hey guys, i brewed a penguin maibock from joy of homebrewing over the weekend and its smelling like rotten eggs today. no big deal but i decided to put it in the basement and air out the house. i came back and was thinking - is this hydrogen sulfate smell actually hydrogen sulfate? should i be concerned with the pilot light for my gas furnace and the beer fermentation in an enclosed area? I really don't want to blow my house up! for now i put it outside in my storage closet (its a little cooler, mid to low 60s, not sure how that will affect the yeast). thoughts/comments?
Rotten egg smell + Gas heat
- Thread starter jota
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If it stinks that bad, it probably is H2S. I doubt that it's enough to blow up your house, though!
I'm guessing you're using a lager yeast at room temperature. Even at 50 degrees fermenting temps, lagers can get a little sulfury. At higher temperatures, I imagine it's quite unpleasant.
I'm guessing you're using a lager yeast at room temperature. Even at 50 degrees fermenting temps, lagers can get a little sulfury. At higher temperatures, I imagine it's quite unpleasant.
If your fermentation temperature is higher than 50 degrees, you may have a very fruity and unpleasant lager. Some lager strains can ferment up to 55 degrees, but I like 50 or under. (That's not ambient, that's fermentation temperature- ambient is usually 47 or so for me when I ferment a lager)
DavidHawman
Well-Known Member
Humans can detect H2S at around 0.0047ppm which means it can be at extremely low concentrations and still stink. Plus, I doubt you're beer can produce enough H2S to even come close to the proper fuel to air ratio to cause an explosion.
If you are fermenting hundreds of gallons I'd imagine you might need to worry.
If you are fermenting hundreds of gallons I'd imagine you might need to worry.
jspence1
Well-Known Member
What yeast did you use? S-23 is fairly good at room temperature, my first at home batch was made with S-23 @ 65 and it turned out OK. You never know what your going to get until you try it.
