I just started fermenting my first ever batch of mead (or first ever batch of anything for that matter). I'm doing this in my dorm room closet in a $5 wal-mart trash can. The ingredients that I used are 3 gallons of water, 7.5 gallons ordinary grocery store honey, yeast nutrient, and a packet of Nottingham ale yeast. I washed and sanitized the trash can before starting, and dissolved 2 1/2 campden tablets into the honey/water mixture and allowed it to vent before adding the started yeast. It's been 4 days now since the yeast was added, and the brew is emitting a pungent sour odor the likes of which I have not found described anywhere on the internet. It isn't really a bad odor, it's just much more powerful than I would have expected. I have a big plastic bag securely duct taped around the bucket to collect gas and prevent the smell from getting through, but it's somehow finding its way through against my wishes. My roommate hates the smell and probably wants to kill me ;p Looking into the bucket I can see about half an inch of brownish foam on the top which seems to suggest the yeast didnt completely croak, so my question is whether or not this smell is normal and if I can expect it to go away at some point in the fermentation. Right now it's not smelling like something I ever want to drink!