wyeast trappist smells funny???

[lost identity]

i have a belgian quad type beer in the primary fermenter as we speak. its been going strong for three days now but the past two days the smell coming from the fermenter (blow off bucket) is rather rancid. i cant pinpoint it, but it smells slighlty sour, sulphury/rotten eggy with some other flavors mixed in. i dont know what to think of it. i was and always am extremely cautious about sanitation. i used the same yeast to finish off another belgian i have in the secondary and im getting the same aromas from that one as well. have any of you guys used this particular yeast before. im fermenting around 68 degress. my first thouhgt was contamination, but i figure if both smell the same, perhaps its just the yeast doing its thing. let me know. thanks

[steveh]

I've never used that particular strain, but the yeast I've used has always given off a sort of sulfur, yeasty aroma when working away. By the time it's worked itself out and it's time to transfer to the secondary the aroma is there, but not as strong.

Is it really a rancid smell, like making you gag? Or just yeasty - beery?

S.

[lost identity]

wow that was quick,
in response to your question, unfortunately im not experienced enough to answer that but my gut instinct feels like it might be more than just yeasty/beery. ive used other belgian yeasts before and have gotten great aromas of dark fruits, plummy/raisiny but this is miles away from anything worth smelling for more than a whiff or two. ive read through the troubleshooting sections in papizans book and homebrewing for dummies but i hate to jump to any concusions or place my smell in one specific category. i simply think its a little more difficult to diagnose than some of these books make it out to be, especially since some otherwise off flavors are normal in some strains of yeast or beer types.

[Tweek]

sometimes it just needs to work through some nastiness. I would not worry about it until it is done. If it tastes like it smells then worry :)

[lost identity]

well, i tasted the first belgian thats in the secondary and it tastes a-okay, granted it needs a whole lot of conditioning time. maybe i should rack this off of the yeast cake considering i refermented it in its current carboy.

[Tweek]

are you saying that you are fermenting this batch on top of the old batches yeast cake? and are we just talking yeast cake or trub too?

[lost identity]

heres whats happening,
i have two batches of belgian quads
i fermented a belgian strong ale with wyeasts belgian strong ale yeast. it didnt finish all the way so i racked it into a secondary and pitched some trappist high gravity yeast.
i brewed another belgian quad with wyeasts trappist high gravity which is currently in the fermenter. i didnt use yeast cake from the old batch. i pitched a fresh dose from a 2 quart starter. this is the one which i am most concerned about. however, both batches are giving off similar smells which is leading me to conclude that this is not a contamination, but the natural aroma of a fermenting batch.

update: i got anxious and took a gravity reading on the quad in the primary so that i could get a whiff of the beer toward the bottom. it smells good, nothing like the smell coming out of the blow off tube. so i think everything might be alright. what do you guys think. sorry for the confusion.

[steveh]

Originally posted by lost identity
what do you guys think. sorry for the confusion.

I think you need to stop futzing. The more often you get into it, the more chance of it getting contaminated. Let it run its course, relax - don't worry - have a home-brew! (to quote a phrase)

S.

[lost identity]

yeah youre right. probably overreacting.

[steveh]

And most importantly - keep us posted on the results!

S.

sorry, should'a said that before!!

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Also a Belgian Ale such as a Double, tripple and a quad will take months to mature.
Once in the bottle or keg, don't open till Christmas.
Patients myfriend.

[lost identity]

beer still smells the same, but ill let you know if the smell begins to dissipate a bit once i rack it to the secondary. (probably a few more days) hopefully everything will work out fine.

[lost identity]

alright, so i finally racked this beer into the secondary. i dosed it with some dark candi sugar for a little twist and the beer is smelling great,and tastes great although its still a bit too sweet but another dose of yeast should take care of that.