Sulfury Smell!

[Verbyla]

I've been reading over the forum and have discovered that a sulfur smell to a brew could mean there's a DMS infection.
I've recently started to brew a honey malt lager and it was bubbling away for a good day or so until it stopped altogether. When i took a closer look at the brew i found it had a sulfur smell to it. It was more of an eggy smell than a rotten cabbage smell and thats why i've come to ask a question.
I've been told that a DMS infection can smell like rotten cabbage but haven't heard of it smelling like egg and was hoping that there was maybe another reason behind the smell and a possible way to get rid of it.
Is there?
I was positive that i properly sanitised everything and haven't let the brew get past the 27 degree mark. I used a kg of regular store bought honey and its my first attempt at brewing this type of beer.

 

[dj1984]

lager yeast puts off a egg smell, nothing to worrie about but you will have to CC your beer befor you drink for a while, it stays in the beer for a bit.

 

[Steve]

What yeast did you use?

 

[Bribie G]

If it was a lager yeast then it's par for the course. If it was an ale yeast like Nottingham or US-05 then you are probably in trouble. I got a sulphury smell with notto and then it turned to cabbage. DMS for sure. I had no-chilled in my urn but had a dirty tap . Won't do that again. A subsequent brew with notto was a bit sulphury and has lent a twang to the beer, still drinkable in a black and tan but I'll be glad when it's finished.

The common factor in both infections was that the Nottingham seemed to take forever to get going... it's usually quite fast and furious ... maybe pitched too cold or something and, being no chill beers, it had taken up to three days from boil to high krausen with an opportunity during those three days for something else to take hold. And in an AG brauhaus there would be a fair amount of dust, specks, motes etc swirling around the place.

I've since replaced both fermenters - which were over a year old and had long since paid for themselves - and renewed my yeast stocks.

How long did it take from pitching to get a good fermentation going? Was it new yeast or saved from a previous brew?

 

[Verbyla]

Ok well i used the standard lager yeast that came with it, so it was a new yeast.
It started fermenting about 24hours after i pitched it.
The main reason i was a little concerned was that fermentation just stopped after it had been going for a little over a day and a half and i know that it wouldn't have finished in such short a time frame.
With the smell put aside, would there be any reason for the yeast to just suddenly stop like that???

 

[Bribie G]

When you mean 'stopped' do you mean that the airlock just stopped bubbling or that there was no longer any evidence of krausen on top of the beer? What temperature did you ferment at?

 

[Verbyla]

Ok when i say stopped i mean that the airlock stopped bubbling(checked for possible gas leakages-none visible) and that the bubbling in the fermenter itself dramatically decreased to the point that there is 90% less bubbling than before.
Its been sitting at a constant 24 degrees.

 

[NickB]

Don't sweat it, just leave it for around 1 1/2 - 2 weeks, then check the gravity is the same over three consecutive days. Then bottle or keg as per usual.

My first lager freaked me out - no visible action 48hrs in, still fermenting 14 days later....

Patience is a virtue when it comes to lagers However, the end result is worth it :icon_drool2:

Cheers

 

[buttersd70]

Its been sitting at a constant 24 degrees.

too warm for an ale; way too warm for a lager.

Most (but not all) kit yeasts are ale yeasts (even if it's a 'lager' tin).

at 24C, it may be done and dusted in a few days, particularly if it had a good whack of simple sugars in there. Take an SG reading to see if it's even close to where it should be if finished, or if it is still a long way off. If the sg indicates that it's likely done, confirm with 2 more readings 24hrs apart, and proceed from there....

 

[Bribie G]

Yes I'd forgotten that kit yeasts are almost all ales, and in fact they often go like greased lightning compared to some of the more specialised yeasts such as US-05 especially if being fermented quite warm.

 

[NickB]

Shite, missed the 24C bit... yeah, probably done... Heck I've had lagers done in 3 - 5 days when pitched onto a yeast cake from the previous batch....

Cheers

 

[Verbyla]

Thanks for all the help guys.
Never had an infection, hope to God i never get a blastard infection and probably just overreacted to the weird smell.
Feel a little stupid for jumping to conclusions but hey, you live and you learn :lol:

Happy Brewing Everyone,
Verbyla