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Weird Smell

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chop1620

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 4, 2012
69
0
0
Colorado
So I have had a batch in primary fermentation for three days, this morning i go to check on my mead and there is a mild sulfur smell in the room. I then proceeded to smell the airlock (smelled sweet), and also smell the mead itself (smelled sweet and boozy). So the smell is just in the air for now, is this normal? Will the sulfur smell dissipate as it starts to finish fermenting?

I don't know if this is relevant but, the weather has been in the mid 70s out here, until yesterday when it decided to drop temp to the 60s and rained all day and nite. Could this be a factor in the smell??
 

chop1620

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 4, 2012
69
0
0
Colorado
My recipe I used. 1 Gallon of water, 3 lbs honey, 1 teaspn of energizer, 1 teaspn of nutrient, 1 package of lalvin d47.
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
I wouldn't worry too much until there's smell coming from the must, as opposed to just hanging around in the air... yeasts do produce sulphorous compounds but if they're in small amounts they come right out the airlock and don't stick around in the must.

If it does start being obvously from the must, my troubleshooting theory goes as follows: There should be more than enough nutrients in there for that yeast, the next thing I'd look at would be oxygen. Have you been aerating it? Sometimes if a must is getting stinky, it just needs a good splash around to help release the stinkies. "Better out than in, I always say!" - Shrek
 
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chop1620

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 4, 2012
69
0
0
Colorado
i haven't aerated yet. I was under the impression that you needed to leave it alone and let the yeast do its thing. I will give it a little stir if the must starts to smell, or should i just give it a precautionary stir to be safe?
 

TAKeyser

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 4, 2012
1,228
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Detroit, MI
It's become common practice to aerate must until the 1/3 sugar break to provide yeast with the valuable oxygen they need to do their business. After the 1/3 break many people will degas the must to release CO2 which may interfere with the fermentation.
 

TAKeyser

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 4, 2012
1,228
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Detroit, MI
ok, well pardon my ignorance, but how to i measure sugar break?

The 1/3 Sugar Break is when a third of the sugar are gone (I base it on the recommend limits of the yeast I'm using, others seem to base it on the Original Gravity) so if I'm using D47 (14% abv = 105 drop in Gravity Points) and I make my must with a starting Gravity of 1.105 your 1/3 break would be when you've dropped 35 point or down to a Gravity of 1.070.
 

chop1620

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 4, 2012
69
0
0
Colorado
thank you for explaining that, so much to learn, I need a airlock in my other ear to try and retain some of this awesome info I'm learning
 

TAKeyser

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 4, 2012
1,228
3
0
50
Detroit, MI
If you are not aware along the top row is a top for the Glossary tab that you can always consult if you see a term that you are unfamiliar with. Also you may notice in my post the words Sugar Break are underlined in a different color, this is because it is a hyperlink to the term in the glossary.
 
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