I bought a steam catcher from BobbyM a couple years ago--very happy with it with one small complaint--the very strange odor that emanates from the system when using it. It's at worst a minor annoyance, something the ability to brew in my garage in the winter overcomes easily.
I'd given up hoping there was an answer (and if there is one and I missed it, please sing out). But something weird happened the last time I brewed.
The odor was much, much more tolerable than ever before. Typically that odor would last through the next day and we'd smell it every time we entered the garage. I often had a comment from SWMBO if I had the door open from the garage to the house. But last time? I wouldn't say it was imperceptible but it was well below the level I've ever had before. The next morning? Couldn't smell it at all.
Here's a theory, one I hope we can confirm or debunk: I almost always use Maris Otter as a base malt in my brews. Love the richness! I have some brews where MO and Munich malt form the backbone.
Last time, the recipe didn't call for MO--some 2-row, some Pils, a couple tiny bits of adjunct, but no MO.
The question that's on my mind: is the odor related somehow to the type of malt used? Are there elements in the wort that, depending on the malt used, make that odor much worse or much better?
I'd given up hoping there was an answer (and if there is one and I missed it, please sing out). But something weird happened the last time I brewed.
The odor was much, much more tolerable than ever before. Typically that odor would last through the next day and we'd smell it every time we entered the garage. I often had a comment from SWMBO if I had the door open from the garage to the house. But last time? I wouldn't say it was imperceptible but it was well below the level I've ever had before. The next morning? Couldn't smell it at all.
Here's a theory, one I hope we can confirm or debunk: I almost always use Maris Otter as a base malt in my brews. Love the richness! I have some brews where MO and Munich malt form the backbone.
Last time, the recipe didn't call for MO--some 2-row, some Pils, a couple tiny bits of adjunct, but no MO.
The question that's on my mind: is the odor related somehow to the type of malt used? Are there elements in the wort that, depending on the malt used, make that odor much worse or much better?
