1968 yeast...wine-like estery smell

[HoppyHarrington]

Hi everyone, happy Easter.

New to this forum, but I've been brewing for a year or so. Yesterday I brewed a session ipa recipe I threw together with mostly late hop additions and 1968 wyeast from a 1 liter starter I made thursday. I was told at the homebrew shop that 1968 was the best in terms of flocculation...so I picked some up because they were having a BOGO deal.

I pitched the yeast a bit warmer than I should have...i think it was 78 or 79 F. I know I should know better, but yeah. I then put the bucket in a swamp cooler with ice and ice water and an old shirt and a fan.Dropped the temp down in hours. saw activity in airlock last night. This morning, no more activity and temperature is at 62. I brought the bucket up out of the basement, and now there's activity again, but I get this winey fruity smell coming from the airlock...

Is this normal or did I ruin the batch with my impatience? will that smell go away with time? I also used mosaic and simcoe hops, but I don't think that's what I'm smelling.

 

[JonM]

I use this yeast often and I really like it. However, it is the fastest yeast I have ever used. When I pitch it at 62, it blasts off with incredibly vigorous activity and then, after only about 12-15 hours, activity dramatically drops off. Your batch may have finished overnight, especially if it was warm. Check the gravity and see how it's doing.

And FWIW, when this yeast slows down, it starts to flocculate, which can lead to a stuck fermentation. I get good results from keeping an aye on it and slowly raising the temp to around 70 when activity starts to slow down.

 

[Aonghus]

Hi everyone, happy Easter.

New to this forum, but I've been brewing for a year or so. Yesterday I brewed a session ipa recipe I threw together with mostly late hop additions and 1968 wyeast from a 1 liter starter I made thursday. I was told at the homebrew shop that 1968 was the best in terms of flocculation...so I picked some up because they were having a BOGO deal.

I pitched the yeast a bit warmer than I should have...i think it was 78 or 79 F. I know I should know better, but yeah. I then put the bucket in a swamp cooler with ice and ice water and an old shirt and a fan.Dropped the temp down in hours. saw activity in airlock last night. This morning, no more activity and temperature is at 62. I brought the bucket up out of the basement, and now there's activity again, but I get this winey fruity smell coming from the airlock...

Is this normal or did I ruin the batch with my impatience? will that smell go away with time? I also used mosaic and simcoe hops, but I don't think that's what I'm smelling.

I am sure your beer will be fine. Give it time to do it's thing. RDWHAHB

 

[Qhrumphf]

1968 is a very fruity strain. But you're also early on in what seems to be a pretty stressed fermentation, and I wouldn't try to evaluate the character until it's done. I'd let it ride a couple weeks and see what happens. After fermentation dies down (but before it stops completely) I'd warm it to 70-72 to hopefully clear up some of the intermediaries you likely created. That strain's a fairly big diacetyl producer (especially with how fast and hard it drops), and you may get a fair amount otherwise. And then let it age and see if it gets better. The fruitness may die down, and may or may not go away with time. I wouldn't count on it going away entirely, as like I said it's a very fruity yeast, but depending on what it is you're tasting it may mellow.

 

[HoppyHarrington]

Thank you for all of your advice. It is now around 64 in the fermenter and still bubbling steady. Not going to bother with a reading until it dies down. Really not a fan of this smell at all, so I'm hoping its just the yeast and my beer will not be too estery.