fermentation chamber smells like...

[Fat_Bastard]

ass!
I just started using a chest freezer and temp controller for fermenting.My first batch has been in it for 10 days so far,at first every time I opened the freezer to look it smelled sour.I figured it was all the co2 in there.Now that fermentation has stopped it just plain stinks.

WTF? is this normal?
fwiw-the brew is a cream ale using nottingham yeast

 

[Hammy71]

Fermentation stinks. When you use a fermentation chamber the smell has no where to go. Normal. Especially with a freezer.

 

[kanzimonson]

For most strains, I like the smell of fermentation. Fruity and hoppy.

But I just had two batches going at the same time with 3068 - a hefe and a weizenbock - and man that made my entire basement a fart sandwich.

 

[jtkratzer]

The last few brews have been fermenting in a closet upstairs since it stays a nice 68* in there...my wife said it has to go somewhere else since the batch with WLP029 is producing some sulphur...so did the two batches of Apfelwein...and the WLP320 in the Wildflower Wheat...maybe it's because I have 27.5 gallons in fermenters at the same time and it's getting overwhelming to her (the scent of fermenation, not the volume).

 

[SickTransitMundus]

Chest freezers get skanky after a while. Especially when your blow-off vessel overflows and you don't notice for a week.

Ale temperatures, high humidity, and bits of spilled wort are ripe breeding grounds for bacteria and other bugs.

I clean my chamber once a month with Starsan. Every six months I take all the fermentors out and bleach-bomb the interior. After the bleach I air out the chamber for a few days until the chlorine smell dissipates, then the carboys go back in.

 

[kanzimonson]

My chest freezer is used 50/50 for fermentation/refrigeration. Because I'm keeping cold beer in there at times, I'm usually moving things around frequently enough that it makes sense for me to wipe it. I just try to mop up the condensation puddles, and then I go back with some starsan. I may only clean 50% of the fridge at any one time but I do it frequently enough that I haven't noticed any gross colony buildups.