This sort of story
http://www.balticsworldwide.com/coke.htm brings a tear to my eye. Baltic peasants causing Coca-Cola to list a loss by bringing back mass-produced kvas.
The involves getting stale brown bread (like Estonian Sweet and Sour) and baking it until it is hard. You then grind it up, mix it with water and sugar (probably beet sugar) then ferment it in bottles (with baking yeast). After x days, the bottles are opened, strained of the bread crumbs, primed with sultanas then rebottled and sealed again.
I'm not sure what's involved in making the street kvas that the article above mentions.
And stu, yes
I reckon Lithuania is to Eastern Europe what Australia is to the rest of the world - a small country that excels in whatever it attempts (well, that is if all it attempts is basketball).
EDIT: JM, and anyone else who might be interested, here's a modern recipe for kvas.
'With eight quarts water take 1 1/2 lb. malt, 1 lb. rye flour, 1 1/2 lb.
sugar, 1/8 of a lb. mint leaves, half pepper pod, and half cake of
yeast. Mix the malt and flour with boiling water and make a thick dough.
Put into barely warm oven, and leave for the night. Next day dilute
dough with eight quarts boiling water and pour into a wooden tub. Let
stand for 12 hours, then pass through a cloth. Pour one quart into an
enamel saucepan, put on fire, add 1 1/2 lb. sugar, and an infusion made
with the mint leaves (resembling weak tea). Boil once, then take off
fire, cool until just warm, and add the yeast previously diluted with
one cup of this same warm liquid. Let stand in warm place until it
begins to ferment; then pour it into the rest of the kvass in the wooden
tub, and let stand until bubbles appear. Prepare clean bottles, putting
one malaga raisin into each; pour in the kvass, cork the bottles, tie
the corks with string to the necks of the bottles, and keep in a warm
place for a day or two. Then put in a cold cellar.' --- R.C.B."
Looks like a basic mash and ferment. There are many recipes for a "soft" version - ie drink it one day old, but they'd be of little interest to this group