Disturbing smell

Evening everyone

just came in from a night at the local ale house and checked on the brews i have going at the moment.

one is a Becks clone and the other is Edworts Apfelwein.

they were both brewed yesterday, but the airlock bubbles are the stuff of nightmares !

Apfelwein seems ok... very sweet.... just as it went into the carboy.
but Becks smells something similar to what you might expect from rotting cabbage ... or that of a corpse

ingredients
made to 23 L

3L extract lager
12g Hallertau
Saflager S23 yeast

OG 1.041

the extract can did have some funky lumpy stuff at the top under the lid but seemed normal under that... do extract cans have a use by date???? didnt check it before discarding.... and have not used this brand before.....


sorry for the noobie questions

cheers

Chris

(Woody)

Are you sniffing the airlocks? Are you sure it's the becks that stinks and not the apfelwien? Many times apfelwein fermentation sticks to high heaven..haven't you noticed the references throughout the thread to "Rhino Farts?"

Either way, fermentation is often ugly, and nasty smelling stuff, and that is regardless of whether ii is beer or wine...some yeasts and some fermentables make for interesting odors...Lager yeasts are notorious for it.

Relax!

Another thought is your fermentation temps.

Assuming that since you are using a lager yeast, you are keeping the temps within lager range: low 50's *F. If not that could explain some of the smells.

Plus, apfelwein does discharge some aromas that are not entirely pleasant.

The wife screams that her house stinks like a zoo when ever I do an Apfelwein.

Did he edit his post very quickly or something? He's talking about the Becks, not the apfelwein. At any rate, relax. Give it plenty of time. All sorts of funky smells can come out of there during fermentation.

Get to know your funky fermentation smells like old friends - so that you can tell when things are not going as planned.

thanks for the advice guys.

i was concerned about the Becks, but if you think i am ok then i guess i will just have to relax and let nature take its course.

cheers