Sulfur Dioxide In Malt?

[Slim M]

So I went to my local hbs and picked up my usual 55 lbs of GW Pils malt then took it home and broke it down into 10 lbs as usual. By the way for those who may not know 1 gallon ziplock bags will hold 5lbs of malt and 2 gallons will comfortably hold 10.

Anyway I noticed on the bag when I went to throw it away it had an ingredient list and it said Malted Barley, Sulfur Dioxide. Never noticed this before probably because I never looked but what’s up with the Sulfur Dioxide is it added or is it a byproduct of malting?

 

[day_trippr]

Pesticide. And/or preservative - surprisingly...

Cheers!

 

[Slim M]

Pesticide.

 

[pvtpublic]

Sulfur dioxide is also produced by lager yeasts. That's why lager ferments smell like egg farts.

 

[Slim M]

Sulfur dioxide is also produced by lager yeasts. That's why lager ferments smell like egg farts.

Man I always thought I was smelling H2S.

 

[mrcastellino]

H2S is hydrogen sulfide which is the rotten egg smell that should be blown off as part of fermentation and not remain. Sulfur dioxide, SO2, is best described as burnt match and is a preservative/antioxidant. This is a component of traditional continental lagers although the appropriate amount is often debated.