First Batch, First Issue

[borovy3488]

I just joined the forum today, but I already have a question for you guys. I got my first batch in the fermentation bucket last night (WindRiver's Porter), and the airlock is bubbling right now. No problem with the brewing process at all (yet), but my wife is not liking the smell too much.

I realize that I probably should have anticipated her not liking the smell, but you know how that goes. We are living in a small house right now with no basement and a crawlspace. Right now the fermentation bucket is in a spare bedroom.

What would you guys do to limit the smell in the "living" areas of the house? We hardly ever go into the spare bedroom, that's why I thought it would be a good place for fermentation. The only thing I can think of is putting it in the closet of the bedroom and stuffing a towel under the door. Would this work? Is it safe to let it brew in our crawlspace somehow?

Thanks for any help!

 

[beergolf]

I don't know what to tell you but my wife loves the smell.......

 

[superjunior]

buy a cat. glade plug ins? light a smoke? tell swmleave to go visit mom for a while? just throwing some thoughts out there
.....kidding

 

[D0ug]

my two cents...

The big concern is letting it get too cold, say below 58/60*F ambient temp for an ale yeast. You don't want it too warm either, but it's winter and you're talking about moving it away from your living space.

The closet in the spare room should be fine if it does not get too cold overnight, the same with the crawl space. Be aware though, in the crawl space, that a concrete or dirt floor will lower the temperature of you fermentor still more than if you had it in the same place but off the floor, like on a shelf or a piece of pinkboard.

Ideally you would want to get e thermometer that will show you the highest and lowest temperatures it's read and stick that in you space first to see what the range is over a few days. I have a fairly cheap plastic one that works pretty well for this.

The smell should decline on it's own after a few days though, can you just keep telling her "it will get better soon, really" until it stops?

MY SWMBO doesn't mind the smell of the fermentors, but doesn't really care for the way my boils stink up the whole house for a day or two after.

Welcome to the site!

 

[Smokeater233]

Put it in an enclosed, dark, and cool space - be it a crawl space, a closet, etc. I guess you could lightly place a dryer sheet over the top of the airlock cap. Not sure that'd work, but if SWMBO were to stand in the way of this hobby, I might try this approach myself...

 

[ArizonaDB]

I almost always place my fermented in a small place (closet. Bathroom etc) during fermentation and it has always been fine for me. The smell does go away fairly quickly. Maybe a couple of days. Sit tight and reassure ur wife/girlfriend all will smell nice in a couple of days.

 

[borovy3488]

Thanks for all of the tips. I really don't smell it that much at all, but you know how that goes. I have moved one of those plug-in things in the room, and hopefully that will tide her over until the smell is gone.

 

[skyebrewing]

If you can swing it, for the first few days, put it in the bathroom and put on the fan to disapate the smell. Maybe noisy, but my wife would rather hear the fan than smell what i leave in the bathroom...

 

[Bacon]

look on the bright side, any air fresheners you use shouldnt have an effect as long as your airlock is on ok.

I personally love the smell, but if the swmbo doesnt agree...

 

[HItransplant]

poke holes in a ziploc bag, stuff a couple of dryer sheets in it, and slip it over your airlock.. might help.

also, re: the crawl space-- always think about the potential clean up if you have some type of spill... and/or the potential for breaking your glassware getting it in/out.

food for thought.

 

[scrambledegg81]

swmleave

I'm writing that one down.

 

[FatherJack]

I had this problem with my first partial wheat beer. I brewed as normal and then two mornings later I woke up to a nasty sulfur smell. It was so bad it made me nauseous for most of the morning just thinking about it.

I took one of those little Renuzit air things, cracked a window opened and prayed for the best. I don't know if it did the trick or if fermentation ran its course, but things improved soon thereafter.