Should i add yeast nutrient???

[EPS]

I have a cider thats been fermenting for 7 days now. And yesterday it started with the rotten egg (rhino Farts) smell. And today its seems to be getting worse the whole closet i have it in smells of rotten egg. I fermented this cider at 62-65 F and used Safale US-05. I did add yeast nutrient when i pitched about a teaspoon. The OG was 1.065 and it has been steady fermenting for 6 days straight. I have never had to add yeast nutrient during fermentation on beer. But should i do it for this cider i feel like maybe the yeast are a little stressed out. Is this common practice for hard cider? And if so how would i go about adding it? I was thinking about maybe boiling a little water cooling it down some stirring in the nutrient and just adding it straight to primary. Or should i just take a hydrometer reading see how far along it is. And move forward based on what reading i get? Or just wait a couple days and see if the smell goes away like everyone says it will? What do all you cider pros think? Thanks

 

[UpstateMike]

I think at this point it would be best to just let it go and wait it out.

 

[HappyCider]

My answer would be yes.

Part of normal yeast growth is reducing the sulfur present in the must into sulfides. The yeast then needs nitrogen in order to continue converting the sulfide into essential amino acids such as cysteine and methionine. If there is insufficient nitrogen, the yeast cannot complete this amino acid creation. Since the production of sulfides is unregulated though it continues churning out sulfides that have no place to go except combine with hydrogen and form hydrogen sulfide, a.k.a. rhino farts.

Since nitrogen is generally lacking in apple juice/cider it is important to add yeast nutrient to give the yeast enough nitrogen to allow it to utilize the sulfide it produces. I typically shoot for 3 tsp in a 5 gallon batch.

There are of course other issues that can cause rhino farts but I would bet that this is the one that causes the most complaints.

Here is some more knowledge in case you feel like reading:

http://www.slideshare.net/vitisdivine/sulphur-containing-compounds-produced-by-fermenting-yeasts

http://www.apps.fst.vt.edu/extension/enology/downloads/SLOFactorsFinal.pdf

http://books.google.com/books?id=q_...QGhtID4Dg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[EPS]

hey man thanks for the quick answer i added some yeast nutrient and when i open the fermenter i tool a hydro reading it went from 1.065 to 1.020 i also tasted the sample even though it smelt like rotten eggs still IS This SAFE i thought about it afterwards this stuff or smell can;t hurt me can it it didn't taste as bas as it smelt

 

[HappyCider]

At the level produced during 5 gallon fermentation probably not unless you stick your head in the bucket, cover it with a towel and hang out in there for a while.

I do some work in the waste water industry though where people do regularly die from hydrogen sulfide poisoning.

From wikipedia:

0.0047 ppm is the recognition threshold, the concentration at which 50% of humans can detect the characteristic odor of hydrogen sulfide,[16] normally described as resembling "a rotten egg".

10–20 ppm is the borderline concentration for eye irritation.

50–100 ppm leads to eye damage.

At 100–150 ppm the olfactory nerve is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger.

320–530 ppm leads to pulmonary edema with the possibility of death

800 ppm is the lethal concentration for 50% of humans for 5 minutes exposure

Concentrations over 1000 ppm cause immediate collapse with loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.

 

[EPS]

Damn that sh$t sound dangerous this was my first batch of cider. I have brewed alot of beer and never got the rotten egg smell. I stick to ales and IPAs though never wheat or belgian beers. This was my first cider and prob my last. I feel like i'm learning a bunch of stuff all over again. But thanks for the help i feel fine after a couple hrs of drinking the sample. Surprisingly it didn't taste to bad it just smelt like a$$. Its already 6 percent ABV and after i added the nutrient its fermenting strong again. I was going to make some apple jack with this and freeze the alcohol out. Any thought on that?

 

[454k30]

Apple Jack infused with a bunch of cinnamon is a great way to get rid of cider that didn't turn out.

 

[jackfrost]

At the level produced during 5 gallon fermentation probably not unless you stick your head in the bucket, cover it with a towel and hang out in there for a while.

I do some work in the waste water industry though where people do regularly die from hydrogen sulfide poisoning.

From wikipedia:

0.0047 ppm is the recognition threshold, the concentration at which 50% of humans can detect the characteristic odor of hydrogen sulfide,[16] normally described as resembling "a rotten egg".

10–20 ppm is the borderline concentration for eye irritation.

50–100 ppm leads to eye damage.

At 100–150 ppm the olfactory nerve is paralyzed after a few inhalations, and the sense of smell disappears, often together with awareness of danger.

320–530 ppm leads to pulmonary edema with the possibility of death

800 ppm is the lethal concentration for 50% of humans for 5 minutes exposure

Concentrations over 1000 ppm cause immediate collapse with loss of breathing, even after inhalation of a single breath.

Now this Guy knows his stuff... thanks for the info very good to know

 

[jackfrost]

Damn that sh$t sound dangerous this was my first batch of cider. I have brewed alot of beer and never got the rotten egg smell. I stick to ales and IPAs though never wheat or belgian beers. This was my first cider and prob my last. I feel like i'm learning a bunch of stuff all over again. But thanks for the help i feel fine after a couple hrs of drinking the sample. Surprisingly it didn't taste to bad it just smelt like a$$. Its already 6 percent ABV and after i added the nutrient its fermenting strong again. I was going to make some apple jack with this and freeze the alcohol out. Any thought on that?

I think you should give ciders another shot most of the time ppl over think it. It really is as simple as store bought juice... nutrient... energizer...(optional flavoring) and time... you can get technical if you like but I prefer. The KISS METHOD.... you will be amazed at the creations that you make and how well they taste....then branch off into making prized from scratch ciders