Holy sulfur, Batman!

[Longarm]

Brewing a wit beer with 4lbs of kiwi fruit. Pitched a Lallemand Munich Wheat Beer yeast starter @ 21c and fermentation took off about 8 hrs later. First day off-gas was typical pleasant beer smell. Overnight, the odour has turned to a rather pungent sulfur smell (filling my basement) which is a first for me but, then again, this is my first wheat beer. Krausen still looks healthy. After reading several posts, on this forum, I'm confident that all is well and that it's just a waiting game for the fermentation to run its course and for the sulfur smell to dissipate. Here's to hope, anyway. It's very exciting.

 

[berucha]

Pitched a Lallemand Munich Wheat Beer yeast starter @ 21c and fermentation took off about 8 hrs later.

Very typical pungent sulfur smells are mostly present at the beginning of fermentation when using low fermentation yeast as lager yeast. But it is not as common with the yeast you used. It is possible that you also under pitch which favor sulfur compounds. This lallemand Munich Wheat Beer yeast contains 5 billion cells per gram. How much did you use and for how much wort at which OG?

Brewing a wit beer with 4lbs of kiwi fruit.

Did you boil the Kiwi? (i.e. when did you put them in?)

First day off-gas was typical pleasant beer smell. Overnight, the odour has turned to a rather pungent sulfur smell (filling my basement)

It sounds like your Lallemand yeast was took over by wild yeast and/or bacteria.

In any case, it will be important that you give it a good rest after fermentation (i.e. FG is attained) otherwise the sulfur and diacetyl will stay in (and it will taste and smell very bad).

 

[GASoline71]

Almost all "wheat beer" yeast strains put off a sulpher smell for a tad.

Gary

 

[Longarm]

Thanks for the replies. The sulfur odor had vanished by this a.m. (Tuesday). Not a trace. The airlock was steady all day but seems to have little action, now (11:30p.m.). Still a good 2 inches of krausen and what does escape, now, smells delicious. The yeast was an 11 gram vacuum sealed packet. I started it in 1 cup of cooled wort, in a sanitized container (maybe a mistake) and pitched it into 19L (5 gal) of wort at 21C with an OG of 1.046. I should also mention that my pre-boil grain tea was 1/2 lb of torrified soft wheat and 1/2 pound 2-row pale malt. Once brought to boil, I added 6.6 lbs liquid pale malt extract. The Kiwi was added at the end of the boil (60 min), as directed. The recipe indicates that this will be a longer fermentation than usual at 15 to 20 days before completion. I'm guessing that this is due to the fruit. Anyway, it looks and smells great, for now.

Craig

 

[Longarm]

Thanks for the replies. The sulfur odor had vanished by this a.m. (Tuesday). Not a trace. The airlock was steady all day but seems to have little action, now (11:30p.m.). Still a good 2 inches of krausen and what does escape, now, smells delicious. The yeast was an 11 gram vacuum sealed packet. I started it in 1 cup of cooled wort, in a sanitized container (maybe a mistake) and pitched it into 19L (5 gal) of wort at 21C with an OG of 1.046. I should also mention that my pre-boil grain tea was 1/2 lb of torrified soft wheat and 1/2 pound 2-row pale malt. Once brought to boil, I added 6.6 lbs liquid pale malt extract. The Kiwi was added at the end of the boil (60 min), as directed. The recipe indicates that this will be a longer fermentation than usual at 15 to 20 days before completion. I'm guessing that this is due to the fruit. Anyway, it looks and smells great, for now. Thanks.

Craig

 

[Longarm]

Thanks. I think it's going to be okay. Smell is gone.

Craig

 

[berucha]

Thanks. I think it's going to be okay. Smell is gone.
Craig

Excellent very happy for you!