Hi all,
Sorry to be perceived as beating as dead horse... I brew very dry IPAs and DIPAs. I have Pliny (Elder) clones finishing at 1.008 to 1.009, and I have always perceived a touch of sweetness that I do not perceive in other beers. Because Pliny calls for a Caramel malt (using Caraamber because it is what I get in Munich), I forced myself to keep my mouth shut about this sensation, thinking that this perceived sweetness should be from the Caraamber. And before, you say "oxidation", I bottle condition (or keg condition) IPAs and the only transfer I do, is before fermentation is completely done, so any oxygen during the transfer is theoretically absorbed by the yeast.
So, after a visit to Austin, Texas, I decided to clone Noble King, a dry hopped sour, bought a bottle, grew the culture, Fermented it for two weeks to 1.003, and dry hopped with 75g of Mittelfrüh and 75g of Mandarina Bavaria (whole hops) for a 21 liter volume. (I tasted the beer before dry-hopping and noted no sweetness at all.). Finished dry hopping and keg most of the beer with sugar at 5g/L and left it conditioning for 3 months at about 20 Celsius (68F). Chilled the keg two days ago, tapped today, and tasted the beer. It is very good, lemony sour, bretty aromas, dry hop spicy flavors, and SWEETNESS. The sweetness cannot be described as malty, it is very simple, like splenda/ stevia (no sugar coating). So, I checked for gravity to ensure the sugar added for carbonation was consumed, and the beer (degassed) was at 1.002. The important point to keep in mind, is that we are talking about a truckload of dry-hops, so please only comment if you have experience with the "truckload model". So, as Sherlock use to say, "Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth."
Now your turn to shoot me down :-)