It wasn't me, its my beer!

[TheCrane]

I have heard/read about sulfur stink during fermentation, yet had never encountered it; until now. I've read that this may be indicative of under-nourished or stressed yeast. However, I am not convinced that this is the case currently. On Saturday (yesterday) I brewed an english pale sort of thing and today I noticed a not overwhelming, yet distinct odor of sulfur. I did most things as usual: fermentation temp, 1000ml starter, good sanitation etc. Had a short lag (~8 hrs) followed by strong activity. Unlike past brews, I am using White Labs Burton strain, Maris Otter base and added several tsps of gypsum to mash/sparge water. I am wondering if either of these variables may be to blame. I did not use yeast nutrients, nor have I ever. Any takers?

Amount Item Type % or IBU
9.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 83.72 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 9.30 %
0.50 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.65 %
0.25 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 2.33 %
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90 %] (Dry Hop 3 days) Hops -
1.00 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90 %] (60 min) Hops 28.5 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90 %] (20 min) Hops 8.6 IBU
0.50 oz Amarillo Gold [8.90 %] (2 min) Hops 1.2 IBU
0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min) Misc
2.00 tsp Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) (Mash 60.0 min) Misc
1 Pkgs Burton Ale (White Labs #WLP023) Yeast-Ale

 

[KiltLifter]

Is your fermenter in the dark? Way back a buddys beer skunked IN THE CARBOY because he left the shade up in his garage. You could smell it in the airlock, and later taste it in the beer. Just a thought.

 

[sirsloop]

lol... reminds me of when I had 15 gallons of apfelwein lagging in my 4x8 bathroom! HAHAH!

 

[Dycokac]

lol... reminds me of when I had 15 gallons of apfelwein lagging in my 4x8 bathroom! HAHAH!

OMG... that must have been terrible.

 

[Bellybuster]

I've never had sulpher from ale yeast but quite often during active ferments with lager yeasts, Cali lager in particular

 

[TheCrane]

Is your fermenter in the dark? Way back a buddys beer skunked IN THE CARBOY because he left the shade up in his garage. You could smell it in the airlock, and later taste it in the beer. Just a thought.

Yeah its in the dark, tucked away from beer busting photons. I just checked on it this morning and the smell has pretty much vanished. I suspect that the gypsum (CaSO4) may be the culprit. Can anyone with experience in mineral additions confirm this?