ludi wrote:whm1974 wrote:just brew it! wrote:Taste is subjective. I don't know how you expect someone else to tell you how much will taste good to you.
I was just wondering if anyone else tried it before.
I have used mollases for home-brew rootbeer, and a little bit goes a loooonnnnggg way...once you get it fully dissolved, which takes some doing. It has a powerful flavor and may taste slightly sharp or metallic if you add too much.
I've had similar experiences using it as an ingredient in beer (the alcoholic kind, not root beer). While it does not add sweetness in that case since all of the sugars ferment, it can add a metallic "twang". It's a fine line between getting a light "rummy" character (which is what you're typically after) and avoiding the metallic note.
At the end of the day, molasses is a concentrate of all the impurities and trace minerals that are removed from sugarcane when it is refined to make white sugar. So it is not surprising that it has a strong, "minerally" flavor.
Rather than guess, just start with a full glass of whatever you're trying to sweeten, and add molasses 1/8 tsp at a time (making sure to dissolve thoroughly after each dose), until you reach the level of sweetness you want or the molasses character starts to become too strong for your tastes. Keep track of how many doses you add, and then you'll know exactly how much to use next time.