Untreated:
appearance: a hazy pink that has a very white head. There is almost an orange hue to the pink
nose: A very light scent of wheat with undertones of cherry
flavor: very light in flavor, a slight hop bitterness slips into a dry finish of wheat and cherry.
mouth feel: nice and balanced with a light body, the head does leave quickly but the carbonation is medium
overall: very pleasant summer beer. The balance of the wheat and cherry works really well and the dry finish. 7.5/ 10
treated:
appearance: the head stays around longer than the untreated beer. Color is identical
nose: Very similar to the untreated beer, but a very very slight chemical scent is at the end of the nose
Flavor: that’s definitely sweeter than the untreated. The white sugar sweetness removes the dryness from this beer completely. The wheat character is also faded. The Cherry perception is increased.
mouthfeel: a rounder body with that chemical taste that is nearly undetectable. Medium bodied and the carbonation seems higher.
overall: This worked better than I thought it would, the white sugar and the slight chemical flavor really brought out the carbonation and the cherry flavor. Next time I will use a different sweetener and less chemicals, but this was a worthwhile endeavor. This opens up very many possibilities!!!!
This process definitely worked, but it needs a lot of tinkering to make beer that is truly outstanding. Luckily, I learned a whole lot about this process on my recent visit to Sam Adams. The end product I am hoping to make is a fruit beer that actually tastes sweet enough to be considered a dessert beer, but one that tastes very similar to the fruit used. This could also really help in my cider, which I have yet to be fully satisfied. Much more to come.
what was the real purpose of this experiment? prevent oxidation or to see if preservatives can be used without altering the taste?
hey David, sorry for the delayed response. I was exploring Belgium! The point of this is to make a sweet desert beer that doesn’t have any chemical flavor and to have complete control over the level of sweetness in the beer. Cheers!