Russian cuisine results in a beverage with very low alcohol content. Commercial kvass is often around 0.5% alcohol. The fermented liquid, referred to as "zator," is diluted with water and mixed with yeast, sugar, and aromatic additives. This final mixture is allowed to brew for several days. Flavor additives may include fruit and berry juices (cherry, raspberry, lemon, etc.), as well as ginger and mint. Sbiten, another non-alcoholic drink, is made of honey, water, fruit juices, and spices. Sbiten was once the most popular non-alcoholic beverage in the country, but in the last few centuries it has been superseded and largely replaced
Drink to Ninkasi", a prayer to the Mesopotamian goddess of beer, served as both a prayer and as a method of remembering the recipe for beer in a culture with few literate people. Today, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. Cider is a fermented alcoholic drink made from fruit juice, most commonly and traditionally apple juice, but also the juice of peaches, pears ("Perry" cider) or other fruit. Cider may be made from any variety of apple, but certain cultivars grown solely