Can large amounts of CO2 have a particular smell or taste? I didn't think they did, but I was talking with someone at the LHBS about a yeast smell/flavor and they said that it wasn't common when using wine yeasts and that CO2 can have a similar smell/taste.
It came up because I mentioned that I racked and tasted a mead that was a month old and my thought was there was a yeasty taste/smell. It had fermented completely in a glass jug. Another mead started at a similar time, but in a 2 gal bucket that doesn't seal well, didn't have the same taste or smell. Finally, I've got a batch in a 6 gal carboy that smells similar to the first batch I mentioned. I haven't tasted it yet because it hasn't finished fermenting. My thought is that my experience seems to correlate with what this person said, in a bucket that doesn't seal well and has more surface area, the gas should be able to come out much easier and quicker and thus be less noticeable than the others in the glass jug and carboy. Given the short amount of time that has passed of course.
It came up because I mentioned that I racked and tasted a mead that was a month old and my thought was there was a yeasty taste/smell. It had fermented completely in a glass jug. Another mead started at a similar time, but in a 2 gal bucket that doesn't seal well, didn't have the same taste or smell. Finally, I've got a batch in a 6 gal carboy that smells similar to the first batch I mentioned. I haven't tasted it yet because it hasn't finished fermenting. My thought is that my experience seems to correlate with what this person said, in a bucket that doesn't seal well and has more surface area, the gas should be able to come out much easier and quicker and thus be less noticeable than the others in the glass jug and carboy. Given the short amount of time that has passed of course.
