beer has off smell?

[thisisbeer]

I'm currently in the bottle conditioning stage for a pale ale and a belgian wit. I had to try them both today (pa has been bottled for just over two weeks,and wit jist over a week) both tasted good, the wit was a little low on carbonation but only a week in the bottle. My question is they both have an off smell to then is this normal? I can't describe the smell but it's not a good smelling? Any clues?

 

[AT-JeffT]

You are going to have to describe it.

Start here:
http://www.howtobrew.com/section4/chapter21-2.html

http://byo.com/resources/troubleshooting

 

[thisisbeer]

I Kinda smell a hint of a sulfur type smell. I guess thats the best way i can explain it.

 

[lnlogauge]

I finished a belgian wit a few weeks ago, after a friend gave me a 6 pack and i thought i could do better. His had an off smell that reminded me of my Oktoberfest that picked up something, and turned my beer into foam. I bottled mine, and it smells the exact same way. I'm not that familiar with belgian wits, but I'm wondering if its the yeast. the Odds of us screwing up seems unlikely to me.

 

[Demus]

Age your beer! Wait 3 weeks before you start panicking. Most styles benefit from aging. If you really want to know what you are smelling, you have to go into waaaaay more detail about the smell, the process you used making the beer, the recipe, yeast strain, fermentation temperatures etc. No one can answer with any accuracy without such details...

 

[unionrdr]

Some yeasts do produce sulfer smells that fade with aging/conditioning.

 

[finsfan]

it might have something to do with the water source you are using if two different beer brewed at two different times have the same off flavors

 

[unionrdr]

...or brew temps.

 

[duboman]

Sulfur is a byproduct of many different strains of yeast and most of this will fade over time so be patient and allow the beer to condition out at least 3 weeks and then try another.

In the future be sure to properly pitch the yeast and maintain proper fermentation temperatures to minimize the production of the sulfur in the first place. It is usually a sign of stressed yeast during fermentation when encountered in high levels once fermentation is complete.

 

[thisisbeer]

The pale ale doesn't have a smell anymore. But it gives me a terrible head ache everytime I take a few drinks of . I'm assuming it was fermented to hot although it taste pretty good which is a bummer. The second batch is the wit which I started after I rigged up a fermentation Chamber. No more smell taste great and no head aches

 

[unionrdr]

The pale ale may have gotten some fusel alcohols from the high ferment temps. Leave'em sit another week or two.

 

[thisisbeer]

Is the fusel alcohol something that will get better with time?

 

[unionrdr]

Moreso if it had been left in primary 3-7 days after FG was reached. But it can clean up in the bottles to a degree.