Best way to keep the yeasty smell out of the house?

[bilder]

Well my jaunt back into brewing has hit one of the same snags it did the last couple times.

My wife does not like the smell of fermenting beer. I keep the stuff in a closet and when she opens it I catch hell for the smell. I like it, but of course SWMBO has to be happy before anyone else in the house can.

Is there a way to eliminate the smell? Been thinking of a filter of some kind to rig above the airlock or to hang in the closet just above the bucket, but not sure this would work.

Anyone have a suggestion?

The garage gets too cold in the winter.

 

[maxamuus]

Keep the wife in the garage.

I keep mine in the fruit cellar. If she needs anything from there we have a deal where she can ask me and i will promptly get whatever it is she needs. She likes it cause she doesnt have to go down stairs for a can of green beans and i just fetch them to keep the peace.

 

[COLObrewer]

Well my jaunt back into brewing has hit one of the same snags it did the last couple times.

My wife does not like the smell of fermenting beer. I keep the stuff in a closet and when she opens it I catch hell for the smell. I like it, but of course SWMBO has to be happy before anyone else in the house can.

Is there a way to eliminate the smell? Been thinking of a filter of some kind to rig above the airlock or to hang in the closet just above the bucket, but not sure this would work.

Anyone have a suggestion?

You need a mancave to ferment in, how about a garage, or shop, or shed, or . . . . girlfriends house?

 

[Revvy]

There's been a couple threads with tips. There was a real good one several years back that somehow managed to route the odor out a window. I'm trying to find it but I can't think of enough keywords to search effectively.

But this one turned up. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/odorless-brewing-164157/

Can't vouch for it, nor do I remember the thread. If I can find the other one, I'll post it. Hope this helps.

Maybe another old timer can remember the thread I'm talking about, iirc there were even pictures of the setup.

 

[fineexampl]

My fermenting cabinet is open to the air 100% of the time. I find that the smell is only there only for the first week or so. If you close the doors, might be a good idea to ventilate. My wife NEVER complains and she's one picky person when it comes to smells. You should hear her when i dehydrate chile peppers. She's made me dry in the dead of winter on the deck. Not fun, but she's pretty cool so it's no biggie.

It never ceases to amaze me how many people here complain about wives complaining. It's like most guys just give up and let the woman take over. I just don't get it.

But yeah, vintilation is key.

 

[BSBrewery]

My wife does not like the smell of fermenting beer.

Funny, I was told exactly the same thing from my wife today. So I made her take a big whiff of some hop pellets.
Luckily it was cool enough outside that I could crack some windows and have the breeze take away the brewery smell a bit.

 

[bilder]

You need a mancave to ferment in, how about a garage, or shop, or shed, or . . . . girlfriends house?

Got a garage, but it gets too cold in the winter. It is not heated very well and gets below freezing quite a bit. Guess I could rig up an insulated box with a small heater on a timer if all else fails, but would be really worried about frozen beer or the possibility of a fire from the heater.

 

[specialized]

Make a spoof tube.. stuff dryer sheets into a 12 oz soda bottle.. poke holes into the bottom of the soda bottle. rig the bottle onto the blow off tube such that the c02 doesn't escape anywhere but the spoof tube.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

Keep the wife in the garage.

I keep mine in the fruit cellar. ...

I'm gonna have to try that. She'll have her pick, the garage or the cellar.

 

[superjunior]

ditch the wife, I was thinking about putting mine on e-bay..

 

[Revvy]

Make a spoof tube.. stuff dryer sheets into a 12 oz soda bottle.. poke holes into the bottom of the soda bottle. rig the bottle onto the blow off tube such that the c02 doesn't escape anywhere but the spoof tube.

That was sort of the rig the guy i was thinking of had.

 

[bilder]

Make a spoof tube.. stuff dryer sheets into a 12 oz soda bottle.. poke holes into the bottom of the soda bottle. rig the bottle onto the blow off tube such that the c02 doesn't escape anywhere but the spoof tube.

That sounds easier than what I was thinking. Will give it a try next batch.

 

[Hannable1975]

Make Ed Worts famous Apfelwein ( sp? ) - I understand it can smell very "pleasant" - maybe it will cover the scent of your beer...

( I admit I am being disingenuous - in a thread about said concoction, it was the first time I ever heard the phrase "rhino farts"......")

 

[RogerMcAllen]

From the arm & hammer website:

ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda can even deodorize when it's dissolved in water! Get our 12 lb. Resealable Pouch with the enclosed scoop so you can use baking soda in the wash water whenever you need to add a boost of deodorization to your wash water. When you use ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda with your bleach loads, you'll find you can cut back on the bleach you use and not have that bleachy smell on your clean laundry when you are done.

I think your best bet would be to run a blow off tube through a concentrated baking soda solution. I'll try this out on my next batch of Apfelwein this week and report the results.

 

[rsquared]

Keep the wife in the garage.

I keep mine in the fruit cellar.

I'm gonna have to try that. She'll have her pick, the garage or the cellar.

Damn, someone beat me to it!

 

[fineexampl]

From the arm & hammer website:

ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda can even deodorize when it's dissolved in water! Get our 12 lb. Resealable Pouch with the enclosed scoop so you can use baking soda in the wash water whenever you need to add a boost of deodorization to your wash water. When you use ARM & HAMMER® Baking Soda with your bleach loads, you'll find you can cut back on the bleach you use and not have that bleachy smell on your clean laundry when you are done.

I think your best bet would be to run a blow off tube through a concentrated baking soda solution. I'll try this out on my next batch of Apfelwein this week and report the results.

I've heard activated carbon is lightyears better at absorbing odors when compared to baking soda.

 

[bad67z]

I've heard activated carbon is lightyears better at absorbing odors when compared to baking soda.

You beat me to it. But here is my $.02

Mason jar half full of starsan. Two holes in lid w/grommets. One hole gets the blow off tube, and the other gets a filter made out of some PVC, charcoal filter media (from local aquarium supply) and some screen.

 

[jollytim]

Perhaps something like..... this:

 

[Ouroboros]

I've heard activated carbon is lightyears better at absorbing odors when compared to baking soda.

Oh yeah, activated charcoal is awesome for that sort of stuff. My two cents now follow...

Attach a blowoff tube to your fermenter. You know what a bong looks like? Well, MacGyver yourself a bong-like contraption and attach the blowoff tube to the place where the greenery would go. Seal an activated charcoal filter over the place where the gas will exit. If you don't have access to activated charcoal filters, you can make a "sploofer" out of dryer sheets crammed into a paper towel tube.

 

[bad67z]

Perhaps something like..... this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb4OffU8OwE

More so like this, The Gas B Gon


http://www.dairiair.com/cart

 

[mlg5039]

I've heard activated carbon is lightyears better at absorbing odors when compared to baking soda.

Being a mechanic, I have a few spare charcoal canisters laying around from replaced evap systems and cars gutted for racing. May have to try this if I have stinky beer farting.

 

[fineexampl]

Being a mechanic, I have a few spare charcoal canisters laying around from replaced evap systems and cars gutted for racing. May have to try this if I have stinky beer farting.

Right on! Heck, you could even insert it directly and never squeeze out a nasty gasser again.

 

[jkreuze]

Keep the wife in the garage.

I keep mine in the fruit cellar. If she needs anything from there we have a deal where she can ask me and i will promptly get whatever it is she needs. She likes it cause she doesnt have to go down stairs for a can of green beans and i just fetch them to keep the peace.

I know you meant to say that you keep your beer in the fruit cellar, but your post could just as easily be read as you saying that you keep your wife in the fruit cellar, which I thought was very funny, see:

"I keep [my wife] in the fruit cellar. If she needs anything from there we have a deal where she can ask me and i will promptly get whatever it is she needs. She likes it cause she doesnt have to go down stairs for a can of green beans and i just fetch them to keep the peace."

Anyway, that's a little off topic.

My beer ferments in the newly-insulated basement, where I think I might have done too good of a job. I left the laundry room unfinished, hoping that temps would get down to 60 or so regularly, but rain or shine, cold out or hot, it's stuck at 67F. I guess we'll see how it works out come winter.

 

[devilishprune]

I don't know if it's an option for you, but if you fermented in a sanke, I don't think that you would have to vent it so much, because they can withstand a fair amount of pressure.