Belgian Doppel sour smell in airlock

[RhinoDon81]

Hi-

I brewed my first partial mash over the weekend, and I decided to try and challenge myself with my process.

1. I made a starter with Safbrew T-58, and I double pitched in order to account for the high OG of the kit.

My sanitation process is pretty successful, I have been using Star San and the same process for a while now, and I feel good about it.

2. I followed the instructions on the Austin Home brew supply kit, and my sanitation, cooled the wert to the same temp that my yeast was at (68)F, and pitched.

3. I had a very strong fermentation going in a room that is constantly at 63F, I taped a thermometer on the outside of the fermenter and have been monitoring it closely.

The fermenter at it's highest got to 71 F and now is on the decline back down.

Last night i took a smell through the airlock and it smelled a bit sour.

It has been in the primary for 2 1/2 days.

the hops that I used were nothdown for bitters and styrian for aroma

am I just being paranoid? or do I have a problem

thanks for your help!

Don

 

[BobC]

More than likely your smelling the ester coming off the yeast, Safbrew T-58 is known for that. So relax and let us know how it turns out.

 

[JeffersonJ]

Generally, a sour smell from the airlock means that you've got vigorous fermentation and that you did a good job of pitching the yeast in sufficient quantities! Once I began using yeast starters, nearly every batch has that similar smell. Plus, I believe Belgian yeast strains tend to give off that aroma more than others.

 

[RhinoDon81]

Thanks-

first time using T-58

 

[RhinoDon81]

just transferred it to a secondary last night, tested gravity and tasted.

sour taste is gone, very flavorful. looking forward to bottle conditioning in a couple of weeks!

 

[Realidad]

Sounds like you did everything spot-on to me. The only thing to worry about when talking about sourness is if your actual brew tastes sour, this indicates that the Wort has been exposed to the air for too long and got infected.

An actual sour aroma that you are getting is a good sign that your yeast is working hard for you. The Belgic Yeast strands are cultured in an apple-like paste (your yeast probably smelled like apple pie in the sachet and so they give off a sour gas.