The Smell

[rel322]

I just got my kit and made my first batch today (Ginger Beer). Everything's going well (I hope). I just have one question.

Is it supposed to smell? Not sure how it's supposed to smell but it smells like something sweetish in the air. The problem is, my wife is pregnant and the smell is bothering her. What can I do to limit the smell, both now and in the future. I'm brewing in a plastic bucket now, but I have a carboy I can brew in.

Thanks all.

 

[241]

It's going to smell one way or another. Fermentation stinks... that's just how it is.

Get a chest freezer from craigslist and ferment in the garage. Or at least get the chest freezer to contain it if you don't have a garage.

I bought one with a few dings for $40 and built an STC-1000 for under $30. For less than $100 you can 1) greatly improve the quality of your homebrew through temperature control; and 2) address SWMBO's concerns

 

[MrNickVT]

I just got my kit and made my first batch today (Ginger Beer). Everything's going well (I hope). I just have one question. Is it supposed to smell? Not sure how it's supposed to smell but it smells like something sweetish in the air. The problem is, my wife is pregnant and the smell is bothering her. What can I do to limit the smell, both now and in the future. I'm brewing in a plastic bucket now, but I have a carboy I can brew in. Thanks all.

Try placing it in a closest or a confined area!

 

[BlackGoat]

Are you talking about the fermentation or the actual brewing? The fermentation should smell if you're right next to it, but it shouldn't smell up a whole room or anything like that. Brewing itself will smell the house up with a grape-nuts type of smell.

 

[jro238]

I find that most of the house-filling smell dies down with the end of major fermentation (after 1-3 days or so).

 

[Cider123]

Try placing it in a closest or a confined area!

Well, that's not very appropriate! Wait, are you talking about the beer or the wife?:cross:

 

[rel322]

Well, that's not very appropriate! Wait, are you talking about the beer or the wife?:cross:

Lol, one more question. If the smell is from the brewing and not the fermenting, how do I know if it's fermenting if the airlock isn't bubbling? (it's an opaque bucket)

 

[stpug]

Someone here put up a DIY for creating an airlock filter that "scrubs" the fumes being released. My understanding was that it worked well. My recollection was that it was a tube that fit just around the airlock so it extended it upwards. It was then filled with activated charcoal. As the fumes passed through the airlock and through the activated carbon filter, it minimized the aroma. If I can find the post I'll post a link.

I can certainly understand a pregnant wife's aversion to odd smells. You're lucky that you're currently getting "sweet" smells because there's a whole lot worse (i.e. Rhino farts ). Or, as my friend experienced, he came home to what he thought was dog sh*t - turned out to be his cider fermenting with nottingham

 

[stpug]

This isn't the post I was thinking of but it gets the point across:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/airlock-fermentation-filter-385283/

 

[BlackGoat]

Lol, one more question. If the smell is from the brewing and not the fermenting, how do I know if it's fermenting if the airlock isn't bubbling? (it's an opaque bucket)

well the smell from brewing would be just like anything else that you may cook - it'll go away quickly. If its coming from your fermenter, it will often smell like something along the lines of sweet rotten eggs for maybe a couple days, but really its not a strong enough smell to stink the place up usually. If you stick your nose around the bucket and you don't smell anything its probably not a fermentation smell that's bothering her.

 

[MrNickVT]

That carbon filter sounds interesting!

 

[unionrdr]

The smell in question has to be from the boil. the fermenter's off gasing can't be smelled more than a few feet away,ime. It can take all day for that boil smell to dissipate.

 

[m3n00b]

Both the brew and fermentation smells piss off my swmbo...so I brew on Sundays when she's at work and ferment in my chest freezer in the garage.

 

[unionrdr]

She either has a sensative sense of smell,or just dosen't like your brewing. You have to be right next to mine during initial fermentation to smell anything at all.

 

[m3n00b]

She either has a sensative sense of snell,or just dosen't like your brewing. You have to be right next to mine during initial fermentation to smell anything at all.

Try wlp051. It'll make the whole house smell like rotten eggs. Makes a great smoked Porter though.

 

[stpug]

Try wlp051. It'll make the whole house smell like gotten eggs. Makes a great smoked Porter though.

I've had a very similar experience with Antwerp Ale WLP515. Very sulfury smells during fermentation with some rhino farts at the end. Good stuff!!

 

[fuzzy2133]

Add WLP630 to the smelly fermentation list.

I left for work one morning and noticed a slight sulfur smell, when SWMBO got down stairs she sent me a text that something was stinky in a drain smelling like sulfur (she never went near the fermenter) and when I got home it was really strong at the garage door (20-30ft away). Into the SOFC out in the garage it went.