Reassure me that Belgian yeast in a cider is supposed to smell and taste nasty when "green".

[paneubert]

I wanted to experiment. So at the recommendation of the folks over at Imperial Yeast, I tried a gallon test batch of cider with their "B45 Gnome". I will admit to never having drank anything made with Belgian yeast. This may be my problem. Haha. Reassure me that Belgian Yeast is supposed to smell like crap and taste about the same when it is still "green". Here is my timeline. I realize it may still not be done fermenting, but it should be close.

12/29/17 - Shot some Imperial Gnome yeast into a gallon of unfiltered cider. No OG reading since I was in a rush, but we can assume the standard 1.04 to 1.06 range. Within about 24 hours it was pretty active and did blow off some krausen into my blowoff container. The krausen fell within a few days. Never smelled anything nasty in the blowoff. Did not smell like anything.

Fermented in a room kept at 67 degrees. Laser thermometer told me the cider was warmer due to the ferment, up to the low 70's. I am sure it might have been warmer in the center mass. But this is a Belgian yeast and should handle that well.

1/12/18 - It seemed to have slowed down a lot, so I took a reading. It is at 1.01, which is a good sign. But it smells terrible. I have no frame of reference though. This might just be how Belgian yeast smells. Or it needs a lot more time to clean up. It tastes funky as well. I ALMOST would say it tastes a little like cheap beer. I closed it back up, shook the hell out of it to release a bunch of CO2 to fill the headspace, and am going to let it sit in hopes it does…...something and becomes......better....

 

[paneubert]

In case you don't want to Google it.

B45 Gnome
Gnome is the yeast for brewing Belgian inspired beers in a hurry. This strain is extremely flocculent and drops out of the beer quickly after fermentation. Gnome produces a nice phenolic character that goes well with hops, as well as with caramel and toffee flavors. Great for Belgian ales that need to be crystal clear without filtration.

Temp: 65-75F, 18-24C// Flocculation: Med-high // Attenuation: 72-76%

 

[Drewed]

Sulfurish smells? Kind of like rhino farts?

 

[paneubert]

Sulfurish smells? Kind of like rhino farts?

Not really. Hard to describe. I think it might just be what Belgian yeast smells and tastes like. It is best described as "funky" smelling and tasting. Which I have seen used to label Belgian. No identifiable flavor that I have seen used before for Belgian like "cloves" or "stone fruit" or "spice" anything. I am sure it doesn't help that it is in apple juice. So of course someone would probably taste it and tell me it sort of tasted like apple. It was weird enough that I did not drink it beyond the small sample I took for a gravity reading. I am just going to let it age for a while. Maybe I will grab a small sample once a month or something. It is supposed to floculate really well, and it has not really done that yet. The juice was really cloudy though, so I am not expecting a clear beverage. Maybe I just had a crap ton of yeast still suspended in the sample and that increased the funk flavor and smell. Who knows. I highly doubt it is infected because I popped it open from the store, injected a couple syringes of liquid yeast direct from the package, and then capped it with an airlock. No sign of anything nasty floating in it, strong initial ferment, etc...

I think I just dont like Belgian yeast. Haha.

 

[Maylar]

I think I just dont like Belgian yeast. Haha.

FWIW, Bray Denard experimented with a dozen yeasts while developing his now famous one month mead recipe (the BOMM) and ultimately settled on Wyeast 1388 Belgian Strong Ale yeast. His notes say it's "very soft and clean, velvety with a touch of peach notes". Though that was for a mead, not cider.

 

[ten80]

I've tried belgian yeasts in cider and mead and found that they don't produce the expected pepper or clove notes in non-malt-based fermentations. The precursor for these flavors, 4-vinyl guaiacol is only present in malts.

Hard to tell what, if anything is wrong with your cider without some better taste descriptors. It may be that your cider just needs some cold aging to drop out the yeast.

 

[madscientist451]

I experimented with WLP 565, Belgian Saison yeast in cider with a few different apple blends and decided I didn't like the flavor that it produced. I ran many other cider experiments with various yeasts and came to the conclusion that changing the yeast will not produce a decent cider if you don't start with the right apples.
Back to the OP's question, you need to let the cider sit for until the yeast drops out. then rack to another container and let it age a while before you pass judgement.
You can re-pitch the yeast slurry into a beer.

 

[paneubert]

you need to let the cider sit for until the yeast drops out. then rack to another container and let it age a while before you pass judgement.

That's the plan. I don't think it is going to drop clear without some help since the base juice was unfiltered. So I am going to let it sit for a good while and then probably hit it with some bentonite or gelatin. I am in no rush.

I almost want to toss some of this yeast into another gallon of a different brand of juice to see if the flavor is similar at the same timeframe/gravity. At least then I would know if it is just the yeast flavor and not an infection, etc..