My 1st cider and it made my entire basement smell like eggs

start date 7/12/09
5 gal cider no pres/not pasturized
1# extra DME
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup cane sugar
2 1/2 tsp tanin
2 1/2 tsp pectin
2 1/2 tsp yeast energizer

mixed together in primary and added 5 campden tablets
S.G. 1.072

7/13/09
added yeast starter(lalvin 1118)

7/17/09
S.G. 1.020 racked into carboy
added 2 cups cane sugar

8/01/09
S.G. .996

8/03/09
S.G. .996
added 5 campden tabs and 1 tsp sorbate

8/05/09
added super-kleer k.c.
which didnt seem to do anything
yes i followed the directions to the T

I let sit to clear for 15 days

8/15/09 today!
I desided to rack again to clear. When I took off the air lock OMG!
I about gagged, the rotten eggs smell! I about dumped it out then and there.
But i thought I would see what you all have to say 1st.

Sounds like H2S- hydrogen sulfide. That usually is the death of wine or cider, but you can try a few things first. What happens is that if the H2S remains dissolved in the wine, it will react with Alcohol to form Mercaptans, which in turn will form disulfides and polydisulfides, which are almost impossible to remove from the finished wine.

First, try splash racking. That is racking to another container, letting it splash down the sides so it can "knock out" some of the H2S gas. If it's early, that might save it. After that, add 5 crushed campden tablets to counteract the aeration that you just did.

The cause of H2S is usually because of a lack of nutrients, or leaving the wine/cider on the lees too long.

I think it was both Yooper. I used energizer not nutrient. I dont know why I did that.
I have been stiring it for the past 2hrs. I can smell a faint apple smell behind the egg smell. Is there anything I can add to get rid of the H2S gas, or is my batch wasted?
I poured it into my 5 gal bucket to splash/stir it. When it settles there are little white floaties. Almost like very small dandruff flakes. What is that? and is it a byproduct of sitting on the lees to long?

And yooper, what part of upper MI are you from? Im in Lansing, and travel as far north for work as Claire and Midland

I live in the central UP- on the border of Wisconsin. I'm about 150 miles north of Green Bay.

I don't know what the white floaties are- probably yeast or even some precipitates from the pectin from the apple juice. That shouldn't be a problem.

Is the H2S smell fading?

Well after splashing/stiring for over 2hrs, the egg smell is still strong but i can now smell a faint apple smell. I will purchase a drill spinner attachment if you think using it will help. Or am I just spinning my wheels and this batch is dead. The whole problem started when my local brew store owner told me not to rack till I cant see any little bubbles. Well I still saw little bubbles today when I racked, I was unaware that leaving the must on the lees would cause this issue. Again is there anything I can add to my cider to get rid of the odor?

ananimity said:

Well after splashing/stiring for over 2hrs, the egg smell is still strong but i can now smell a faint apple smell. I will purchase a drill spinner attachment if you think using it will help. Or am I just spinning my wheels and this batch is dead. The whole problem started when my local brew store owner told me not to rack till I cant see any little bubbles. Well I still saw little bubbles today when I racked, I was unaware that leaving the must on the lees would cause this issue. Again is there anything I can add to my cider to get rid of the odor?

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I'd stop stirring it now- I'd hate to ruin it by aerating it too much. Go ahead and add the campden, let it sit and see where you are in a few days.

There some extreme measures for getting rid of H2S (like this from Jack Keller):
How to Treat Hydrogen-Sulphide

Hydrogen sulfide does much more than impart off-smells and flavors to wine. Hydrogen sulfide can be detected by smell in quantities as low as 2 parts per billion. It can usually be dissipated during the first 2-3 weeks after its production begins by racking and aerating the wine. After several weeks, it tends to react with other components in the wine to form less volatile mercaptans, which themselves can be further oxidized to disulfides. These latter compounds are almost impossible to remove from wine by stripping methods, and their presence in the wine makes it undrinkable. Both mercaptans and disulfides have a notable skunk-like smell.

Hydrogen sulfide is usually formed after fermentation has concluded and detected when the wine is racked. If the hydrogen sulfide has not sat in the wine too long, it can be treated with a maximum measure of 0.5 ppm of copper, the amount contained in 0.75 ml of a 1% solution of copper sulfate pentahydrate added to a gallon of wine. The hydrogen sulfide should be gone within two days and the wine can be treated normally. However, it will take about 3 rackings, 20-30 days apart, to remove all excess copper from the wine. If not removed, the copper itself can taint the wine.

The amounts of copper sulfate pentahydrate used are so small, and the risks to fatally damaging the wine by adding too much are so real, that it is impractical to treat small amounts (less than 5 gallons) of wine. The preferred treatment is still to add sulfur dioxide in the form of potassium metabisulfite solution (see Measuring Additives in Winemaking) and then rack the wine with plenty of aeration to drive off the H2S.

A proprietary compound called Sulfex can also be used to treat hydrogen sulfide formation. It comes as a 10% slurry in water and is added to wine at the rate of 0.5-5 grams per gallon. It is insoluble and settles out without leaving any traces in the wine if subsequently racked properly at least twice. I have never used it but have heard it works well.

I wouldn't attempt the copper- it seems like the cure would be worse than the problem. But I just wanted to post what I've read from an expert.

Hey Yooper
I read some were that some clerafying agents could cause that smell. Do you have any thoughts on that? Also a store I stoped at today in Saginaw called J D Carlson and asked about the smell. They told him Bosk Skin(what ever that is) would work, but they dont sell it. I cant find it online anywhere. Have you heard of that and do think it would work. If so where can i get it?

ananimity said:

Hey Yooper
I read some were that some clerafying agents could cause that smell. Do you have any thoughts on that? Also a store I stoped at today in Saginaw called J D Carlson and asked about the smell. They told him Bosk Skin(what ever that is) would work, but they dont sell it. I cant find it online anywhere. Have you heard of that and do think it would work. If so where can i get it?

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I've never had a problem with any clarifying agents causing a bad smell. I don't typicallyl use them, though, unless I have a wine that just won't clear.

I've never heard of Bosk Skin, so I have no idea if that will work or not.

hello everyone,
I work in a field where H2S is such a bad gas to be dealing with, the PEL is 20PPM, and we are told that when you can no longer smell then you are dead from exposure, now how the hell did everyone come up with this H2S smell, because the only place that i run into the stuff is dealing with crude oil. who said this was H2S??? i need answers????
H2S is spelled Hydrogen Sulfide not sulphide

H2S is one of thousands of naturally occuring gases that are formed during the decompostion of natural matter. It occurs in oil fields in greater quantities (I.e. death) because oil is essentially just REALLY REALLY old decomposed biological matter. In fact, most gas related deaths in the oilfield are because of the displacement of air (asphyxiation deaths) by heavy gases like methane, propane and the higher concentrations of other gases (Yep, that stuff that your body makes and expels from your orifices...) not H2S. Just a fun fact for all... not that H2S isn't an extremely deadly gas. :

whalenutz said:

H2S is spelled Hydrogen Sulfide not sulphide

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According to wikipedia it can be spelled either way. I think on an international forum like this you shouldn't worry too much about spelling.

Most home winemakers lose a batch to H2S at some stage,(myself included) I wouldn't feel too bad about it. Even commercial wineries have constant problems with it, just one of those things.

You recommended adding a handful of campden tablets after splash racking. I understand this can kill yeasts too. If this is still early in the fermentation stages (pitched yeast less than a week ago) do I need to add new yeast?

Thanks
Jesse

Yooper said:

Sounds like H2S- hydrogen sulfide. That usually is the death of wine or cider, but you can try a few things first. What happens is that if the H2S remains dissolved in the wine, it will react with Alcohol to form Mercaptans, which in turn will form disulfides and polydisulfides, which are almost impossible to remove from the finished wine.

First, try splash racking. That is racking to another container, letting it splash down the sides so it can "knock out" some of the H2S gas. If it's early, that might save it. After that, add 5 crushed campden tablets to counteract the aeration that you just did.

The cause of H2S is usually because of a lack of nutrients, or leaving the wine/cider on the lees too long.

Click to expand...