Really strong aroma

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taurean

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I brewed a very hoppy PA. I kept the fermentation temp low, airlock activity quit after a few days. I took a gravity reading 2 days after airlock activity and it was still dropping. I took a reading 2 days after that and it dropped another 5 points.

The second (last) time, the smell was really powerful, like a quick burn to the sinuses. I've never had that with any other batches, although mostly I have brewed beers more on the malty side. It did reside quite a bit after the primary was open for a few minutes.

I sampled a little and it was of course very green tasting. It was very sharp and bitter.

As I have no idea what the signs of an 'infected beer' would be, I am not sure if this strong smell is normal with high gravity hoppy beer or not.

Any sage like advice for my edification?
 
The burning sensation was probably a concentrated whiff of CO2, not unlike the burn you'd get from smelling the inside of a warm bottle of Pepsi that you just opened. When I hunker down and really sniff an airlock during active fermentation, I always get a little "burn" in the sinuses.

I love the smell of airlocks in the morning.
 
I've gotten the same sort of thing when I started doing 3 hop additions with part of the DME. At 2 weeks,I take the 1st hydrometer sample,& it tastes sharp with a little maltiness. But it seems like it's the hop flavors at a rather early stage of development. In 3-4 days,it mellows out to where it tastes rather bland. But prime,bottle,wait an appropriate amount of time,& it starts coming back with those o2 caps I started using. Each week,a little more character comes through. I wonder how they'll be by the 4th?
 
taurean said:
I brewed a very hoppy PA. I kept the fermentation temp low, airlock activity quit after a few days. I took a gravity reading 2 days after airlock activity and it was still dropping. I took a reading 2 days after that and it dropped another 5 points.

The second (last) time, the smell was really powerful, like a quick burn to the sinuses. I've never had that with any other batches, although mostly I have brewed beers more on the malty side. It did reside quite a bit after the primary was open for a few minutes.

I sampled a little and it was of course very green tasting. It was very sharp and bitter.

As I have no idea what the signs of an 'infected beer' would be, I am not sure if this strong smell is normal with high gravity hoppy beer or not.

Any sage like advice for my edification?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about it just yet. The burning sensation was from the CO2. I have the same sensation when smelling any of my beers from the fermenter. I believe CO2 is an irritant to the nasal passage. Give the beer some more time and things will improve.
 
I wouldn't worry about it, as like said before, it is the co2.

I would be a little more patient and not open it up every 2 days during the first few weeks.

I use a 3 weeks and forget it system. Then check the gravity a few times and bottle, or with some, secondary onto wood chips or fruit/flavoring.
 
Second what folks said above. It's like the old saying "a watched kettle never boils".

I take my first reading after 2 weeks in the primary, then for most of my brews I leave them go 3 or 4 weeks (depending on when they finish). It's amazing how much clearer and how much more compact the yeast cake becomes the longer I leave it alone.

As far as smell goes, I can't judge how my brew is going by sniffing the carboy (altho I do, and some yeasts smell pretty darn foul while they're doing their job) - I always take a draw with the wine thief, take my hydro reading, then give it a taste/sniff test in a separate glass.
 
This happened to me recently with a 2 week old Nut Brown in the bucket. It was the first time I opened the lid, and I took a really deep sniff and damn it burned. I assumed it was from all the CO2, as further sniffs (once the lid was open for a bit) didn't produce the same effect.
 

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