smell of fermenting beer

[Buick Beer Gardens]

how if fermenting beer supposed to smell? i just brewed my first batch and its been fermenting for two days. how is it supposed to smell? is there any smell i should watch out for?

My hefewiezen smell of banana. But before that smell it was something similar to a dumpster on a hot summer day.

 

[KookyBrewsky]

Yeasty, sour, sulfur, "fuzzy" (love that one). It depends on the style and the yeast. Realistically, it will be several weeks before the smell/taste has any meaning.

Vinegar is bad news.

This eases my mind a little. Noob that did four extract brews within a few weeks of each other. All smelled relatively like beer so far, alcohol plus yeasty, malty, hoppy things. But this new IPA which was the hardest to make smells like beer with a touch of sour and “fuzz”. I’ve only smelled sulfur when the yeast are kicking into gear. After a day or two most have already smelled like beer (flat, room temp, yeasty beer that is)

 

[bracconiere]

There hadn't been a post in this thread for over 11 years... until now.

i got a gallon of brandy aging on valley oak that's a little older then that.....it smells like vanilla! tastes like it too, one glass a year on the 4th is all i allow myself.....


and when i'm fermenting cider, it smells like eggs? honestly, when i'm fermenting beer i don't smell much of anything....maybe i'm just used to having beer fermenting all the time.

 

[IslandLizard]

i got a gallon of brandy aging on valley oak that's a little older then that.....it smells like vanilla! tastes like it too, one glass a year on the 4th is all i allow myself.....

What a wonderful treat, so well deserved!

When visiting you I'll make sure to stop by on that day, and no other. Just for the tiniest taste or even a mere whiff.

 

[Onw Bro Brewing]

Making it Alive again!

Having my first brew ever 3 meters behind me bubbling away. Day 2 now. I can really smell it and since this is my first brew ever I can't tell how it is supposed to smell, but the smell is there and i'm really curious on how this will develop.


Also it helped a lot to read all the above posts! Cheers on this post!

 

[Snuffy]

Airlocks are meant to be sniffed..
Smell is not necessarily an indicator of taste.
Never give up on a batch until you've packaged and aged it a while.
Beer will mellow and improve over time and may surprise you.

 

[Hoochin'Fool]

Making it Alive again!

Having my first brew ever 3 meters behind me bubbling away. Day 2 now. I can really smell it and since this is my first brew ever I can't tell how it is supposed to smell, but the smell is there and i'm really curious on how this will develop.

Very dependent upon your recipe. My imperial stouts, very heavy on the roast/chocolate malts, fermented with S-04, smell fantastic, and after at least 5 months aging in bottles, taste superb! My ciders, smell like rhino-farts, but still end up tasting rather nice anyways...