Smelly Brew

Ben · Post by **Ben** » Thursday Jan 20, 2005 10:10 am

Hi all, Great forum. I am new to the home brew thing and have just opened my first brew last night, which tasted good, very is encouraging. My question relates to my second brew which has been down about 2 days and is Cascade Indian Pale Ale, it seems to be bubbling along fine, however it doesn't smell the best. It smells a bit like beer combine with a little bit of fart gas - I am concerned that maybe it has picked up an infection somewhere along the line or something. I did take a lot of care cleaning and sanitising but I think the problem may have occured during the lengthy period (about two hours) I had to wait for the brew to get below 30 degrees before putting the yeast; despite putting in nearly three litres of water it wouldn't cool down. I will have more cold water on hand next time!!!
Anyway is bad smell a bad sign?

longlux · Post by **longlux** » Thursday Jan 20, 2005 11:21 am

Huh? cool down never had that one

I just put in the 2ltrs boiling water then top up to 22ltrs with water straight from the tap as per directions then dump the yeast straight in

Post by **Oliver** » Thursday Jan 20, 2005 11:58 am

Ben,

I think you'll be fine. Some yeasts do give off funny smells as they ferment.

Some beer even tastes pretty dodgy at the time of bottling and after a couple of weeks in the bottle. If this happens, leave it for a while (at least eight week) and you might end up with an absolute winner.

Cheers,

Oliver

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thursday Jan 20, 2005 12:15 pm

i had the same smell you describe when i did a cascade pale ale.. i'm told the smell was caused by autolysis (i havent confirmed this tho), due to the brewing temp.. anyways as Oliver has said the smell has subsided after 7 weeks in the bottle.. there's still a faint odour to it but otherwise it's a nice drop.. gonna def. try the same brew again once it gets abit cooler

db

Damo · Post by **Damo** » Friday Jan 21, 2005 12:00 am

Dont worry about it Ben, as long as you keep the lid on your fermentor while it is cooling down all will be well.
Try sticking the fermentor in the laundry sink full of water and ice to cool it rapidly.

ben · Post by **ben** » Friday Jan 21, 2005 11:26 am

thanks for your replies guys. Don't think it as smelly today. So I'll persevere!!

Evo · Post by **Evo** » Friday Jan 21, 2005 5:07 pm

Yeah I had a similar experience with the yeast - Cascade Bohemian. It gives off that lovely sulphur smell even when brewing at 22 degrees.

That said I got a top beer from it (after I lagered it for a coupla weeks) and if you haven't got a dog you get the added advantage of blaming it on the beer you are brewing