Fusel smell during fermentation

[ru41285]

Hey guys,

So I brewed a witbier using WLP400 last Sunday before Memorial Day and everything went well. I pitched a single pack of very fresh WLP400 (no starter) into the beer around 72 degrees and then left it to chill in my basement overnight. By morning it was at 68 with no signs of fermentation.

A day or so in and it was fermenting away and smelt great. However today I took a whiff and picked up a lot of fusel alcohol smell. I know I didn't ferment too hot. Ambient temp was 68 all week and my stick on thermometer never went above 72. OG was a bit stronger for a witbier at 1.056 but obviously nothing crazy.

I went ahead and pulled a sample and it wasn't too bad. Had a touch of fusel but nothing crazy. Obviously it tasted like a still fermenting week old beer but overall wasn't as bad as the smell would make me imagine.

My question is, is this normal and will the yeast just clean it up? I've never smelt so much fusel in a beer that wasn't flatly ruined, but in those cases I clearly fermented too high. I know it's super early but I've had some bad experiences with fusels in the past and it's almost traumatizing. I was super pumped for this beer and would hate for it to be ruined when I feel like I controlled everything as I should have.

Thanks!

 

[Yooper]

That strain is noted to have a very phenolic aroma- are you sure you're getting fusels, and not phenols?

 

[ru41285]

I think so...if what I think are fusels actually are fusels.

I learned about fuesels from two botched beers, one early on in my brewing life where I had no temp control (and no idea what I was doing) and it easily fermented in the 90's. And once where I got lazy on a brew during a summer heat wave. The smell is exactly like those.

Any chance phenols smell like fusels sometimes? And I did oxygenate well with pure oxygen and an air stone.