Harsh smell coming out of blowoff tube

[tonyolympia]

I have an old ale / winter warmer (1.078 OG) nearing the end of day 1 fermenting with Wyeast 1028, London Ale. I made a starter that, if anything, was a little on the large side, and I've kept fermentation temps in control. In fact, until about 12 hours into the first day, I had it at almost the bottom of 1028's temp range--62 F. After that, I ramped it slowly up to 68, the recommended fermentation temp for this recipe, where it's held since. The yeast are now happily swimming about.

So why, when I smell the bubbles coming from the blowoff tube, do I get a very harsh odor--dare I say solventy? Is that common in normal fermentations? Is it possible to generate fusel alcohol even at the recommended fermentation temp? Is it possible that I might just be smelling the Iodophor solution in my blowoff jar?

Any insights would be welcome.

 

[PantherCity]

Might just be CO2. The first time I stuck my head down into my chest freezer after it had filled over night with CO2 it was quite a shock. It really stings the nostrils!

 

[jonmohno]

Maybe the sanitizer in the blowwoff jar??And most likely.Nothing to worry about. I had a blowoff with a very vigorous ferment and it smelled awesome and odd with the idophor.THat stuff smells weird.Your smelling that.

 

[tonyolympia]

Might just be CO2. The first time I stuck my head down into my chest freezer after it had filled over night with CO2 it was quite a shock. It really stings the nostrils!

There is a lot of CO2 being produced in this fermentation, I can say that. The beer is positively effervescent. I guess I just wouldn't expect CO2 to sting like that.

 

[PurpleJeepXJ]

Might just be CO2. The first time I stuck my head down into my chest freezer after it had filled over night with CO2 it was quite a shock. It really stings the nostrils!

You know CO2 is heavier than air... This is how people suffocate. I wouldn't stick you head down in your chest freezer any more and take deep breaths. Oh and about the smell it sounds like either you are using a new piece of plastic or rubber somewhere in the fermentation process or you are confusing sulfur with the smell.

 

[Revvy]

Easiest cure for your worry?

Don't sniff your airlock.

Fermentation is ugly and smelly, even when nothing's wrong.

So don't worry about what the airlock smells like....it's blowing off those compounds that if they stayed in (like sulphur) would taint your beer.

Plus co2 usually has a sour/burning smell, and like others have said, can cause dizziness, folks have fainted from sticking their head in their fermentation freezers because of the built up co2.

But since it really is hard to ruin your beer, jumping at every boogeyman you might stumble upon (like a smelly airlock) is just asking for undue stress.

 

[jfr1111]

Easiest cure for your worry?

Don't sniff your airlock.

Fermentation is ugly and smelly, even when nothing's wrong.

So don't worry about what the airlock smells like....it's blowing off those compounds that if they stayed in (like sulphur) would taint your beer.

Plus co2 usually has a sour/burning smell, and like others have said, can cause dizziness, folks have fainted from sticking their head in their fermentation freezers because of the built up co2.

But since it really is hard to ruin your beer, jumping at every boogeyman you might stumble upon (like a smelly airlock) is just asking for undue stress.

+1. I get a lot of different smells coming out of my fermenters, even days after final attenuation is reached. I brewed a version of special bitter a few days back, which was fermented with Windsor, and that yeast produced all kinds of scrappy/nasty aromas during fermentation: sulfur, manure, olives. It was the most noxious ferment I have had yet and I followed my usual fermentation schedule. Nothing went awry. It just smelled very bad.

I drew a sample today to check for final gravity and it now smells good. Not as good as some other yeasts, but the chicken coop aroma is gone.

 

[tonyolympia]

Easiest cure for your worry?

Don't sniff your airlock.

Fermentation is ugly and smelly, even when nothing's wrong.

So don't worry about what the airlock smells like....it's blowing off those compounds that if they stayed in (like sulphur) would taint your beer.

I wouldn't say I'm worried, just interested. Fermentation is ugly, smelly, and also beautiful and fascinating. I want to know everything there is to know about it!

Learning that the sharp smell from my blowoff tube means the yeast are working hard to produce a better beer... well, it just makes me love those little bugs all the more.

 

[PantherCity]

You know CO2 is heavier than air... This is how people suffocate. I wouldn't stick you head down in your chest freezer any more and take deep breaths.

No ****, only a mistake I made once. First ferment in my new chest freezer and I got home from work and wanted a sniff of my IPA. Needless to say it was not the bouquet of centennial aroma I was expecting.