This opaque white beer stood out clearly as the weirdest beer among the other normal beers at the cafe in my hotel in Beijing. The label in Chinese says 奶啤酒 (nai pi jiu), literally translated as “milk beer.” It smells like sweet cream, and tastes a lot like the frosting I had on my last birthday cake. It tastes a bit like cream soda, but not quite as sweet. (more…)
Bottle of Nikola Kvas
Russian Kvas is really a strange drink, at least from a categorization standpoint. Looking at the bottle, it looks like any other soda or soft drink (aside from the Russian writing). It is carbonated, but that’s because it’s fermented like beer.
Translated from the Cyrillic квас, known in English as kvass, kvas, or sometimes bread drink, kvas is made of rye bread and fermented to make a slightly alcoholic beverage. The alcohol content is so low that it’s considered safe for children to drink. (more…)