For my first BW I used the no-boil technique, cooled to 90F within 15min, let the lacto take hold for two days before adding the yeast, etc etc. I got a *funky* smell coming out of the carboy as soon as the lacto started to bubble (before the yeast was added). I would describe it as smelling like a sea scallop that has been left in the garbage for a day. I left the beer in primary for a month and bottled, and it's plenty sour, but even five months later it has a noticeable level of that smell, and an associated weird off-flavor. I'd call it a toned-down version of the smell that was coming out of the fermenter. One guy said it smelled like baby wipes. I chalked it up to maybe stressing out the lacto (I split a vial of White Labs lacto between two carboys).
Which brings us to today. I have another no-boil BW going with the exact same aroma being thrown off. I upped my wheat percentage to 60% and lautered directly into my kettle with the immersion chiller going, so I would hope that any DMS is mitigated. I also made a 2L starter for my lacto about two weeks before brew date and again I gave it a 2-day head start. Am I doomed to the same fate as last time? Since the smell is being produced right after adding lacto, it must either be a byproduct of the lacto fermentation (but since they're healthy lacto I would expect to get this smell in commercial BWs, which I don't), or it must be something in the wort (probably DMS, although I imagine I'm chilling as quickly as anyone else out there).
Has anybody had similarly persistent problems with nasty DMS or lacto byproducts in their berliner weisses? Or anyone who initially had this nasty smell/taste and had it fade away during aging? I'm starting to feel like the whole no-boil crowd is just yanking my chain...