Too much yeast?

[Spinout]

I have my 2nd batch fermenting right now in the primary (2weeks) and I'm getting a stronger and stronger smell from the bucket. It kinda smells like the yeast packet, Wyeast -northwest something, but the smell doesn't make it appetizing at all. On the Austin home brew site, the suggest 2 packs for heavier beer, so I put a pack and a half in.....is that the problem?
Beer in question is chocolate stout from NB, extract kit. Did not use a starter, but yeast was active. Did a full boil, unsure of gravity, has been held at 69 degrees during fermenting. As far as I know, everything was clean/sanitized. My first beer never had any odd smells and I did everything the same, but I understand.....no guarantees.
I planned on going to secondary in a couple days, but if it's crap, no sense wasting the time.....if I can add something to take care of over-yeasting, I'd like to do it now (if that's the issue)...or, if liquid yeast does give off a funky smell for awhile and then clears up, that's great. I just can't imagine it being okay considering how it smells. It doesn't knock you down when you walk into the room, but it's more and more noticeable and you can really smell it when you put your nose up to the bucket.
Thanks for any input.

 

[CUrchin]

Personally, I wouldn't worry about it unless it's growing something on top or smells rancid. I had a Nottingham yeast cake that smelled a little banana but the smell did not transfer over to the beer. Yeast should smell like yeast.

 

[BigFloyd]

Are you planning on adding cocoa nibs in the secondary? If not, there's no reason at all to move the beer like that. Let it finish in the primary.

Fermentation can kick off all sorts of smells. Don't judge the beer by that. Also, there's no way in the world that you "over-yeasted" that beer using 1.5 packs and no starter in a 5-gallon batch. If anything, you under-pitched it.

If you want to drop as much yeast as possible out of suspension (you'll still have plenty to carbonate), move the primary to the cold (like mid-30's) for a week after fermentation is done. That "cold crash" will help clear the beer and cause less yeast trub in each bottle later.

 

[flars]

Your OG is probably 1.051 if this is NBs Chocolate Milk Stout and the volume in the fermentor is 5 gallons. If this is all true, 2 packs of fresh WY1332 would still have been under pitching. Check out this calculator for your next brew.
http://www.brewersfriend.com/yeast-pitch-rate-and-starter-calculator/

Leave this one in the primary for at least three weeks before you take the first hydometer reading. Take the second reading a few days later. If the beer has reached final gravity give it at leaast another week to clean up off flavors. Stressed yeast will produce off flavors. The yeast can clean up off flavors if given enough time. Your beer can still turn out to be very good.

Transferring to a secondary will not do this beer any good.

 

[garcia]

I think you UNDER pitched. Making a starter is so easy, I don't see why you wouldn't do it.

Then again, most beers I've been making are lagers; they need about 2-3X more yeast than ales

 

[Spinout]

Are you planning on adding cocoa nibs in the secondary? If not, there's no reason at all to move the beer like that. Let it finish in the primary.

yes, i will be adding the cocoa nibs during secondary. and does anyone else giggle and think of chocolate nipples whenever they hear "cocoa nibs" or am i the only one still in junior high?

this one will sit in primary for 2 weeks, then 2-3 in secondary, so hopefully that's plenty of time.

as for a starter......i'll refer to my original post, this is my 2nd batch. i'm pretty clueless right now. with some experience i'll hopefully expand my tools and techniques.....if not, i'll just keep buying beer off the shelf, i've proven to be pretty good at it so far.

 

[Cadrian]

Ive used this yeast twice, once in a Caribou Slobber and once in a whitehouse honey ale....

In the Caribou Slobber i used like 300ml starter (with no stir plate).... which was underpitching but it was my first time using liquid yeast, I should have read more. I also got distracted at the end of the brew day and forgot to put in my temp control measures. So the temp got up to about 70 (which probably means 75 in carboy) all night. I woke up the next morning and fermentation had went crazy.

Needless to say 6 weeks later when I cracked a bottle it, it had a really strong yeast smell and taste. Very fruity yeast flavor, its drinkable but not something I share with other people. As I keep it in the fridge and it ages a bit more the yeast character does drop out a good bit, and its becoming more and more enjoyable.

I decided to give the yeast another go with My Whitehouse Honey ale, pitched very close to a full liter starter (with a stir plate) of it, put in my temp control measures fermented at like 60 (65 in carboy I assume) for a week then slowly raised.

The Whitehouse ale came out pretty damn good... had nice Honey and malt flavor with very slight fruity yeast back. I like it. It was a hard lesson but temp control and underpitching will ruin a good brew day.

I dont think I would be to worried about it, I mean I wouldnt go pouring it out or anything. I am sure it will be drinkable. You wont really know until you start cracking open bottles and drinking them.

 

[BigFloyd]

as for a starter......i'll refer to my original post, this is my 2nd batch. i'm pretty clueless right now. with some experience i'll hopefully expand my tools and techniques.....if not, i'll just keep buying beer off the shelf, i've proven to be pretty good at it so far.

No worries. The learning part is half the fun.

One thing that I encourage newer brewers in our club to do (after I preach to them about controlling ferment temp) is to use dry yeast until they brew some intro batches and get a handle on the whole starter/pitch rate thing. Liquid yeast provides more style-specific options. Dry, however, is much easier to use and an 11g packet when rehydrated provides enough cells for an ale up to 1.060. I still use it sometimes and those beers/ciders turn out great.

 

[Spinout]

just an update (because i hate searching a forum for something and finding a post w/ no outcome), i transferred the milk stout to secondary tonight and while the bucket in general smelled like the not-so-good yeast, the beer itself looked and smelled just fine.
i also roasted the nibs tonight and i'll add them tomorrow. 3 more weeks and i'll get to bottle it....ugh. i just bottled my first ever batch over the weekend....what a pain. i see why kegging is so popular.

 

[BigFloyd]

Don't worry about smells at this stage.

+1 on kegging. It presents its own challenges, but beats the heck out of cleaning/sanitizing/filling/capping 50 bottles.

 

[deBrouwer]

It's only smells.

RDWHAHB