Weird Smell Coming From Fermenter!

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casualties_army40

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hey all, just need some help.
i put on a coopers mexican cerveza and two ciders on two days ago and they all have an eggy smell to them. whats the deal?

the mexican cerveza was out of the can with some dextrose, citric acid and spray malt extract from brewcraft. i did pitch the yeast at around 24 degrees celsius because i didnt realise how hot it was. ive also heard that lager yeast does produce that sort of sulfur/ eggy smell but im not sure what type of exact yeast i used (i just used the one supplied with the can). so i understand that for the mexican cerveza it could be lager yeast but im not sure why the exact same smell is coming from my cider.

the smell from the beer is really strong coming out the airlock and same goes with one of my ciders which i used MA33 wine yeast from brewcraft for it, and heaps of apple juice. they are both bubbling away nicely. the other cider (brigalow can and yeast and some juice) hasnt started to bubble yet and there no smell coming from the airlock but when i come close to the barrell i can smell the same eggy smell coming from it.

all three had an OG of around 1050 when i put them on 2 days ago and i took a SG reading just before writting this and they are all around 1030.

i santitized everything properly with boiling water and citric acid aswell.

so if anyone has any advice or tips, are they all ruined? will it go away? whats the deal with the cider having that smell? the help would be much appreciated. cheers.
 
It's normal, by the end of fermentation there should be no eggy smell coming off the beer or taste in the beer.

Relax, don't worry, have a home brew.
 
I believe the yeast supplied with the Cerveza kit is a lager / ale mix and the sulphur could be coming from the lager part of the yeast. In the case of the apple juice, did it contain sulphur doixide as a preservative? I used to use sodium met. which releases sulphur dioxide as a sterilizer many years ago, and often got rotten egg smells even with using ale yeasts.

Only time will clear up sulphur, probably best just to keep the brews fermenting away as long as possible at below 20 degrees, and keep for as long as possible in the bottle before drinking.
 
Not really sure why you would be adding citric acid and/or sanitising with it.

If you were using Sodium Metabisulphate there would be a better chance of producing a tiny bit of H2S and bad egg smells.
 
hey all, just need some help.
i put on a coopers mexican cerveza and two ciders on two days ago and they all have an eggy smell to them. whats the deal?

the mexican cerveza was out of the can with some dextrose, citric acid and spray malt extract from brewcraft. i did pitch the yeast at around 24 degrees celsius because i didnt realise how hot it was. ive also heard that lager yeast does produce that sort of sulfur/ eggy smell but im not sure what type of exact yeast i used (i just used the one supplied with the can). so i understand that for the mexican cerveza it could be lager yeast but im not sure why the exact same smell is coming from my cider.

the smell from the beer is really strong coming out the airlock and same goes with one of my ciders which i used MA33 wine yeast from brewcraft for it, and heaps of apple juice. they are both bubbling away nicely. the other cider (brigalow can and yeast and some juice) hasnt started to bubble yet and there no smell coming from the airlock but when i come close to the barrell i can smell the same eggy smell coming from it.

all three had an OG of around 1050 when i put them on 2 days ago and i took a SG reading just before writting this and they are all around 1030.

i santitized everything properly with boiling water and citric acid aswell.

so if anyone has any advice or tips, are they all ruined? will it go away? whats the deal with the cider having that smell? the help would be much appreciated. cheers.


As others have said, sulphur can be produced by yeasts and is particularly prominent with some lagers and ciders. It will dissipate with time but you will need patience. Time resting after primary ferment has finished and at least a week cold conditioning will help. A good dose of bottle conditioning is also advised. Sodium met will accentuate sulphur in a cider in my experience but I have recently made a cider that used no sod met that has a bit on the nose (none in the taste) that disappears a bit more each day. Another cider made just prior but with more cold conditioning has none.
 
casualties_army40

Patience will prevail. I have had some funky smells coming from my airlocks over the last 8 years of brewing to the point that I don't smell my brews while there are fermenting any more. I can't explain any science about why these smells appear, but, chill have a brew give the yeast some time to weave some magic and all will be fine. (I hope) 8 years and some very shoddy sterilising practises in the past and still not one infection. (touch wood)

Drewy
 
Was wondering about your use of citric acid and did a bit of a search.
Seems can use citric acid instead of vinegar in the bleach + acid sanitiser.

Also this using potassium metabisulphate + citric acid.

the link
 
Not really sure why you would be adding citric acid and/or sanitising with it.

In relation to citric acid being added, and according to Brewcraft, "Its main use is that it aids a healthy ferment and also has good antiseptic properties. It will give a pleasant acid character to a wine"

I like adding it to cider/my apple wine.

also cheers for the help everyone.
 
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