Funky imitation crab meat smell?

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polarbeer305

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In the past I had a belgian triple that while fermenting smelled just like imitation crab meat and the finished product was a bit "off". Now i have an IPA that is even dryhopping and it smells like crab meat again. i can't seem to figure it out. Sanitation problems? Any thoughts?
 
Is it possible that you have some crab meat on your upper lip? Perhaps stuck in a moustache?

Sorry, that's a new one for me. Is it a medicinal or plastic like smell? Does it remind you of bandaids? Maybe it's a bit like soggy cardboard? Perhaps it smells like corn, other vegetables, rotten cabbage, or some sort of vegetable soup? Those I can pin down, but imitation crab meat is a new one for me. :drunk:
 
I live in Louisiana, so I might ask what was the last thing that was boiled in your pot, but you said imitation crab meat.

First thing is to look at everything the two beers had in common.
 
I guess rotten cabbage/eggs/ocean and sweetness works too, but it's not appetizing. Usually with the IPA's I brew my whole kitchen reeks of hops. This is bizare. I guess sanitation must be the problem cause the only thing the two beers had in common was the fact that they were both made in my kitchen by myself. It's just weird that there is absolutely no hops scent coming out of the fermenter. The IPA smells just like the Belgian Triple. WTF?
 
When you boil, are you using a lid on your brew pot? If so, that would trap in a lot of DMS, which can add off flavors that have been described as vegetable like, even similar to rotten cabbage in large enough amounts.
 
When you boil, are you using a lid on your brew pot? If so, that would trap in a lot of DMS, which can add off flavors that have been described as vegetable like, even similar to rotten cabbage in large enough amounts.

Thats what I thought when he said "cabbage". Also, did you use pils malt in either beer? It usually needs to be boiled for 90 min to drive off DMS.
 
DMS is often described as having a cooked cabbage flvor, and in high enough concentrations CAN BE and has been described as shellfish or oysters. I would guess you're not boiling vigorously enough, long enough or you're covering your boil. Some brews, particularly those with Pilsner malts, produce an excess of DMS and greatly benefit from a longer (90 minute) boil time. Did you use a high proportion of Pils malt in both of these shrimpy brews.
 
Wow. Um... all of the above. I have always mostly covered my brewpot, leaving about an inch open for steam to escape. I also used a good amount of pils malt in both. Will this subside after time or should i just throw the brew away? Also, the recipe for both calls for a 60 minute boil. Should i boil for 30 minutes and then start my timer as if the boil just started? Lots of time/money/effort lost to this DMS.
 
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