Sulfur smell

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Unkle Danky

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May 21, 2008
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In my head I'm back in Austin, TX
I am getting a sulfur smell from my Hefe. I read on the white labs site that this hefe yeast gives off a little sulfur. I can smell it when I open the door to the closet. Should I be worried? Did I over aerate?
 
Dude my 2nd batch was a lot stinkier then the 1st. I kept it inside a closed cooler and when I would open it I would be overwhelmed with stinky smell ;)
 
That means its working. Huzzah!
tobias.jpg
 
Awesome. I guess I am just worried because a lot of the other new guys tell these horror stories of their first brew day and how everything went wrong-- then the beer was AWESOME.. My first brew went exactly as planned and I am now wondering if thats good! So just to make sure I just ordered the Fat Tire clone from Austin Homebrew. Guess you can say I am hooked!!
 
Probably a stupid question, but...if one were to put their primary in a closet that also contains clothing, would the clothing absorb the smell of sulfur?
 
I brewed a cherry wheat ale Sunday.

Today, when I came home, my office smelled like a newborns diapers. Whew!

It must be the wheat, I have never smelt beer like that.
 
Yes, the clothes will pick up the scent of the hydrogen sulfide. Check your fermentation temperature. I've noticed, with Apfelwein especially, that the sulfury smells get strongest around 72F. If the temp is brought back down to a reasonable 68F or so, the smell is significantly reduced or eliminated.
 
I know I'm rehashing an old thread here, but something interesting for anyone else who comes across this thread having the same results. I am also using a white labs hefe yeast, WLP351 to be exact. I have been getting a lot of sulfur smell from my fermenter and when I took a gravity reading today the sample also smelled unpleasant and tasted sort of strange. I had read that this happens and goes away with conditioning so I figured maybe it will help if I filter it. After putting the sample trough a coffee filter a lot of the smell went away and the beer tasted much better which gives me more confidence that this beer will improve with age. I don't have any science to back this its just something I tried that worked out and I thought others might want to try too. Even if it is only to provide a little peace of mind.
 
I've had beers throw sulfur smells which were noticeable in the hydrometer samples but they've always been fine after 2 weeks in the bottle.
 
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