4th NE IPA with 1318 - why am I getting sulfur this time??

[cpham574]

Hey guys not sure what happened with this batch but I am getting a strong sulfur aroma from my beer.

A few months ago I made a blonde with 1318 and harvested the yeast into 6 mason jars.

Have been brewing NE IPA's with this yeast and with no problems (besides over attenuation).

However, with my latest batch I am getting a ton of sulfur during primary.

Room temp for 12 hours after pitch and then 68* waterbath for 3 days then back to room temp.

It is now day 10 and there is still some sulfur in the aroma. Tastes fine though.

The only change from this batch and the previous ones is that I made a 1 liter starter instead of 2 liters. I'm holding out a few more days before kegging so I don't risk trapping a bunch of the sulfur gas during packaging.

Anyone have an idea of what's going on?

 

[RPh_Guy]

Over-attenuation and off-flavors from re-pitched yeast slurry...
Sounds like a contamination to me.

Use a good cleanser on everything cold side and make sure sanitation is on point. Use a fresh package of yeast.

Sulfide is volatile. Bubbling CO2 through your beer should purge the sulfide.

Good luck

 

[cpham574]

Over-attenuation and off-flavors from re-pitched yeast slurry...
Sounds like a contamination to me.

Use a good cleanser on everything cold side and make sure sanitation is on point. Use a fresh package of yeast.

Sulfide is volatile. Bubbling CO2 through your beer should purge the sulfide.

Good luck

I hope it isn’t a contamination. Might be my first ever if it is. I’ve been getting over attenuation consistently with this yeast and not sure why. Usually I get 79-83% attenuation. Might be time to get something new.

 

[STMF]

Over-attenuation and off-flavors from re-pitched yeast slurry...
Sounds like a contamination to me.

Good luck

^^

 

[dmtaylor]

Hate to say, but yes, @RPh_Guy is likely correct. Could very well be contam.

 

[cpham574]

Hate to say, but yes, @RPh_Guy is likely correct. Could very well be contam.

I’m starting to think contam too. If it is indeed contaminated...what kind of off flavors should I look for in the beer? Besides the aroma, the beer doesn’t have any taste that throws me off. Then again I am no expert at detecting off flavors. My fiancé says it tastes “wheaty” which I get but nothing else really stands out to me...yet.

Something must have happened during the transfer to primary. I decanted some of my starter and it tasted and smelled good

 

[RPh_Guy]

Sulfide = yeast-derived off-flavor (aroma in this case; it has a lower detection threshold on the nose)

Re-pitching yeast, especially from a cake, increases risk of contamination.
Wild microbes are everywhere, so the more contact surfaces, air exposure, and time you give a yeast culture, the higher the risk becomes.

 

[dmtaylor]

Some contaminating or wild yeasts will taste just fine. I've brewed a wild ale before that was clean and tasty. You might not experience any off-flavors. The most common is sulfur but even that will dissipate over time in most cases. Give it a month and the sulfur will likely disappear. But it often does result in high attenuation that you are experiencing.

 

[cpham574]

Some contaminating or wild yeasts will taste just fine. I've brewed a wild ale before that was clean and tasty. You might not experience any off-flavors. The most common is sulfur but even that will dissipate over time in most cases. Give it a month and the sulfur will likely disappear. But it often does result in high attenuation that you are experiencing.

Thank you guys for your help. I’m leaning towards dumping this batch and trying again this weekend. Do you think a hot PBW soak for a few hours followed by a star san soak is good enough to wipe out everything in the bubbler? Then the same process for the spigot and o-rings

I’m also going to be using new yeast too. Going with London fog this time

 

[dmtaylor]

Thank you guys for your help. I’m leaning towards dumping this batch and trying again this weekend. Do you think a hot PBW soak for a few hours followed by a star san soak is good enough to wipe out everything in the bubbler? Then the same process for the spigot and o-rings

I’m also going to be using new yeast too. Going with London fog this time

Contamination can hide out permanently in rubber and scratched plastic. All rubber and tubing should be thrown out and replaced.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I’m leaning towards dumping this batch and trying again this weekend.

Why dump it? We offered suggestions to remove the sulfide aroma. It just needs to off-gas.

 

[cpham574]

Contamination can hide out permanently in rubber and scratched plastic. All rubber and tubing should be thrown out and replaced.

Maybe it’s time to get a ss brew bucket huh?

Why dump it? We offered suggestions to remove the sulfide aroma. It just needs to off-gas.

I’ll let it sit some more and then keg it. I’ll wait to see if I still want to add a second round of dry hops. Thanks again

 

[bierhaus15]

Contamination is a possibility, but I would bet the cause is yeast stress. Sulfur production from bacteria is typically slow and mostly materializes post fermentation, if S02 via stressed yeast or bacteria, it is also hard to remove from the beer. If you smelled sulfur during an active primary, yeast (H2S) is most likely to blame. How old was the yeast stored before you pitched?

Likely the yeast burned through its glycogen reserves in storage and was either some combination of underpitched, under-oxygenated, or had a very low starting vitality.

 

[cpham574]

Contamination is a possibility, but I would bet the cause is yeast stress. Sulfur production from bacteria is typically slow and mostly materializes post fermentation, if S02 via stressed yeast or bacteria, it is also hard to remove from the beer. If you smelled sulfur during an active primary, yeast (H2S) is most likely to blame. How old was the yeast stored before you pitched?

Likely the yeast burned through its glycogen reserves in storage and was either some combination of underpitched, under-oxygenated, or had a very low starting vitality.

I don't remember the exact date since I lost my data when beersmith crashed, but I believe I harvested the yeast back in April/May. What are my options at this point if my yeast were stressed?

 

[djevans3]

Is the yeast from one of the originial mason jars? I've had issues with using washed yeast more than 2-3 times and find its better to use a fresh batch after a couple of fermentations.

 

[cpham574]

Is the yeast from one of the originial mason jars? I've had issues with using washed yeast more than 2-3 times and find its better to use a fresh batch after a couple of fermentations.

Yes, it is from one of the original jars. I swirled my fermenter a little last night since it looked like there was a layer of co2 stuck under the krausen. Took the lid off to take a smell and it seems like the sulfur is starting to go away.

Usually I package my IPAs at 10 days but I’m going to wait until day 14 or so before kegging. Then I’m going to hook up co2 to the out post in the keg to blow out any remaining sulfur with the lid off before adding some dry hops.

When I planned this batch I wanted to use some cbc1 in the keg to prime in the keg and to also eat up any oxygen that made it’s way in there. Do you guys think I should still try this?

 

[mashpaddled]

London Ale III is known for throwing sulfur sometimes and if you rushed the beer to get it into a keg you can end up keeping the sulfur in the beer. Google London Ale III and sulfur and you'll see this same question a lot. If all you're getting is a sulfur then it's likely not a contamination.

 

[cpham574]

London Ale III is known for throwing sulfur sometimes and if you rushed the beer to get it into a keg you can end up keeping the sulfur in the beer. Google London Ale III and sulfur and you'll see this same question a lot. If all you're getting is a sulfur then it's likely not a contamination.

That’s good news...thanks! If you were me, how long would you give it in primary before racking to the keg? Tomorrow will be 14 days since pitch. There’s still a slight sulfur smell when I sniff the airlock but nowhere near as bad as it was a week ago.

 

[cpham574]

Just wanted to update you guys...

This ended up being one of my best batches! I’m really glad I decided to wait it out and not dump the batch. I waited about 21 days until I racked to the keg. At that point, the sulfur smell was completely diminished. I had a bunch of my buddies try the beer and they did not detect any off flavors or aromas.

Cheers

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Sulphide from yeast that don't normally produce it can be a sign of nutrient stress, it's a by-product of protein breakdown. Are you doing anything by way of nutrition? Also you want to be generous with your pitching, unless you want to add lots of oxygen to support more yeast growth (but you don't want too much oxygen near NEIPA-y beers)

 

[cpham574]

Sulphide from yeast that don't normally produce it can be a sign of nutrient stress, it's a by-product of protein breakdown. Are you doing anything by way of nutrition? Also you want to be generous with your pitching, unless you want to add lots of oxygen to support more yeast growth (but you don't want too much oxygen near NEIPA-y beers)

I typically add 1/2 tsp or so of yeast nutrient in my boils. I’m suspecting that my 1 liter starter was not enough for the batch. Definitely going back to 2l starters now