Match Stick Smell

[Lichtung]

After a 12 days of fermentation I dry hopped my beer and during the process I noticed a strong sulfur smell from the beer.

Here is my recipe
OG: 1.054
10 lbs Maris Otter
0.5 lbs Cara-Pils
0.5 lbs Caramel 45
1 oz Magnum (60 min)
2 oz Amarillo (0.5 5 min; 0.5 0 min; 1 oz dryhop)
2 oz Citra (0.5 5 min; 0.5 0 min; 1 oz dryhop)
Safale US-05

I used a swamp cooler to ferment (water at 50*F/10*C) and pitched 60*F/16*C. The last batch I fermented too high and it tasted a little "solventy", so I started low to avoid this.

I use pbw and starsan to clean and sanitize everything post boil; everything is so fresh and so clean (clean).

The next day I worried that I pitched too low, forcing the yeast to drop out... I noticed a layer of something (yeast?) at the bottom of the fermenter... So I shook up the fermenter, and raised the swap cooler temperature to low 60*F/upper teens*C.


Anyways, this brings us to present day where my IPA smells like someone put out a pack of matches in a grapefruit. I racked the beer today to get it off what I thought was a bunch of nasty sick/dead yeast.

Is all hope lost? Or will the yeast clean up the smells? What is the smell caused by? How do I avoid doing this again?

Also, I think this beer's aroma has cauterized my nose...

 

[aeviaanah]

dont smell the beer, drink it

 

[Lichtung]

dont smell the beer, drink it

Hah, great advice! I'll just drink this beer through a straw.
But really, will it clean up?

 

[Frognostic]

I think the burnt match smell is caused by stressed yeast.

Not sure why but that's the reason I've read around these parts.

As to what stresses the yeast, it could be a number of things.

Insufficient nutrient levels could be one source of this burnt matchstick smell.

 

[adamdillabo]

I got a lot of sulphur from my cream ale yeast. It went away with time

 

[mkeckjr]

Sulfur compounds are highly volatile, so yes it will go away. Sulfur is usually more of an issue with lager fermentations, not necessarily because those yeast produce a lot more sulfur, but because the fermentations are often less vigorous due to the lower fermentation temperatures. In vigorous fermentations, the sulfur will be carried out of the fermentor by the CO2 produced. I believe that your fermentation was a little on the cool side for that yeast, and probably wasn't vigorous enough to carry off the sulfur naturally.

Quick fix (if you keg) is to do the following: (1) hook up a LIQUID disconnect to a CO2 line, (2) remove the CO2 in the keg by opening the pressure relief valve, (3) connect your liquid disconnect to the liquid post, and (4) turn on the CO2 and open the pressure release valve. This is called "scrubbing" the beer, and can be used for force unwanted sulfur compounds out of the beer (e.g. sulfur, DMS, etc). If you do not keg, I think you just have to wait it out.

While pitching at 60 F is fine for this yeast, I think it works best a little higher, at like 64 F. What was the fermentation temperature like? How hot did you pitch when you got the "solventy" flavors you mentioned?

 

[cannman]

I get funky smells when I smell directly from a primary carboy. After a secondary transfer and dry hopps adds, the smell is usually gone and instead I get yummy dry hopped smell. This tells me that the yeast from the dried out kaursen near the top of the carboy is breaking down :/

I noticed a layer of something (yeast?) at the bottom of the fermenter... So I shook up the fermenter, and raised the swap cooler temperature to low 60*F/upper teens*C.

Eeks, this was probably trub. Could also be a bottom fermenting yeast you have there. Next time, no shaking or stiring when you are into your fermentation

Before you transfer the beer for secondary or bottling, COLD CRASH to get as much of the non-beer to the bottom of the fermenter. Racking off the trub will probably improve that smell you've got, and so will weeks into conditioning.

 

[Lichtung]

Thanks for the scrubbing technique, I'm hoping to enter the world of kegging soon!

What was the fermentation temperature like? How hot did you pitch when you got the "solventy" flavors you mentioned?

The Match Stick IPA's "ambient temperature" (temperature of the water), I don't know the fermenting temperatures, was usually around 60*F, although I couldn't monitor it all day. I added ice packs at around 8:00 and 17:00.

Regarding the solventy beer, the ambient temperature was at its highest 74*F, which sounds way too hot. I pitched at 70*F.

I'm just drinking a pint of the solventy beer now and it's also astringent, like I just chewed on a teabag or burnt my tongue.

I should probably get tighter temp control before I start kegging....

 

[mkeckjr]

74 F is a little hot for Chico. It's all good, though; I've ruined a lot of batches, but each one is a learning experience. I am sure your sulfur bomb will eventually be drinkable. Unfortunately the hop character will also fade since it is also very volatile. You may want to keep it in secondary for a long time, and then dry hop it again after the taste has settled down. Then bottle. Cheers!

 

[kanzimonson]

A couple other things that I could see interpreted as "match stick" are scorched wort and yeast metabolizing chlorine. Any setup to your boil that might cause scorching? And are you filtering your water?

I agree with others that it's probably a yeast thing but I haven't used US05 in years so I can't help you there.

 

[KeninMN]

Copper will scrub sulfur from beer. That is why I always submerge my copper immersion chiller in StarSan for at least 15 minutes prior to use in order to remove the oxide layer and allow some free copper into the wort. But you're way past the point now, so there is a second option. You can buy a new, clean copper pipe fitting, clean it with some detergent to remove any oils, sanitize it by submerging in StarSan for a few minutes and then suspend it in your carboy with a sanitized length of unflavored dental floss. The sulfur should be gone in a few days.

 

[azazel1024]

I've fermented S05 at 75F ambient, 72F on my slab and it fermented clean, but a little fruity. I tend to find it ferments super clean in the 62-68F range, so I tend to ferment it at around 63F. I know some people do it lower.

I haven't had sulfur from S05 before, but from my limited experience, sulfur tends to come from "fermented too cold" stress. I just fermented a batch of WLP500 in a Belgian Single on my slab, which is 62F, 66F ambient. That stuff smelled like the devils chamber pot around day 7 when I stuck my nose near the airlock. The next day it smelled a little better (still Krausen) and I stuck it in my fermentation chamber to ramped the temp to 72F for 3 days. Still some sulphur, but a lot better and the krausen has completely dropped off (there was no active airlock activity at day 7, but still a good inch of krausen).

At least on the Belgian yeast, my bit of research found that WLP500 and other belgian yeasts like to produce a lot of H2S, especially if fermented cold (opps), and they really like their warm (68-72F) fermentations. S05 I haven't experienced it as sulphury, but it can happen.

Even in the bottle sulphur will dissipate as it is disolved back in to the beer and the yeast will clear it. It can take awhile though. I am riding out my Belgian single for another week or two before I bottle it to let more of the sulphur volatize off and dissipate first.

 

[Lichtung]

Thanks to everyone for the amazing responses!

You may want to keep it in secondary for a long time, and then dry hop it again after the taste has settled down. Then bottle. Cheers!

Great advice: Thanks!

A couple other things that I could see interpreted as "match stick" are scorched wort and yeast metabolizing chlorine. Any setup to your boil that might cause scorching? And are you filtering your water?.

I grab water from my tap and bring it to a boil, then cool it down to appropriate temperatures. So, ideally, the chlorine should be gone.

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and our water is is really average/neutral, my local homebrew shop said I don't really have to do any water adjustments. I don't monitor my PH, could this really throw off flavours this much?

Because it's so cold in the winter I use two pots on my stove top. One is a tall boy I picked up at nothern brewery and the other is a sketchy thin aluminum pot. So scorching might be a thing, although I don't taste caramelized wort... but this might be different.

Copper will scrub sulfur from beer.

Ya, I've heard of this! Besides time, what is the difference between letting copper "scrub" the beer as opposed to the yeast? Will the copper leave a metallic taste? Will the yeast do a cleaner job? Does it need to be fermenting while this happens to push the gas out?

Even in the bottle sulphur will dissipate as it is disolved back in to the beer and the yeast will clear it.

This is great news! Thanks!

 

[KeninMN]

Copper will combine with the sulfur and form an insoluble precipitate.