Getting rid of the stinky sulphur smell

[Matrix30]

So while brewing my coopers "Pilsner" made with a honey/dextrose mix for fermentation after about 5 days I noticed my beer smelt of rotten eggs, and I know not everybody is gonna agree with what i did. But on the last day of fermentation i stuck in a twice sanitized piece of copper pipe (boiled then let soak in sodium metabisulphite) for 2 hours now I know this method is a double edged sword with the possibility of ruining my brew but not only was the smell gone when I racked it, but its 5 weeks later and tell you what this is probably my best brew yet

As the saying goes "it may seem like a stupid idea but if it works, is it really stupid?

 

[FatDragon]

Sounds like a good discussion for the brew science forum: did copper get rid of the smell or was it just time? If so, by what mechanism did it do so? What are the potential drawbacks of copper in the fermenting/finished beer?

 

[Matrix30]

When yeast ferments it creates hydrogen sulfide which under normal circumstances gets eliminated by the fermenting process, but in some cases like mine the smell just would not quit. So adding copper to the brew allowed the copper to react with the sulfide (sulphur) and causes it to sink to the bottom instead of turning into stinky gas, there is way more science behind it but I don't know all that jazz, but I do know it worked, and the bad side is introducing copper to beer can lead to a metallic taste and possible infections, to name a few.

 

[Matrix30]

Sounds like a good discussion for the brew science forum: did copper get rid of the smell or was it just time? If so, by what mechanism did it do so? What are the potential drawbacks of copper in the fermenting/finished beer?

It sat it the beer for two hours and cleared the smell right out, the answer to the rest of your questions are below I forgot to hit the reply button when I first started answering

 

[RPh_Guy]

If so, by what mechanism did it do so?

Copper is a common remedy for sulfide.
I've also used it successfully.

It causes precipitation.