A flavorless, odorless and colorless malt base is produced by preheating a malt base derived from malt grains in aqueous solution in the presence of an activated charcoal absorbent to remove proteins from the mixture before or after fermenting the mixture in the presence of a yeast to convert carbohydrates to ethyl alcohol. The yeast and activated carbon are then removed and the fermented intermediate beer is subjected to treatment in series with an anion exchange resin, a cation exchange resin and an adsorption resin to remove undesired colors, odors and/or flavors. The resulting flavorless malt base can be used to formulate flavored malt beverages.