Bavarian Hefeweizen - Wet Dog Smell at Bottling

[adkins220]

HBT,

I brewed the bavarian hefeweizen kit from Northern Brewer a couple weeks ago and bottled it last night. The beer had a (as my wife called it) "wet dog smell" to the beer. This is the first brew i had to use a blow off tube for because the yeast just went to town.

The beer tasted ok to be at the bottling stage. So here is my question. Is the "wet dog" smell associated with infection? I have brewed around 20 some batches and never had an infection. (but i have also never used a blowoff tube and did not boil the water before i stuck the blow off tube in the water now that i think of it). Or is it just the smell of the dried yeast that covered the extra head space of the glass carboy?

Please help.....I will take any thoughts you may have.

 

[khotmer]

good question....I am very interested to hear the answer.......

 

[Rev2010]

Probably just her way of interpreting the sulfur like smell that the yeast often creates, or the other odors associated with the yeasts. I wouldn't worry about it since you said it tasted fine at bottling. My beers almost never smell exactly the same at bottling time as they do when they are done carbing up and conditioned (ie. ready).


Rev.

 

[xjmox14x]

Probably just her way of interpreting the sulfur like smell that the yeast often creates, or the other odors associated with the yeasts. I wouldn't worry about it since you said it tasted fine at bottling. My beers almost never smell exactly the same at bottling time as they do when they are done carbing up and conditioned (ie. ready).


Rev.

This. I describe the smell at sulfurous and bready.. After a few days in the bottle, this will be gone.

 

[adkins220]

Thanks guys for the quick response. This is my first Bav. Hefe. so i was unsure of what to expect. Rev, you have been spot on with every answer to the questions i have asked in the past. Thanks again guys for the quick
response! !

 

[Rev2010]

My pleasure man! And, I also brew a heck of a lot of hefeweizens since they are my favorite beer.


Rev.

 

[Veedo]

The sulfer dissipates in the bottle, eh? I've had major sulfer in the last dunkel and now a hefe is puking sulfer 2nd day into fermentation. On the dunkel i waited until the smell was gone before kegging, which was about 4-5 weeks. Now I'm thinking of priming in the keg with the smell still in. Thoughts?

 

[Rev2010]

The smell occurs during primary fermentation and even when you open the fermenter you'll often still get some of that trapped smell. When bottling very little or none is carried over but since it's bottling day those lingering smells are often noticed. I'd bet if you opened a bottle in only 3 days and poured it in the glass you probably wouldn't even be able to notice any possible residual smell over the smell of the beer itself. Basic importance is that no, you do not have to hold off bottling/kegging whatsoever due to the smell once fermentation is actually complete.


Rev.

 

[bethebrew]

HBT,

I brewed the bavarian hefeweizen kit from Northern Brewer a couple weeks ago and bottled it last night. The beer had a (as my wife called it) "wet dog smell" to the beer. This is the first brew i had to use a blow off tube for because the yeast just went to town.

The beer tasted ok to be at the bottling stage. So here is my question. Is the "wet dog" smell associated with infection? I have brewed around 20 some batches and never had an infection. (but i have also never used a blowoff tube and did not boil the water before i stuck the blow off tube in the water now that i think of it). Or is it just the smell of the dried yeast that covered the extra head space of the glass carboy?

Please help.....I will take any thoughts you may have.

Wet dog or wet horse blanket either way you got yerself a Brettanomyces infection. Maybe. Sulphur to me smells different from a wet dog more like rotten eggs or a Camden tablet.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Brettanomyces

 

[Rev2010]

Wet dog or wet horse blanket either way you got yerself a Brettanomyces infection. Maybe. Sulphur to me smells different from a wet dog more like rotten eggs or a Camden tablet.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Brettanomyces

While that is certainly possible, I'd be more inclined at this point to believe it's likely an odor caused by the yeast or the dried stranded yeast crud itself since this is his first hefeweizen, it tasted fine (he said nothing about a sour taste), and that bacteria primarily comes from contact with wood.


Rev.

 

[goosegrease]

What was the yeast strain? There are hefe strains that produce sulpher smells, such as; Wyeast 3068.
Jim

 

[bethebrew]

While that is certainly possible, I'd be more inclined at this point to believe it's likely an odor caused by the yeast or the dried stranded yeast crud itself since this is his first hefeweizen, it tasted fine (he said nothing about a sour taste), and that bacteria primarily comes from contact with wood.


Rev.

His wife described exactly what brett smells like. Yea there are never brett bacteria in a brewery they only live in the woods. Right. And he just stuck his blowoff tube in there unsanitized so that couldn't have anything to do with any chance of infection.

 

[fright101]

What is interesting is, I brewed this EXACT beer and am getting a sour odor,..I guess you could refer to it as wet dog.(tasted pretty bitter/sour as well) .But my searches on HBT turned up the yeast as the culprit in most cases..I just got done kegging, so I am going to let it go with no worries..I do thing it's the yeast in my case..Wyeast 3068

 

[Rev2010]

His wife described exactly what brett smells like. Yea there are never brett bacteria in a brewery they only live in the woods. Right. And he just stuck his blowoff tube in there unsanitized so that couldn't have anything to do with any chance of infection.

Wow, what a non-*****ey response. I still say the non-brewer wife is using a term to describe the yeast odors.

Rev.