smell of fermenting beer

how if fermenting beer supposed to smell? i just brewed my first batch and its been fermenting for two days. how is it supposed to smell? is there any smell i should watch out for?

It depends on a lot of factors... yeast type, grain bill, temperature, adjuncts, etc. The smells really can vary quite a bit.

Yeasty, sour, sulfur, "fuzzy" (love that one). It depends on the style and the yeast. Realistically, it will be several weeks before the smell/taste has any meaning.

Vinegar is bad news.

hey thanks for the quick responses. its a brown ale, a newcastle clone, and it kinda smells bad but i dont think its vinegar. if its fermenting does it mean its doin good?

You know what's amazing? I asked exactly the same question with my first batch! I noticed a faint yeast smell and a sweet smell. My first batch was a Scottish Ale. I hope you do better than I did with my first batch, it developed a nasty medicinal taste and I had to pour it down the sink (after I had labeled the bottles)! Good luck and don't worry.

jackmaxcy said:

You know what's amazing? I asked exactly the same question with my first batch! I noticed a faint yeast smell and a sweet smell. My first batch was a Scottish Ale. I hope you do better than I did with my first batch, it developed a nasty medicinal taste and I had to pour it down the sink (after I had labeled the bottles)! Good luck and don't worry.

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Hahaha, right tell him that you had the same thing happen and that it was a complete mess.

Then tell him not to worry! :cross:

If it kinda smells like $hit, you probably did it right. If you're really concerned, taste some of the beer. It might take some guts the first time, but you're gonna drink it eventually, right? If it tastes absolutely terrible, throw it away. If it tastes a little sweet, bready, and not too bad, let it go, it's good beer.

If you have a good ferment going the co2 being thrown off will probably burn your nose if you get a good whiff..

The only thing I smell is the CO2 coming out of my airlock, as I don't want to risk infection by opening the carboy or bucket all the time. The CO2 always smells great!

it does burn my nose a little bit

It's gonna smell like a big bucket of beer. It's kinda hard to describe, but after a couple batches, you'll be able to smell the different kinds of beers. BTW, I TRY to limit myself to one smell or two during fermentation. Keep cracking that lid and you run the risk of contaminating the beer. Good luck.

I have a newcastle clone on the books right now, and it's got that sweeter smell to it..


how did the OP's brew turn out?

I have had a couple of batches that smelled so bad my wife kept thinking the dog was pooping in the house but when she went searching, her nose always took her to the corner of the room where the fermenter was. So yes, I can vouch for the fact that it can smell bad sometimes.


Dennis

but it turns into decent beer eventually right?

stevenryals said:

but it turns into decent beer eventually right?

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Yes. The stink is just what some yeast does when its fermenting. The first time it happened I thought it had all gone sour on me so I ran straight to the computer and logged onto this site. I did a search and right away found numerous posts about smelly beer and that it was normal. I was relieved and went on about my business. That first stinky batch was a Dutch style ale, sort of a Heinie Clone but better. This turned out to be a super-fantastic beer.

I see a couple of you are brewing Brown Ale. I am curious to know how they turn out. I drink Newcastle from time to time but I always thought of it as a bit of a weak beer. I think it has good basic flavor but is lacking something. I have tried some other brown ales too and I like the style so I brewed up a batch back in November. It is a great homebrew and better than anything I have bought from the store.

Dennis

dont know about yall but my fermichamber smells like heven. all that warm yeasty bready goodness. Its sorta like being in a great bakery.

I've never had a poor smelling fermentation. I get right down on that airlock and take a big whiff or 8 every time! Smells like sweet malty heaven. Sure it varies a little from slightly bready to slightly yeasty, but my nose always gets a sweet malty aroma.

On the flip side, everytime I crack the lid on my primary bucket to transfer/bottle I can't resist taking a whiff. Sometime with not so good results as a good strong whiff of brew made CO2 burns my nose worse than if I had snorted a pound of cocaine with a quart of rubbing alcohol chaser!

Schlante,
Phillip

I dunno.....it usually never smells that good to me, usually it has some vague flatulence overtones...it's when it sheds that yeasty bready 'bite' that the smell begins to take shape as desirable, lovable beer.....wort smells good prior to fermentation as well, but that's another matter (of opinion).....

stevenryals said:

I have a newcastle clone on the books right now, and it's got that sweeter smell to it..


how did the OP's brew turn out?

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After 2 years, you'll be lucky to get a straight answer to that one...

I stand by my first post in this thread.

racked it off last night, and for newcastle it's very dark.. can't wait to try it..
left it in the primary for 10 days, gonnahave 7 in secondary and 7 in the keg force carbing..

What is it with the resurrected threads this past week or so? Just let them die with dignity, people.

is it better to resurrect a thread that already has info in it or start a new one so the info can be reposted? I'd rather people do a quick search to be honest.. makes the treads more useful in my opinion..

stevenryals said:

is it better to resurrect a thread that already has info in it or start a new one so the info can be reposted? I'd rather people do a quick search to be honest.. makes the treads more useful in my opinion..

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Touche

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Congrats, we've turned this into a post whore thread. Or perhaps I should say undead post whore thread, since it has been resurrected.

I love the smell of fermenting beer in the morning... it smells like victory!

Sorry had to be a smart A@$ here.

lol.. funny though.. i went straight to my fermenting oktoberfest this morning after i woke up... it was a little like victory..

My first brew smells something between odd bread, socks and dog farts.

Wife has kicked the fermenter bin into the garage but its on a heat pad.

Nervous but excited about the whole thing!

ryanfromdevon said:

My first brew smells something between odd bread, socks and dog farts.

Wife has kicked the fermenter bin into the garage but its on a heat pad.

Nervous but excited about the whole thing!

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Depending on the yeast and amount of stress she endures, all kinds of weird aromas can develop. They are driven off by the CO2 that's produced at the same time. It's should all dissipate. For example, it's hard to imagine Ciders being that good judging by their fermentation aromas a few weeks or months earlier.

You may want to wrap that fermenter in something thick and lofty (e.g., sleeping bag, old down jacket) to keep her from getting too cold. Try to keep her in your yeast's preferred ferm temp range. Ramp up a few degrees when she's about done to make sure she remains active and finishes out.

On a side note, nice necropost!
There hadn't been a post in this thread for over 11 years... until now.

grrtt78 said:

how if fermenting beer supposed to smell? i just brewed my first batch and its been fermenting for two days. how is it supposed to smell? is there any smell i should watch out for?

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My hefewiezen smell of banana. But before that smell it was something similar to a dumpster on a hot summer day.

david_42 said:

Yeasty, sour, sulfur, "fuzzy" (love that one). It depends on the style and the yeast. Realistically, it will be several weeks before the smell/taste has any meaning.

Vinegar is bad news.

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This eases my mind a little. Noob that did four extract brews within a few weeks of each other. All smelled relatively like beer so far, alcohol plus yeasty, malty, hoppy things. But this new IPA which was the hardest to make smells like beer with a touch of sour and “fuzz”. I’ve only smelled sulfur when the yeast are kicking into gear. After a day or two most have already smelled like beer (flat, room temp, yeasty beer that is)

IslandLizard said:

There hadn't been a post in this thread for over 11 years... until now.

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i got a gallon of brandy aging on valley oak that's a little older then that.....it smells like vanilla! tastes like it too, one glass a year on the 4th is all i allow myself.....


and when i'm fermenting cider, it smells like eggs? honestly, when i'm fermenting beer i don't smell much of anything....maybe i'm just used to having beer fermenting all the time.

bracconiere said:

i got a gallon of brandy aging on valley oak that's a little older then that.....it smells like vanilla! tastes like it too, one glass a year on the 4th is all i allow myself.....

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What a wonderful treat, so well deserved!

When visiting you I'll make sure to stop by on that day, and no other. Just for the tiniest taste or even a mere whiff.