London Ale Yeast: strange aroma?

Brewing a Brown Porter using Wyeast London Ale Yeast for the first time. The fermentation seems excellent. I used a 2 step starter to get the right amount of yeast for the batch. BUT I've noticed since it's been fermenting that the aroma coming from the bung is not as pleasant as with other beers I've made. It's a little sour. Not rancid, definitely yeasty, but not the bread yeast smell I'm used to or the hop smell I'm used to with more hoppy beers.

I'm wondering if this is a normal smell for London Ale Yeast or if maybe I have an infection...I'd be shocked since I've never experienced this before and am very careful with sanitation. But I definitely didn't notice this scent when I was growing the starter...

The other possibility is that I noticed after sanitizing the primary bucket with starsan (no-foam), I opened the lid and poured out the starsan and it kinda reeked. My brew buddies were surprised by how strong the scent from the bucket was (as was I), but I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought that maybe it was just a combo of the acid from the starsan and the hop residue that had been in the bucket from my last IPA...it was still a bit green from it. BUT instead of washing out the smelly bucket and re-sanitizing I just poured out the solution and brewed as usual...

Any thoughts? I could use some reassurance that this batch won't be disgusting.

You need to clean the bucket before sanitizing it, if there is hop residue in the bucket when you put the star san in you failed. Use some oxi-clean or PBW with hot water and let it soak to clean, this will kill most of your odors as well as clean up any residue or stuck on debris. Take the spigot apart if your bucket has one and clean that up too. Then it is ready for sanitizing. This is a two step process, I know of nothing on the market that claims to both clean and sanitize in one step. Other than that, let it ferment and see what happens, you are probably fine, but may have gotten an infection from not cleaning your equipment.

If it does claim to clean and sanitize in one step...it's lying. There is no such product that actually does that.

Also, if the star san reeked coming out of the bucket, your beer will to. It's a mistake that I've made before and will never make again.

What if you mixed some oxiclean in water, then added starsan to it. Will that clean and sanitize in one go?

hiberntepaths said:

What if you mixed some oxiclean in water, then added starsan to it. Will that clean and sanitize in one go?

Click to expand...

No.

Sorry. The bucket was cleaned with dish soap. It just had a subtle greenish color and smelled a bit hoppy. All plastic takes on some aromas and staining from use. Think pasta sauce in a tupperware in the microwave turns orange. That's all I meant by residue. It wasn't filthy with stuck on hop stuff.

This is my first post, but I have experience with the London Ale Yeast.

This yeast DOES smell somewhat sour relative to other English ale strains I have used (Whitbread, Ringwood)

See http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp013.html.

Specifically, it gives off "oakey esters" which, to me, seems reminiscent of wine sourness. As the fermentation goes on, the sourness flavor subsides and then you smell "good beer" coming out of the airlock, in my experience.

I made an English Mild with this - it turned out great. When I use the yeast again, I think I want to make a stronger, hoppier beer, like an ESB or even an IPA.

The other issues about sanitation or chlorine may apply here but it's entirely possible that everything is fine and this is just the normal smell for the yeast.

I've used the 1028 several times, but never with a Porter. I'm not an airlock sniffer, but I take an FG sample prior to bottling/kegging, and that sample usually does not taste or smell as good as beers made with 1968 or WLP002. A couple of times, I've had a very pronounced metal taste after about 3 / 4 weeks in the bottle/keg, but leaving it to mature for another 4 - 5 weeks completely got rid of that. Normally, after maturing for 3 weeks, the beer is fine. I have found that the WLP013 seems to be very different than the 1028.

-a.

kwarl said:

This is my first post, but I have experience with the London Ale Yeast.

This yeast DOES smell somewhat sour relative to other English ale strains I have used (Whitbread, Ringwood)

See http://www.whitelabs.com/beer/strains_wlp013.html.

Specifically, it gives off "oakey esters" which, to me, seems reminiscent of wine sourness. As the fermentation goes on, the sourness flavor subsides and then you smell "good beer" coming out of the airlock, in my experience.

I made an English Mild with this - it turned out great. When I use the yeast again, I think I want to make a stronger, hoppier beer, like an ESB or even an IPA.

The other issues about sanitation or chlorine may apply here but it's entirely possible that everything is fine and this is just the normal smell for the yeast.

Click to expand...

Thanks! That makes me feel a little better!

ajf said:

I've used the 1028 several times, but never with a Porter. I'm not an airlock sniffer, but I take an FG sample prior to bottling/kegging, and that sample usually does not taste or smell as good as beers made with 1968 or WLP002. A couple of times, I've had a very pronounced metal taste after about 3 / 4 weeks in the bottle/keg, but leaving it to mature for another 4 - 5 weeks completely got rid of that. Normally, after maturing for 3 weeks, the beer is fine. I have found that the WLP013 seems to be very different than the 1028.

-a.

Click to expand...

Cheers! Feeling better and better!

I have been brewing in my stair/entryway a lot this fall/winter because of the lower temperatures. 9 batches now I think... My point is that I have grown used to coming home to the smell of fermenting goodness. 2 of my last batches were going at the same time, both done with WLP013 London ale yeast, and yes my nose picked up on it immediately.
Just a slightly more pungent odor to it.
Good luck!

brewzombie said:

The other possibility is that I noticed after sanitizing the primary bucket with starsan (no-foam), I opened the lid and poured out the starsan and it kinda reeked. My brew buddies were surprised by how strong the scent from the bucket was (as was I), but I didn't think much of it at the time. I thought that maybe it was just a combo of the acid from the starsan and the hop residue that had been in the bucket from my last IPA...it was still a bit green from it. BUT instead of washing out the smelly bucket and re-sanitizing I just poured out the solution and brewed as usual.

Click to expand...

Just to update, the scent I noticed when opening the bucket with sanitizer in it was in fact the StarSan (no foam) itself...there must be sulfur in it or something. I've noticed this scent with using it multiple times afterwards. So, the scent from the fermentor was a separate issue, and looks like it was just how that particular yeast smells.