Dull smell in the primary fermenter.

My Imperial Stout is now 16 days in primary. I've been testing the gravity every five days, making sure to sanitize. The first two times I checked, it smelled strongly like beer. Today it just smelled dull. No beer smell. Should I be concerned?

The OG was 1.080. Now it is 1.030. Target is max. 1.020, but it hasn't dropped any in a week.

Following the advice on this board I decided to leave it in primary for 3-4 weeks and then bottle. I know this type needs months, but I want to sample my first batch to see if I did everything right before I go big.

What should it smell like in primary? Does it matter?

What do u mean "Dull" is there a particular similarity to sometihng else?

I wouldn't worry but if fermentation stopped, its not pushing out CO2 so ur not gonna get that same strong smell as when it was vigorously fermenting.

Stick with the schedule you have, everything seems like its going as planned as far as i can see with what ur saying.

Pratzie said:

What do u mean "Dull" is there a particular similarity to sometihng else?

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Not really. It doesn't smell bad, it just doesn't smell like much at all. Maybe slightly sour, but that could be my paranoia.

I agree your probably not smelling it as much because the fermentation is winding down and there is not as much co2 being produced and bringing the aromas out with it. One the beer is carbonated and you pop a bottle, the aroma should be there.

May I suggest that next time around, you skip the excessive number of gravity readings? Take one when you pitch the yeast, leave the beer alone for a couple of weeks, take one when you think you are ready to rack/bottle/keg. Skip a day, take one more to be sure gravity is stable.

A reading every five days is wasting beer and giving you extra chances to introduce crud to the beer, with no real positive effect.

homebrewdad said:

May I suggest that next time around, you skip the excessive number of gravity readings? Take one when you pitch the yeast, leave the beer alone for a couple of weeks, take one when you think you are ready to rack/bottle/keg. Skip a day, take one more to be sure gravoty is stable.

A reading every five days is wasting beer and giving you extra chances to introduce crud to the beer, with no real positive effect.

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This, 100%. Leave the yeasties to do their work in peace. Check it again in about a month, bottle, and then leave it alone for 6 months.