Smelly fermentation...

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simplecj

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I've read that apples are high in sulfur... could that be why my Colassal Wassail smells bad? It's been fermenting for about 4 days now and about the second day I noticed my brew room smelling sweetly stinky if that makes sense. Not really a good smell but I'm assuming this is normal for ciders... Am I right? Is the smell normal?
:confused:
 
That, and the byproducts of the fermentation will all create varying levels of stink, especially at the beginning. The Montrachet yeast is REALLY awful about stink, but all of them, in addition to the apple juice itself, can and will create a stink.

I wouldn't ferment with the stinkier yeasts or in large batches in a living space unless you can tolerate the smell. Otherwise, you should be fine.
 
If you didn't already, try adding yeast nutrient to the must. It has worked well for me in the past, especially for Montrachet yeast.
 
I'm in the same boat, started my first batch of apfelwein monday night, opened the room i'm fermenting it in and when i got within 3 feet or so of the carboy i detected fermenting apple smell...

How bad can it get? should i hope that my basement window in that room can be opened? :)
 
Dycokac said:
I'm in the same boat, started my first batch of apfelwein monday night, opened the room i'm fermenting it in and when i got within 3 feet or so of the carboy i detected fermenting apple smell...

How bad can it get? should i hope that my basement window in that room can be opened? :)

My whole brew room smelled and when I opened it up it started smelling up my living room too. Wasn't too bad though, just open a few windows and get some ventilation. I'm around 5 days now and the smell is starting to disappear.

I used Cooper's Ale Yeast and my brew consists of apple juice and dark brown sugar.

I added nutrients with the brew, still smelled alot! Like I said though, the smell isn't so bad now and will probably be gone soon as the fermentation slows more.

If it smells like that, I'm wondering what its tasting like now... I'll find out when I rack and add spices in the secondary.

If you haven't already, you can see my recipe posted in another thread in the Cider Forum.
 
This is common for me. Every batch of cider that I've done really smells awful, but ends up tasting great.
 
Just started my first cider batch, just shy of 48 hours and it stinks...
 
Mine is fermenting, but not real vigrously... is that normal? Mine stinks too... but I am not going to be sniffing it, just drinking it lol
 
The Pol said:
Mine is fermenting, but not real vigrously... is that normal? Mine stinks too... but I am not going to be sniffing it, just drinking it lol

from monday night till now, my airlock is burping about once every 20 seconds or so, i can see several bubbles surfacing.

I didn't notice any real activity on tha airlock till last night.
 
Day six, bubbles much slower now, smell is almost gone, should be ready to transfer and add spices within a few days. :)

You know, a clear bucket would be sweet for a primary for head space and so I can actually see what's going on. The great white bucket makes it somewhat mysterious...
 
If you got the stink you know it's working!

My batch smelled like rotten eggs for the first two weeks. At bottling, the sulfur smell and taste was very noticeable. After sitting in the bottles for a few weeks, the magic cider fairy comes along and blesses each bottle, vanquishing all negative off-flavors.

Seriously, it's like magic; perfect every time!
 

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