How to increase sweetness without adding body?

Most methods, like increasing mash temperature, adding oat flakes, or using lactose, increase body even more than sweetness. Are there any methods to increase sweetness only, without affecting body?

I want to achieve bittersweet session beer, so cutting on hops is not an option. I would prefer to avoid artificial sweeteners, if possible. What are my options?

Topic sweetness recipe-formulation beer homebrew

Category Mac

1
answered at

You've covered most the bases so without going into too much "why" here are some suggestions.

The Why The key to light body sweetness are simple sugars (monosaccharides) but these are the easiest for yeast to eat. Larger molecule, harder to ferment sugars impart a cloying body and a slick mouthfeel.

Suggestions

  • Underattenuation.
    1. Stop fermentation early. (many methods here, or google)
    2. Use a low ABV tollerant yeast. This may not be possible at session strength
  • Natural Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni). I'm seeing this more and more in commercial beer and ciders. I'm eager to work with this 'new' ingredient. Stevia plants can be bought at home and garden stores. Or there are several processes sweeteners on the market using Stevia.
  • Parti-Gyle wort. In my experience this second runnings wort is a very 'clean' not to be confused with 'thin'. Having less large protiens that build body. Depending on the mother mash this can be a very light body base for unfermentable adjuncts.
1
answered at

Try adding a little bit of salt. Not enough to make it noticeably salty, just enough to change the flavour slightly, it can be perceived as sweetness (it may vary from person to person so not a great option for competition brewing). You can try this with a glass of ready to drink beer so the effort is pretty minimal.

1
answered at

Use a lower attenuating yeast would be my first suggestion; leaving more sugar for you to taste. What yeast are you currently brewing with?

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