AxDxMx
Active Member
Both times the beer came out with an overpowering chemical smell when I took the lid off the bucket. This second batch is supposed to be an outmeal stout, but I can hardly smell any stout to it. The smell is sort of like chemicals with a sweetness to it. I checked my gravity today on my second brew and it is at 1.020, which is high (expected finish ~1.010), so fermentation didn't completely finish either. The second batch was rapidly cooled with a wort chiller to 75 or below, and then I threw in the yeast. The plastic bucket has been sitting in my basement bathroom shower @ 63 degrees for 2 weeks now. For this 2nd brew, I had someone experienced come help me, and nothing really changed in our process from the first to the second, so I'm thinking it's not a sanitation or brewing issue. So I'm wondering if this is my issue: My wife decided to clean that bathroom's toilet and after she cleaned it, she left cleaner in the upper tank so that every time you flush, the toilet water is blue and smells. In fact, the smell was pretty strong in the bathroom in general. Did that chemical get into my beer and ruin it twice? If that's the case, I'm pissed at myself for thinking the plastic fermenter would be completely airtight. If this is my issue, at least it's an easy fix.