Home brew boil odor

I usually brew at a friends house or when the fiance is not home. Last night I brewed my pale ale with her on the couch in the other room. We live in a 1200 sq ft house, so you can't get away from the smell easily. She couldn't stand it! Especially when I added the hops. I personally think its one of the most amazing smells on the planet, but apparently it;s offensive to some.

Does anyone have a solution to help cut down the smell? I brew extract with a concentrated wort on the stove top. Several windows open, fans going and candles lit didn't help much! I don't want to brew outside if it can be avoided, but it seems like it may be the only choice.

She will get used to it.

Even my kids have.

CannibalAJ said:

I don't want to brew outside if it can be avoided, but it seems like it may be the only choice.

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I said the same thing once... I now brew in my garage

+1 to outdoor brewing. I brew on the porch with propane.

I had a girlfriend which had a problem with it. I kinda miss her.

I brew outside so I can get some alone time.

Tell her that you cannot stand the smell when she....
Tell her it's not that often....
Send the fiance out w/her friends, Outside, or get a new fiance.

kh54s10 said:

Tell her that you cannot stand the smell when she....
Tell her it's not that often....

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This should go over well...

She won't notice the smell at all if she's out shopping, or having coffee with a friend, or whatever.

Tell her she could probably use a jog.

And you know I have to put up with the smell of coconut, and vanilla perfume. Life goes on.

At least at the end of brewing there is beer to drink.

I enjoy brewing outdoors myself. You may have a good excuse to upgrade to a larger outdoor system. When life deals you lemons make ten gallons of all grain home brew.

Bribe her to go see a movie.

M_C

LOL these responses are great! I'm thinking about growing from the 5 gallon stocking pot i stole from my mom to a 7.5 or 8 gallon SS brew kettle so i can all 5 gallons at once. Looks like its my only option!

My gf doesn't mind the smell, it's all the heat and moisture that bother her.

Alright, I've heard more than one person say that their significant other can't stand the smell of the boil. Seriously? It's one of the best things I've ever smelled, regardless of the style! I get excited to brew just because I know I'm going to be around the boil for a while!

matt2778 said:

When life deals you lemons make ten gallons of all grain home brew.

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^^^ Best advise here ^^^

lowtones84 said:

Alright, I've heard more than one person say that their significant other can't stand the smell of the boil. Seriously? It's one of the best things I've ever smelled, regardless of the style! I get excited to brew just because I know I'm going to be around the boil for a while!

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Seriously. I love the smell too...doesn't mean girlfriend does. Luckily she's learned to make herself scarce. My advice to others is just try to plan as much as possible. As far as I'm concerned, if I tell my girl a few days in advance I'm brewing, it's her fault if she's in the smell radius.

lowtones84 said:

Alright, I've heard more than one person say that their significant other can't stand the smell of the boil. Seriously? It's one of the best things I've ever smelled, regardless of the style! I get excited to brew just because I know I'm going to be around the boil for a while!

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Mine likes the smell of the boil too but her favorite is the mash tun. I have to get her when I am about to put in the sparge water just so she can smell it. She also loves eating the grains. She's a Vienna malt kind of woman.

They never mind when we put up with a little bit of aroma.


Just sayin.

Option 1 - Tell her to suck it up.
Option 2 - Brew when she's not around.
Option 3 - Brew outdoors.

Outside of these options, you quit brewing or find a new girlfriend.

biestie said:

I had a girlfriend which had a problem with it. I kinda miss her.

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I had a wife with the same problem. I don't miss her.

I live in an 1100 sq ft apartment.

I started brewing when my wife was pregnant and the smell would make her physically ill.

She's no longer pregnant but she still hates the smell.

I do as others suggest. I plan ahead and tell her when I'd like to brew. She then goes out that day and does something she enjoys.

My wife actually loves the smell of the brew. She gets mad when I plan on brewing without her here. Just don't ask her to try the beer, she can't stand it.

My wife loves the smell of the mash, but cannot stand the smell of boiling wort, especially after the hops are added. And after 20 years of me brewing I don't think she's gonna suddenly get used to it or start enjoying it.
We stayed at a brewery hotel in a tiny town outside of Heidelburg Germany a few years ago. As we pulled into the parking lot the brewery was unloading a few hundred pounds of steaming spent grain into a small trailer in the alley, even she admitted the smell was heavenly.

Man, this thread strikes a cord with me as I've posted another thread about the "Mother-in-law". My wife doesn't mind it at all, and I think it smells great too. I seriously can't understand WTF is the big problem with the smell!!! It's not much different than a bakery, kinda smells like making bread or a cake - what the hell is so damn offensive about it???

Anyhow, the wife doesn't mind at all but the mother-in-law... we live on the first floor of the same house and holy s&*! does she whine about it. Luckily my situation worked out in a way because I moved to full boil batches with a larger kettle, turned out my stove couldn't hold a boil at that volume so I had to move it outside and use a propane burner. Since then everything has been fine.

HOWEVER.... I moved to AG and found not all brews are as simple as a single infusion mash. Sure almost any brew can be single infusion, but IMO some styles fall a bit short, like a hefeweizen. So I did my first double decoction one week ago or so and holy f'ing crap, complaining all over again because of the grains I'd boiled on the stove. It had been like over two months since I last boiled anything beer related in the house, like God damn I can't do it ONE TIME!???? I kinda had it out with her and the wife was not too happy about it.

Frankly though, her mothers polish cooking makes the house smell far faaar worse and I don't call complaining. One needs their own house and to be completely absent of others for pure bliss it seems :-/


Rev.

This sounds like a reason to drink a 6er including the dregs, 3 pickled eggs and some corned beef w/cabbage for dinner. All of sudden the "brewing smell" is never brought up again...

bovineblitz said:

My gf doesn't mind the smell, it's all the heat and moisture that bother her.

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Not going to touch this one.