 (UTC)

What about adding a reference to chhaang?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhaang

This is fermented, though perhaps not lacto-fermented as the list at end seems to require.

2.132.178.242 (talk) 09:07, 13 September 2015 (UTC)

Factual error in the article
> Although the introduction of western soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi had reduced the commercial sale of kvass in Russia,
 * Kvass was sold commercially after cola as a soft drink was inctroduced to Russian market (e.q. 1985+; during Perestroika and later) mostly as glass-canned ferments concentrate for home cooking. Sometimes by the glass in the streets. After soft drinks in plastic bottles where introduced to the market, street-selling of the drink diminished (mostly for hygiene reasons), but bottled and canned sales of drink-ready product increased total sales dramatically. Although some people are trying to advertise their products as patriotic alternative for whatever, rarely people think, that cola is in the same class as Kvass. It`s like comparing tea and coffee or guitar and fiddle. It`s different classes of drinks - "something you can cook at home without much trouble with widely known recipe" and "something manufactured from mystery-chems". And industrial Kvass is not so far from the original, not like industrial tea (is it tea at all?).
 * Also there is a strong opinion, that cola is brown to mimic traditional Kvass. And official explanation "to hide imperfections" seems pretty weak to me, as long as cola was not sold as a cure for 	sense of sight. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.140.155.10 (talk) 13:10, 22 February 2016 (UTC)

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Spelling (2017 discussion)
It is spelled kvass in Oxford Dictionary and in Webster. I think these sources are more authoritative than "Dictionary of Beer and Brewing by Dan Rabin and Carl Forget". So this edit must be reverted. --Off-shell (talk) 14:50, 4 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Gostevid, as much as I personally would like it to be just "kvas" in English (in my language it is "kwas" and in almost all others it is basically the same but sometimes spelled "kvas", pronounced identically), I think "kvass" has indeed become more common in English. Moreover, I have to agree with Off-shell that the sources he provided are much more authoritative, especially for English Wikipedia. I won't revert the move or all the edits related to it (spelling changes in the article, messing around with redirects, etc.) because I don't want to start an edit war - plus, like I said, I would prefer if it was known as kvas in English too. Hopefully you will understand and do this yourself, unless you have other sources that are better. Thanks. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 17:01, 4 March 2017 (UTC)


 * Samotny Wędrowiec, I can't argue with Oxford here. My bad.

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Serbia is North Slavic?
I dont think so, but i leave it up for a debate here. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.8.154.211 (talk) 22:37, 27 December 2017 (UTC)

Spelling&misc
It's spelled 'kwass' a few times in the new edition (isn't necessarily wrong, just different). Please fix the inconsistency. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mzabaluev (talk • contribs) 17:09, 4 June 2004 (UTC)
 * Please take a look at Be bold.  Mikkalai 18:58, 4 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Kvasir reference: Delete maybe? Irrelevant methinks. elpincha 19:42, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)
 * Let it sit for a while. Could be etymology. I will check. Mikkalai 19:52, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Kvass is not just fermented bread
This wiki is focussed on bread kvass, but this is only a part of the 'kvass family'. There are many malt and fruit/vegetable kvass recipes that don't even use bread. I think that this should be mentioned somewhere, probably at the beginning? See the russian text for inspiration. Synethos (talk) 14:35, 8 December 2020 (UTC)

What does it taste like?

 * 92.24.207.218 (talk) 04:01, 26 September 2021 (UTC)
 * Most basic versions have a sweet, rye-bread-like taste. But you can get flavoured versions with touch of honey, fruit, nuts, etc. I think kvass is a love it or hate it kind of thing due to how unique it is (I'm in the "love it" camp). If you have not tried it before, I recommend finding a proper brand that comes in glass. The ones sold in plastic bottles are usually just kvass-like imitation soft drinks – even more sugar, but way less of the rich flavour and more unhealthy. In the West it can be difficult to find a glass-bottled version, but in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, the Baltic countries, Russia, etc. it's easier; in parts of Eastern Europe in general you can find vehicles distributing the kvass too. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 12:38, 30 September 2021 (UTC)

Cultural references: Polish poem -- wrong translation
Polish za pazuchę is not "under the armpit" (putting something which is supposed to be eaten later under the armpit would be considered disgusting in Poland), it is "in the bosom". Armpit in Polish is not Pazucha but Pacha. Example: ''Malarz przyglądał się memu pisaniu z pewnym zdziwieniem, a potem włożył zapieczętowany list za pazuchę. The painter watched the entire process with some curiosity, and then put the sealed letter in his bosom.'' (app.glosbe.com/tmem/show?id=-8268474606249297951) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.75.48.12 (talk) 21:58, 8 December 2021 (UTC)
 * It is most likely the correct translation actually, look at the second (dialectal) definition here. The first definition that you refer to is considered obsolete. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 13:02, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

Make kvass... Polish "again"?
I highly doubt the prank of shaking the carbonated beverage and having an unsuspecting person open it is a "customary game" unique to Zaława or even Poland, or that it is a noteworthy addition as a "cultural reference". I also don't see the significance of having a self-translation of some Polish song in the section as most if not all countries with significant kvass making and drinking traditions have songs like that. It is also unclear whether your addition about kvass being "known among the Early Slavs since the 10th century" is new information or just a rehashed overgeneralization of the Kievan Rus chronicles as a way for the Polish to try and stake their claim of the beverage, but referring to the Polish government on that seems a bit like referring to the Russian government on borscht.

What you wrote about Kievan Rus under the section "Belarus, Russia, Ukraine" (the merger of which is questionable in itself) is problematic for a number of reasons. As the, Kievan Rus didn't only cover parts of modern-day Russia, Ukraine and Belarus and kvass in Kievan Rus is already described. Also, kvass couldn't have become "a national beverage of Russia and Ukraine in the 16th century", because there were no such countries back then. There is a good reason a clear separation exists between kvass in the multinational Kievan Rus and Russian Empire and the modern-day countries that fully or partially came out of them. –Turaids (talk) 12:39, 27 May 2022 (UTC)

^I believe what you meant to say was: Make kvass... Latvian "again"? or, more accurately, ''Make kvass... anything but Slavic "again"!'' -Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 12:59, 27 May 2022 (UTC)


 * I would be surprised if it was unique to that part of Poland too, but an ethnographic source from an established institution (your personal views about Poland aside, I'm not a fan of the Polish government either) is more than good enough. If you find other similar customs described by equally worthy sources then feel free to include that in the appropriate section of the article. As for the song - it is literally a cultural reference, I fail to see what your issue with it is besides your obvious dislike of Slavs. I'm not sure what we ever did to hurt you, but I assure you that not all Slavs act like they own the Baltic countries (I know a small and loud minority do). It would be nice to not be treated in a prejudiced manner based on my ethnicity alone.


 * What on Earth are you on about with regards to the "Polish to try and stake their claim of the beverage"? How am I or any other person aiming to achieve that by using Polish sources which attribute the invention of the drink to the Kievan Rus' (ancestral state to Russia and Ukraine, to a lesser extent Belarus as well though it is a descendant of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania too)? It would be like arguing that the Germans invented kaiser rolls while using a source that says they come from Austria... Slavs aren't all the same nation or people, just as Germanic nations aren't all one nation.


 * Obviously, there were no such countries as Russia nor Ukraine in the 16th century - just as there was no Latvia, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, etc. These present-day states can, more or less accurately, claim to have historical continuity with kingdoms and duchies of the past but they are not the same realms. This is an obvious simplification on the writer's part, referring to peoples who would later be classed as the Russian and Ukrainian nations. It is not our place to modify text from sources. Nevertheless, it is obvious that Russia and Ukraine are the two primary countries that claim to be the continuation of the Kievan Rus'. In many ways they have the most right to that claim, though in truth it is neither who are the true continuation as well as both depending on the context.


 * Anyway, I don't understand what is your issue with Slavs and your blatant POV-pushing of Latvian nationalism in the article. All the earliest sources even mentioning kvass are from or about the Rus'. Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Sweden or almost any other country cannot "stake their claim" on kvass because they have no claim as clearly it was not invented there. All the reliable sources point to the Kievan Rus' and Early Slavs (particularly Northeast Slavs). I have never even heard anyone dispute this until you showed up and started vandalising the article. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 12:59, 27 May 2022 (UTC)


 * Turaids, I am going to add that your little snarky racist comments in the edit summaries of the article will NOT be tolerated. The reason why I am adding information about kvass in Poland is because this is my native tongue and I am knowledgeable enough in the subject. If I knew Latvian then I'd love to expand the Latvia section of this article too (right now it has very little information about the history of kvass in Latvia, which is a shame as this would be fascinating to read). Unlike you, I have no ulterior motive here and simply want to share information about things that are not as well known in the West. Cease your insinuations and disruptive editing or I will be forced to report your behaviour. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 13:36, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Accusing other editors of making 'racist comments' will not be tolerated either. Stop the personal attacks. MrOllie (talk) 13:40, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Get acquainted with this user's edit history before you jump to conclusions... --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 13:46, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * What they may or may not have done doesn't excuse what you wrote here. MrOllie (talk) 15:46, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I believe that if someone feels they may have been treated unfairly due to their ethnicity then they have the right to accuse the offender of racism. Is that a controversial take? Whether you believe the accusations or side with the accused is entirely up to you. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 15:58, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * Maybe you should learn the definition of a racist and a nationalist before accusing somebody of being one. Your hysterical reaction is disproportional to anything I said that might have upset you. All I care about is your quality of edits. If you're incompetent and stubborn to the point where I constantly have to clean up after you and repeatedly try to convince you that you cannot use this or this as a reference for historic facts then expect some "snarky" comments. –Turaids (talk) 17:37, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * You have insulted me for the last time. And yes - you are, in fact, a racist. However, I have absolutely nothing against Latvians or any other ethnic group on our planet, so I will not stoop down to your level or reciprocate your offensive personal attacks. Goodbye. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 21:47, 27 May 2022 (UTC)
 * You can play the victim card all you want, but your incompetence and stubbornness has nothing to do with you being Polish. And you already steeped so low that a third party had to intervene and warn you to watch your language. –Turaids (talk) 01:48, 28 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I do not understand what you hope to gain from further insults. You have offended me numerous times now and put me in a bad mood for the night, so if that was your goal then I hope you are happy. In any case, it is quite cruel... Continuing this conversation here is pointless. Goodnight. --Samotny Wędrowiec (talk) 02:17, 28 May 2022 (UTC)
 * A good start would be acknowledging that the just because you feel offended or insulted does not make you any more right and that you cannot just run around and call everyone racist or nationalist simply because they are critical of what you do. Food articles is one of my interests, so I've ran into quite a few people like you and you'd be surprised at how quickly they go from claiming to be victims of racism/nationalism to bringing up your own race/nationality. Once, for example, I similarly objected to Thais insistently claiming ownership of a common Southeast Asian dish without any reliable references and was berated as a "Khmer nationalist (Pretending to be Latvian)". –Turaids (talk) 11:50, 28 May 2022 (UTC)
 * I am not expert on kvass, however, the second paragraph of the lead suggest that kvass is "popular" in Poland and Finland. Whilst it has been a part of Polish (and perhaps Finnish) culinary tradition without a single doubt, I do not see how it can be described as "popular". Its consumption in these two countries is not high and hasn't been since the 20th century. Moreover, kvass only has seen a resurgence after Ukrainian migration into Poland in recent years (this can also apply to the korovai). From observation, it isn't that easily available in [most] stores. Shouldn't the sentence be rephrased into "and to a lesser extent in Poland and Finland"? Merangs (talk) 11:54, 28 May 2022 (UTC)
 * The most objective indicator of how popular kvass is in certain countries would probably be the consumption per capita, but I'm not sure such data is easily available. Garshol makes no mention of Poland in his chapter about kvass, except that it is sometimes called kisiel in Polish, but he dedicates a whole paragraph to Finland and writes that "Today, this drink is generally known as kotikalja (lit. “home kalja”) and is very common".. –Turaids (talk) 13:41, 28 May 2022 (UTC)

Consistency in naming
Wikipedia uses "Vladimir the Great" as its spelling convention. In this article, the reader is confused by first reating about kvass in the time of "Vladimir the Great" (linked to the main Vladimir the Great article) and then, as opposed to custom, the next time the Czar is mentioned, he is Vooldymyr the Great - and then the reader is re-sent to the Vladimir the Great page (it sho really should have just one link, indicating that the person has already been covered in the article's link above). El Cubedo (talk) 18:23, 31 July 2023 (UTC)