sweet smell

[EPS]

I'm on my second batch of beer a coopers no boil IPA. My first was i coopers lager no boil kit. Both times there has been a sweet apple like smell coming from airlock. And also the first one had this smell when i took hydrometer and bottled it. It sat in the primary for 2 weeks then bottled. I didn't follow coopers non sense 6 day the bottle advice. Also when i sampled the hydrometer test sample it had the same taste but very slight the smell was much stronger. I know have my first batch in bottles haven't tried them yet cause they onlt been bottled for 1 week and i'm waiting at least 3. Now reading the forums i figured this could be high fermentation temps and pitching yeast at to high of a temp. With with the first batch i did pitched at 30 c and fermented at 26-28 c. So hopefully the first batch will get better with bottle conditioning and be ok. But this second no boil IPA i did i pitched at 25 c and have been fermenting at 20-22 c. And its been a strong fermentation very big bubblie krausen witch with the first batch i had barley any krausen. Airlock is bubbling every 4-5 sec for 4 almost five days now. I know a hydrometer is the only sure sign of fermentation but seeing these things make you feel good any how. So i'm pretty sure its fermenting strong. The problem is i'm getting that sweet apple smell coming from airlock again on fermenter. And now i'm worried i'm going to have the same problem with this batch. I sanitized everything great with star san so i deff. don't think this smell is infection. Does anyone know why this keeps occuring? What this smell is and is it normal to get this sweet apple smell from airlock? And will bottle conditioning clear the taste and smell of first batch? And also now that i'm smelling this smell from airlock for a second time. Should i expect the same smell ans faint taste of green apple with the second batch at bottleing time? Any advice would be great THANKS

 

[C-Rider]

I put a Cooper's IPA in the primary this past Monday eve.
It to is bubbling like crazy. Didn't notice any sweet smell but really didn't stick my nose over the airlock
I had a OG of .045
In one day at 75 F it dropped to .018
I've since used ice to cool it to 65F and it's still bubbling at least 5-6 seconds.
It really tasted bad yesterday when I took the reading. Very bitter, but I know that means nothing at this point in time.

This might be my last Cooper's brew. Gonna move up one step to partial extract brewing real soon.

 

[devilishprune]

Why are you worried about it when you haven't even sampled your FIRST BATCH yet? You need to relax.

I bet that by the tie you try your first batch in a couple of weeks you won't notice anything wrong with it. Fermentation smell really has no bearing on the final product.

 

[Yooper]

Patience will help!

I'm no fan of Cooper's kits, but a couple of tips can make it better- one, keep the fermentation temperatures below 22C, no matter what the instructions say. Secondly, don't use the full amount of corn sugar they tell you to in the directions- that much corn sugar can cause a "thin" dry beer as well as a cider-y taste to the beer. That cider-y taste does fade somewhat with time in the bottle. If you've made the kit according to the instructions, once it's bottled it does get a bit better. My best friend drank two cases eventually of the stuff I made from Cooper's for a quick and easy batch.

If you enjoy beer brewing, and want to keep it simple, I'd suggest a simple kit from Brewer's Best or from a homebrew store like austinhomebrew.com. Here's an example: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php?cPath=178_452_638

A kit with some crushed grain, hops you boil, and quality yeast (instead of that cooper's yeast) and no corn sugar for a cheap alcohol boost will be much better quality.

 

[unionrdr]

It sounds like you need to let it sit on the yeast cake a lil longer to clean up some of that stuff. I did. Brewed at 20-22C (20C more often as not),gives a cleaner beer. Good idea to let it bottle condition for 3-4 weeks. Then 3-5 days in the fridge. My avatar shows the results,& that's not even the best of the batch!
But they're right,the green beer you smell/taste out of the fermenter is only a vague indication at best of the final product. I found that out very quickly. So relax,& be patient.

 

[Toga]

It is a combination of the Coopers yeast which produces a sweet cider like ester if fermented warm and the use of sugar in conjunction with it. I did a few of the coopers kits when I started and found these to be the culprits. If you ever do a coopers kit again (not recommended) do yourself a favor and throw away the included yeast packet and buy a cheap packet of nottingham or US05 to use in its place. Also sub light dry malt extract for the sugar. Your taste buds will thank you later

 

[unionrdr]

The brewing sugar I used with the OS lager can produced a fruity,malty,floral kind of flavor. The cidery thing can come into play when ferment temps go above 22C,or too much dextrose is added,imo. I like the brewing sugar,because it's 80% dex,20% maltodextrine. For the goto sort of pale ale I get from that kit & the Cooper's ale yeast.
I've got a batch about ready to bottle where I subbed 1.4kg of plain extra light DME for the brewing sugar. And some more flavor/aroma hops. Smells even more like a malty,bit hoppy English pale ale. I'll know in a month...

 

[HoppyGus]

I had a recent batch that smelled like absolute ASS while fermenting. I mean it seriously smelled like someone farted in a bottle. Beer tastes awesome!

 

[unionrdr]

Isn't dat veird? sometimes fermentation isn't pretty,folks...