1st time mead-maker w/ sulfer smell

mr_y82 · 09-05-2011, 10:47 PM

I was hoping you guys had some insights/advice on this situation... I am not sure how concerning it is. My mead, now 8 days old, has a light sulfur aroma. It started at 1.080, and is at 1.002 today... I did taste it (didn't drink it), and found it to be surprisingly pleasant, but there is a sulfur smell. I have read that red star cote des blancs is associated with some sulfur smells, but I am a little concerned because I put an air lock on it as soon as I pitched the yeast. I shook the hell out of it before hand (several times) and added plenty of nutrient... anyway, as a newb, I have some questions:

1) is it a bad idea to use an airlock in primary???... as I have read it seems like it needs the air during primary... is this correct???

2) what steps, if any, should I take to rectify this smell (should I rack it back and forth between 2 jugs a few times splashing it around as I do, to aerate it???

...or will that only work before the fermentation has slowed ... mine does not have far to go... 1.080 to 1.002 in 8 days). I noticed a slight sulfur odor a couple days in, but thought it was normal...

3) will h2s ruin a batch in the sense that is is unsafe to drink, or just unappealing???

4) also... when is it "safe" to start drinking the waste from hydrometer readings (as I understand, immature mead will make one sick)???

5) what to use in airlock... water, vodka, something else???

please tell me how to avoid this issue in the future, or point me in the right direction...

more info on batch:

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr_y82

Good deal.. I was getting nervous... brewing my first batch of mead (1 gallon) and the air lock is going nuts, but no foam like all my beers... I had some unfiltered honey in this, but mostly filtered..., saving 12 nice pounds of unfiltered for a full size batch after I get the hang of mead... Don't guess that should take too long after 20 batches of brew!

Here's what I used... I kept it simple... correct me if wrong, I'm still learning..

3.5qts well water

2lb sourwood/wildflower/random local honey mix

1/8 palisade hops (left over from brew... I have some heather tips for a full size batch... any advice on herbal additives? I bought Stephen Buhner's book on sacred and healing beers, with the psychotropic ones too of course... looking forward to experimenting with beer, mead, and wine)

1pack (5g) Cote des Blancs (dry wine yeast)

1tbs yeast nutrient (accidentally added tbs, directions say tsp... oops. guess the extra will settle out.)
simmered but not fully boiled for maybe 30 minutes... only had to skim a little, skimmed most hops out between 5-15 minutes into the boil... then added yeast nutrient. racked, aerated, left overnight, gave it another good shake, pitched yeast @ 80 degrees F, swirled it in a little and left it. Got active pretty quick (just pitched yeast this morning and now the airlock is bubbling along like it would with any good brew).

OG 1.080 (11%)

hoping to age it to a slightly dry, but with a touch of sweetness... I went easy on the honey because I wanted a little quicker reward with my first batch... I have stockpiled quite a bit of homebrew to hold me over!

mr_y82 · 09-06-2011, 02:22 AM

oops... silly typo in title (someone feel free to fix it!!!).

another question; at what point should I rack to secondary in the future??? when fermentation is very slow, or when the gravity is a little higher (say 1.020)??? should I go ahead and rack this one to secondary even though it's only been 8 days, since the SG is 1.002???

extra info: 80F pitch, 76F ferment (should I try to get it a little cooler???)

**fatbloke** · 09-06-2011, 06:04 AM

Well sulphur smells are usually associated with stressed yeast - especially with nutrient hog yeasts (and no I can't say about the one you've used - redstar isn't available here).

I would boil a teaspoon or 2 of bread yeast in a 100 mls of water (bring to boil and simmer for 5 or 10 mins). Once its cooled, I'd stir it in well, then give it a couple of days to see if the sulphur smell has gone.....

commonsenseman · 09-06-2011, 02:04 PM

You've done just fine so far.

I betcha in a few months of aging, you won't smell sulfur anymore.

I use starsan in my airlocks, but a lot of people use vodka. Don't use anything you wouldn't want to get sucked back in.

I transfer to secondary when it's reached (or nearly reached) the FG. Then rack/top-up every time there's a fair amount of trub on the bottom.

4) Not true, drink it whenever you want to. I drink all my hydro samples.

mr_y82 · 09-06-2011, 06:21 PM

^d*mn... wish I had not poured that golden liquid down my drain... I always drink my beer along the way... Thanks for the info both of you!

fatbloke, I may wait a little while (rack to secondary tonight) and see if it goes away... otherwise I will try your method!

I've always used water in my airlocks for beer... never had an infection... guess I should switch to vodka!!

should I avoid using an airlock right away in the future and just keep it covered? if so, at what point do I add an airlock? after a few days when fermentation slows?

anyone want to tackle those other questions I asked? specifically is h2s "dangerous" in the sense that it is unsafe to drink mead/wine that produced it, or is it just unappealing?

I plan on reading the entire FAQ (thanks hightest) tonight... then I can see if I still have questions... I am sure I will think of some as I get into MEADHING!!

this looks like a good resource too: http://www.utahpagans.org/MeadLecture.htm

MedsenFey · 09-06-2011, 06:53 PM

H2S is not dangerous but it can really ruin your mead. Sulfur compounds, if left alone, my convert into form that are more difficult to remove (disulfides). This batch probably isn't quite done, as it should finish with a gravity below 1.000. A good splash racking and treatment with 1 grams of yeast hulls (or the boiled yeast the FatBloke mentions) might help to clear it up. If it is still stinky when fermentation completes, you may want to treat with copper.

To prevent the sulfur in the future you should consider a few things including, keeping the fermentation temp down for Cote des Blancs (preferably below 70 F), and providing a yeast energizer (tan powder) in addition to yeast nutrient (DAP - white crystals). The autolyzed yeast in the energizer provide micronutrients such as pyridoxine and pantothenate that are needed to prevent H2S production.

Usually we suggest keeping mead under airlock after the 1/3 fermentation point. Prior to that the yeast do need exposure to oxygen in order to grow properly.

**fatbloke** · 09-06-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MedsenFey

-----%<----- (or the boiled yeast the FatBloke mentions)-----%<-----

Ha ha! If I could get yeast hulls, then I'd use them Medsen, except they're like rocking horse turds over here (a bit like DAP, FermaidK, GoFerm, etc etc etc)....

CreamyGoodness · 09-06-2011, 08:51 PM

Rhino farts? Rocking Horse turds? When did this hobby get so frightening? ;-)

mr_y82 · 09-07-2011, 03:27 AM

^hehe... I didn't realize when I started!

medsen, fatbloke... I took your advice... being naturally inclined to getting ahead of myself (maybe doing anything yet was getting ahead..?) I didn't let the boiled bread yeast (no hulls on hand) cool as much as I should have, so I compounded the mistake by topping with nice cool non-sterilized well water... I guess I figured if 4 gallons of the stuff doesn't hurt my homebrew, surely the mead can handle it... I hope I don't regret it, but I guess I'll relax and have a homebrew (as Papazian would suggest...)... the new belgian pale ale turned out nicely anyway! I did sit the mead jug in the sink with some cool water to bring the temp down... was at 77... had the air off due to some mouse invaders...

medsen... I have been reading a lot SINCE I started my first batch... so I see how spot on all your suggestions are and I plan on heeding the advice when I start my 1 gallon sourwood soon.

Is it okay for me to use my carboys for the primary, will it get enough O2??? I prefer not to put it in plastic... but I really don't want to FUBAR my big orange blossom batch, so I'd like to feel confident about it.

What yeast (if any) work fairly ideally at 72-74F??? 71B, 1116??? I might have trouble finding a cooler spot.

I guess after brewing for almost a decade, off and on, I should just relax and let it be... I've probably made bigger mistakes... well, I did stand in a 5 gallon wave of pungent wheat beer in my dad's cellar as my carboy slipped out of my fingers and hit the concrete blocks below... just a couple inch drop was PLENTY... I can barely drink wheat beer to this day... :P... it was putrid as it rotted, can't clean out all crevices in that porous concrete...(but the cellar might be good for the mead...).

**huesmann** · 09-07-2011, 12:22 PM

73ºF is about 23ºC. According to the Lalvin website all of their yeasts except the D-47 work at that temperature.