Primary fermenter still smells like hops

[FLBowHunter]

Is it normal for your primary fermenter (plastic bucket) to still smell like hops one week after moving to secondary? I had an IPA in it for three week. Did I just not clean well enough or is this normal? I was going to brew again today but don't want to infect my new batch. Obviously I am new and still learning.

 

[AgentHubcap]

Yup, normal. You can disk it with oxyclean if it bothers you.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Home Brew mobile app

 

[FLBowHunter]

Thank you for the quick reply I did not want to screw it up.

 

[erick0619]

I had a similar worry glad this has been answered

 

[freisste]

I scrub the hell out my plastic buckets and then store for weeks to months between brews. The first one I ever used smelled like hops after several months and another brew (lightly hopped stout). The smell won't go away, but won't affect later brews.

 

[rocketsan]

Careful about scrubbing the hell out of it... It's plastic and scratches and gouges pretty easily. Good way to get infected...

 

[freisste]

Careful about scrubbing the hell out of it... It's plastic and scratches and gouges pretty easily. Good way to get infected...

Yeah...should have mentioned that. I scrub with a pretty soft sponge, not steel wool or anything.

But I do use a lot of elbow grease. My point was the hop smell is tough to get rid of, but not really something you NEED to get rid of.

I have also heard of people using one fermenter for hoppy beers and different fermenter(s) for other beer(s).

 

[Sbarnard80]

It's nothing to worry about. Mine has smelled like hops since the first use and I have mine filled with starsan for over an hour before each use. So I know the smell isn't associated with things that can get infected. Just make sure you keep sanitary conditions and it is good to go.

 

[Gixxer]

I hit it with bleach and a sponge (Yup, most folks don't like bleach), hot water rinse for a few min, then hot oxyclean soak for around an hour maybe more. If it smells like bleach after that I hit it with hot oxyclean again. My prob is not so much with hop flavor, but spices from stuff like a pumpkin ale. That and when I keep big malty beers in the bucket for more than two weeks. The bleach and oxyclean does not quite get all the flavor out, but the smell goes down enough for my comfort level.

I use lowes buckets, and considering their cost I replace them if the smell really bothers me. Oh, and also try to use a sponge that is not scotch brite backed. So if you want to put some muscle into it, you do not accidentally scratch your bucket