Horrible smell

Hi, this is my first post here. I made my first batch of beer using a mr. beer, and started a second batch using supplies from a local store.

The mr beer came with a pale ale. I used the sanitizer to clean the keg, used boiling water to clean the bottles. Used filtered tap water.

I don't remember any bad smells when the beer first came out of the keg. I bottled the beer after a week. I tasted one a week later and it wasnt too bad, a slight off taste but not bad. So I had a couple more which were also ok. Now a day later i opened up a couple more bottles and the smell and taste is so bad i cannot drink it and makes me feel sick.

The second batch i made has a similar odor coming out of the airlock, although I have not tasted the batch. Whats going on with the beer? I have searched this site and google without any specifics.

I wouldn't worry about the second batch, if it's still so fresh. As tasty as it can be to sniff your airlock, it won't really tell you much.

If your first batch is smelly even after you've let it age for a while, it might be infected. The sanitizer that comes with Mr Beer is actually a pretty decent product. The instructions that came with your kit should have told you to save half of your sanitizer to use with your bottles when bottling day came.

Long story short, buy a bottle of Star San or Iodophor (or both), use them generously and frequently, and you shouldn't worry about it any more. If your first batch makes you feel sick just to smell it, and it's aged in the bottles for a few months, my vote is that you toss it. As for your second batch, don't sweat it yet. Airlocks frequently smell like crap (EdWort's Apfelwine has an airlock smell that has been frequently described as a rhino fart) and that has nothing to do with your finished product.

If your first batch doesn't mellow with age, and your second batch has the same problem (which I doubt it will, personally) then you need to reevaluate your water supply and your sanitiztion techniques. On the off chance that your second batch turns out undrinkable even after you wait a month or two then switch to bottled spring water.

Just a quick question, how is your tap water to drink? How does it smell? If you're already filtering it, there may be a quality issue there. Either way, get yourself some good sanitizer and keep trying. You WILL make good beer, or we'll all eat our bottles!

Using boiling water to clean the bottles seems ok, but what did you use the sanitize the bottles?

Clean is important, but sanitizing is crucial. If you bottled without sanitizing the bottles, I think we found the source of the infection.

Make sure that absolutely everything that touches your wort or beer is completely sanitized according to the package directions from now on, and I think you'll be fine.

Welcome to the forum!

Yooper is right. Cleaning and sanitizing are two different steps that should be taken with everything on the cold side (fermenter, bottles, air lock, caps, racking cane, hoses etc). The product you got with the kit CAN be used as both a cleaner and a sanitizer, but it must be in two steps.

How long did you soak the bottles in boiling water? Boiling water actually takes a fairly long contact time to kill than commercial "no rinse" sanitizers. I'd say at least 5 min.

Also, could you describe the flavor? My initial impression is a lacto or pedio infection if its giving you that reaction. I'd say let them hang out for another month and see whats up.

I would just disregard the results of the 1st (Mr. Beer) batch.

The success rates of those isn't stellar and there are too many variables that are likely culprits. If the smell is getting worse, then I'd suspect your yeast might have played a part. Might have been a bad packet or beyond it's prime.

The nasty (farty) smells coming from your fermenter now are normal. Give it a good 2-3 weeks to completely ferment out and proceed.

Thanks guys,

We have city water that is fine to drink. It probably contains chlorine and the normal stuff. We purify it just because. I filtered all of the water before I poured it in. Should I have sanitized it better?

I boiled the first bottles for awhile, the bottoms actually started to deform so I know they got hot enough. It was more than 10 mins.

I've been using boiling water so far to clean most everything. Would you recommend bleach over that?

Oh and one more. I see most of you guys recommend a 2-2-2 or a 1-2-3 step process for fermintation and bottling. The labels on the wort usually say to do a week in the keg, a week in the bottle and it should be ok. Is it better to wait longer in your opinion?

This is what you want(star san), if you dont think so drink another beer.

Go to your local homebrew shop and invest in a real homebrew kit. Mr. beer will give you mixed results.

A 5 gal pot
Coupla carboys
cork and airlock
syphon equipement

youll be backin your way into good beer. Given that you sanitize proper.

Shinglejohn said:

Go to your local homebrew shop and invest in a real homebrew kit. Mr. beer will give you mixed results.

A 5 gal pot
Coupla carboys
cork and airlock
syphon equipement

youll be backin your way into good beer. Given that you sanitize proper.

Click to expand...

Well,
I am not sure what you mean about the mixed results, but what ever type of equipment you use requires good sanitizing regime.

Ok, I didn't know if this was right to do or not. I took the bottles out of the fridge and let them sit some more. I had that was already opened that I used to test. At first it still smelled, but after a few day it started to go away.

Today it actually smells good, I tasted it, slightly sweet and a little bitter. So what gives, was it not done fermenting? Does it have something to do with the fridge? Should I let it sit longer?

My next batch I started smells a little better from the airlock, but its not done yet.

bumpity bump

Let it sit in the bottles until you are sick of them sitting around or it tastes good. This might take 2 weeks or 8 months. And bottling after 1 week might have been problematic, but as long as it was done fermenting you shouldn't have any bottle bombs.

So I let the second batch sit for nine full days. I havn't bought my hydrometer yet, but the airlock had stopped a couple days ago, so I figured I would let it sit some more. I opened it up today to do the transfer. No off smells, tastes very sweet and very strong. So like you guys were right!
My only question, I brewed a dark beer. The instructions say nothing about adding sugar when I go to bottle it? Should I add some instead, I had to with the Mr. Beer.

Yes you need to prime the batch by adding sugar prior to bottling. Otherwise no carbonation.

You should read this primer: How to Brew - By John Palmer