Dead mouse in the mash tun.

[divrack]

The smell will come out with a long soak of strong bleach and then caustic. I had one that id forgotten to throw away the Mash from for weeks... Real bad... Ended up fine, cleaner than it's been in months in fact.
Don't need to throw everything away as soon as you think it's icky. Give dolphins a chance.
On a similar note I was cleaning bottles one time and putting them up to the light to see if they had anything crusted on to the bottom when the rotting corpse of a mouse came slithering towards my eye.
Reader, I ate it.

 

[Pkrd]

You'll have some explaining to do when you win a competition and a brewery wants to clone your secret recipe.

 

[SEndorf]

Even on a very tight budget, I would simply replace a cooler mash tun after experiencing that.
It's well established there are elements of mouse sh*t particles in your grain. This is completely different.
I've had dead and decomposing mice in a 5 gallon bucket. They get in and can't get out. It's an epic odor.
Personally I would not go to all the work on brew day to mash in that stank.

 

[kh54s10]

No harm in trying to clean it. As far as scratches in the plastic mash tun - what about all the scratches made by the stir paddle?? If the OP can't get the smell out - then think about replacement. This throw away society is contaminating out planet. And yes, I am guilty. Though I try to recycle, reuse, re-purpose....

 

[Randomnoob]

I soaked it in bleach for a day. Then I cleaned with Oxy-Clean and the hit it with Starsan. The mash tun smells fine, no more death stink and it’s cleaner than the day I bought it five years ago. If the beer smells bad in a month, I’ll replace it. These days I do mostly extract anyways and don’t use the mash tun much anymore.

 

[Chanoc]

The smell will come out with a long soak of strong bleach and then caustic. ...
Reader, I ate it.

I would go caustic first and then chlorine...
Caustic soda solution will dissolve everyting organic, even teeth and hair...
Chlorine will oxidize most of the remaining odor particles...

I soaked it in bleach for a day. Then I cleaned with Oxy-Clean and the hit it with Starsan. The mash tun smells fine, no more death stink and it’s cleaner than the day I bought it five years ago. If the beer smells bad in a month, I’ll replace it. These days I do mostly extract anyways and don’t use the mash tun much anymore.

Good you didin´t throw it...
Throwing it or burning it would have put additional burden to our planet...
For very little gain...
Keep brewing...
Let us know How "Stuart Little Pee-l Lager" comes out...

 

[BrewZer]

You gotta admit, "Smell of Death Brewery" is pretty catchy...

 

[FunkedOut]

 

[Andre Lau]

I got back from a week long vacation this past Sunday. The garage has stunk since I came back and figured I must have thrown some sort of food in the garbage can in the garage. So last night I pulled the bag and took it out with the rest of the trash but this morning before work it still stunk as bad as ever. This afternoon I stoped by the LHBS and got my Oktoberfest Ale (Yeah, I wanted to make a Lager back in March but my daughter being born and all that pretty much killed those plans) recipe to brew this coming weekend while the wife and daughter are gone to my MiL’s house.

I set the bucket of grain on the counter next to the Mash Tun and it smells worse than ever and I looked inside the Mash Tun and there was a dead mouse in there. I picked it up, opened the garage door and dumped the dead mouse in the neighbors cow pasture (country life is good for home brewing). I then cleaned it with Oxyclean and it still stunk so I’m now letting it soak with Oxclean, will this get the smell out?

I do have traps in the garage for mice so I don’t understand why they head for the mash tun over the traps...

oh my god