Fermentation odor

If any of you recall, this jackass posted a few threads over the last few weeks about a funky alcoholic, almost cider-like odor coming from my carboy and eventually from the batches of a Honey Wheat and American Wheat beer. Some of you diagnosed that the extract, purchased from a homebrew shop in a plastic container, may have been old.

Well this time I bought canned extract instead and brewed a Sam Summer last night. I had an issue with pitching when I realized the smack pack wasn't broken and had to just cut it and pitch it and shake. This morning I awoke to fermentation, good krausen and some bubbles of course. However when I popped the lock to check the odor, it still rang of a strong alcoholic tint, and my wife says maybe fruity as well. I used 1056 American Ale, a can of Extra Light LME and a can of Wheat LME, in addition to grains, lemon zest and grains of paradise.

Is a strong-ish alcohol/fruity smell typical for day one of fermentation? What is a typical odor?

I can't say it's happened to me very often, maybe a few batches over the last 7 -8 years. It really didn't seem to effect the final product. Just curious, how warm is it where you're fermenting?

jpuf said:

I can't say it's happened to me very often, maybe a few batches over the last 7 -8 years. It really didn't seem to effect the final product. Just curious, how warm is it where you're fermenting?

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Ranges from 66-72. So far this batch has been 68-72, mostly on the high end of that range.

72 shouldn't be a problem, but you might want to lug it to the basement if possible.

What's a typical odor during fermentation? Is it normal to smell "sweet" when you just have wheat/light extract, lemon and grains?