Sodium metabisulfite + plastic bucket = never use it for brewing?

So I've been storing my sodium metabisulfite in an 8 gallon bucket for a few months now. I decided that I wanted to use it for a primary fermenter with this last batch I did. I cleaned it, aired it out and sanitized it as normal. I didn't smell a hint of it when I poured my wort and pitched my yeast. Yesterday when I woke up it was fermenting vigorously and I had a nice krausen. This morning when I woke up the fermentation had stopped. I didn't really pay much attention this morning but tonight when I got home from work it still wasn't bubbling. When I popped the lid to check it out I was hit with that...distinctive scent. If you've ever smelled sodium metabisulfite you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm just going to assume that my beer is ruined. Is there anything that I can do to try and salvage it? Should I forget about using this bucket as a fermenter forever or is there a way to clean it up again? The bucket is a brand new 8 gallon fermenter with a grommeted lid. It has no scratches so some of the sodium metabisulfite must have leached into the plastic.

I don't think that had any thing to do with the fermentation- if there wasn't any Na meta in the bucket, it should have been fine. I've use sulfites for sanitizing many wines (not beers, though) and it's never stunted the yeast.

What's the current SG?

That's actually what I popped the top to check. Gravity is at 1.012. OG was 1.034. I was going for an American ale but I blew my OG bigtime because I screwed up my sparge. I also tasted my sample. It was a little sour and the hops bitterness was pretty heavy. I blame that on the brew being unbalanced from the crappy efficiency. The sample didn't smell bad.

artyboy said:

That's actually what I popped the top to check. Gravity is at 1.012. OG was 1.034. I was going for an American ale but I blew my OG bigtime because I screwed up my sparge. I also tasted my sample. It was a little sour and the hops bitterness was pretty heavy. I blame that on the brew being unbalanced from the crappy efficiency. The sample didn't smell bad.

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Well, if it's at 1.012 it's just about finished, so I guess the sulfite didn't affect it at all!

I've had beers ferment out overnight before, so it's not unheard of, especially with a low OG beer.

Hopefully the killer smell will stay behind with the bucket. I think i'll give it a couple of days to let the trub settle before I transfer to a secondary.

What yeast did you use? Some strains produce a very pronounced sulfur smell if fermented warm or without adequate nitrogen.

Cooper's ale yeast. I saved some of the trub from my last batch and used that.

Free sulfur in solution won't inhibit yeast like it will bacteria. But umm you might have a problem with the plastic, what type of plastic is it? Mind you, general rule of thumb is dump boiled water in the bucket for 2 days, seal and taste the water after 2 days.

It's a Brewcraft 8 gallon fermenter.

You are equating a stopped airlock with stopped fermentation...it's not the same thing. An airlock is a valve to release excess co2, nothing more, a hydrometer is a gauge to determine fermentation. Sometimes airlocks bubble, sometimes they don't, sometimes fermentation has slowed down, and the airlock isn't bubbling, BUT the yeast still has a ways to go to finish fermenting, there's just not a need to vent off excess co2. Get out of the habit of thinking that airlock bubbling has a direct correlation to fermentation. It has a correlation to the need to keep from painting your ceiling with beer and little else.

for that low an OG, I'd let it warm up to the mid 60's and chill another few days before calling it done. seems like you should get down another point or two.

then again, I AG brew and mash a little low so I have different expectations for FG.