In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
> bring the SG up to 1100

> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
> on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
> I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
> less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
> hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
> like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
> the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.

Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can also
be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and did you
use any nutrients in the initial must?


- WB

alien wrote:
> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
> bring the SG up to 1100
>
> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
> on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
> I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
> less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
> hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
> like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
> the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>
> I've never had problems with my wine before and am at a loss as what to do.

This sounds very similiar to a few other posts on rec.crafts.winemaking
(the threads "What happened?" and "Rotten Edd Odor" (yeah it is spelt
that way I think they meant Egg)). It maybe that you can get something
of use out of those posts.
Ken

Ken Vale wrote:
> alien wrote:
>
>> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>> bring the SG up to 1100
>>
>> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
>> on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I
>> thought I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more,
>> ideally less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today
>> and hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and
>> sounding like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and
>> smell it, the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit
>> like match heads.
>>
>> I've never had problems with my wine before and am at a loss as what
>> to do.
>
>
> This sounds very similiar to a few other posts on rec.crafts.winemaking
> (the threads "What happened?" and "Rotten Edd Odor" (yeah it is spelt
> that way I think they meant Egg)). It maybe that you can get something
> of use out of those posts.
> Ken
I read those threads, but I don't have a rotten egg smell, at least
not yet. It's more like the smell of a match head and is harsh on the
nose. This suggests to me a different sulpher compound than H2S.

alien wrote:
> lid wrote:
>
>> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>
>>> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>> bring the SG up to 1100
>>
>>
>>
>>> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must
>>> bucket on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060.
>>> I thought I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit
>>> more, ideally less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at
>>> 1050 today and hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is
>>> hissing and sounding like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the
>>> bucket, and smell it, the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a
>>> little bit like match heads.
>>
>>
>>
>> Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can
>> also
>> be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and
>> did you
>> use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>
>>
>> - WB
>>
> I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
> ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
> was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
> designed for medium dry wines.

I've just added 1/2 a teaspoon of more nutrient, I can't see it doing
any harm. I also gave it a good thrashing of a stirring to get some O2
in there. I'll have a look at it in a few hours to see if things are
getting better.

alien wrote:
> lid wrote:
>
>> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>
>>> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>> bring the SG up to 1100
>>
>>
>>
>>> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must
>>> bucket on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060.
>>> I thought I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit
>>> more, ideally less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at
>>> 1050 today and hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is
>>> hissing and sounding like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the
>>> bucket, and smell it, the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a
>>> little bit like match heads.
>>
>>
>>
>> Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can
>> also
>> be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and
>> did you
>> use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>
>>
>> - WB
>>
> I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
> ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
> was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
> designed for medium dry wines.

I've just added 1/2 a teaspoon of more nutrient, I can't see it doing
any harm. I also gave it a good thrashing of a stirring to get some O2
in there. I'll have a look at it in a few hours to see if things are
getting better.

lid wrote:
> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>>In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>>>bring the SG up to 1100
>>>
>>>
>>>>Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>>>steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
>>>>on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
>>>>I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
>>>>less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
>>>>hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
>>>>like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
>>>>the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>>>
>>>
>>>Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can also
>>>be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and did you
>>>use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>>
>>>
>>>- WB
>>>
>>
>>I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
>>ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
>>was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
>>designed for medium dry wines.
>
>
> Certainly sounds like the yeast has pooped out too early. I'm not familiar
> with that strain, unfortunately. So, a few things you might try:
>
> Check pH, if you have the equipment.
>
> It may be insufficiently aerated. If you aereated with good old elbow
> grease (or not at all), it may not have enough O2. Shake the crap out
> of the bucket, then open it up and stir it. If you have an electric
> mixer, or a power-drill/paint mixer, give that a try.
> Since your fermentation is nowhere near done yet, this shouldn't hurt
> anything.
>
> Is this one of the nutrients that says 'use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per
> G of wine'? If so, you might try adding another half-teaspoon. This would
> be the last thing I try.
>
>
> -- WB
>
>
>
I think this did the trick. After a good beating and adding nutrient
about 1 hour ago, I put my face in the bucket 20 minutes ago and still
had a sulpher smell, but not as strong. I sterilised my electric whisk
and went mad with the thing. Just had a sniff and the sulpher smell is a
lot less potent and I'm getting the mead smell back. Hopefully things
will continue to get better.

Thanks.

alien wrote:

> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
> bring the SG up to 1100
>
> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
> on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
> I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
> less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
> hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
> like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
> the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>
> I've never had problems with my wine before and am at a loss as what to
> do.

How about just waiting a while. It's only been in the bucket a week?

IIRC my last batch was something like:
1.100 at pitch
1.050 at 3 weeks
1.030 at 3 months
1.008 at 15 months

--
The Origin of Beer: Simple all-grain brewing
at the Bottoms Up Brewery http://www.bubrew.org

alien wrote:

> I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
> bring the SG up to 1100
>
> Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
> steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
> on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
> I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
> less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
> hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
> like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
> the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>
> I've never had problems with my wine before and am at a loss as what to
> do.

How about just waiting a while. It's only been in the bucket a week?

IIRC my last batch was something like:
1.100 at pitch
1.050 at 3 weeks
1.030 at 3 months
1.008 at 15 months

--
The Origin of Beer: Simple all-grain brewing
at the Bottoms Up Brewery http://www.bubrew.org

In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
> lid wrote:
>> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>
wrote:
>>>
>>>>In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>>>>bring the SG up to 1100
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>>>>steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
>>>>>on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
>>>>>I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
>>>>>less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
>>>>>hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
>>>>>like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
>>>>>the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can also
>>>>be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and did you
>>>>use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>- WB
>>>>
>>>
>>>I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
>>>ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
>>>was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
>>>designed for medium dry wines.
>>
>>
>> Certainly sounds like the yeast has pooped out too early. I'm not familiar
>> with that strain, unfortunately. So, a few things you might try:
>>
>> Check pH, if you have the equipment.
>>
>> It may be insufficiently aerated. If you aereated with good old elbow
>> grease (or not at all), it may not have enough O2. Shake the crap out
>> of the bucket, then open it up and stir it. If you have an electric
>> mixer, or a power-drill/paint mixer, give that a try.
>> Since your fermentation is nowhere near done yet, this shouldn't hurt
>> anything.
>>
>> Is this one of the nutrients that says 'use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per
>> G of wine'? If so, you might try adding another half-teaspoon. This would
>> be the last thing I try.
>>
>>
>> -- WB
>>
>>
>>
> I think this did the trick. After a good beating and adding nutrient
> about 1 hour ago, I put my face in the bucket 20 minutes ago and still
> had a sulpher smell, but not as strong. I sterilised my electric whisk
> and went mad with the thing. Just had a sniff and the sulpher smell is a
> lot less potent and I'm getting the mead smell back. Hopefully things
> will continue to get better.

> Thanks.

Of course, you may have just driven any suspended sulfur-stench out
of the must when you beat the crap out of it, so the newer, more
pleasant smell may be misleading. (Or, more, the original sulfur
stench may have been misleading.)

As long as the SG goes back to dropping, right?

-- WB

In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
> lid wrote:
>> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>
wrote:
>>>
>>>>In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>>>>bring the SG up to 1100
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>>>>steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
>>>>>on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
>>>>>I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
>>>>>less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
>>>>>hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
>>>>>like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
>>>>>the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can also
>>>>be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and did you
>>>>use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>- WB
>>>>
>>>
>>>I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
>>>ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
>>>was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
>>>designed for medium dry wines.
>>
>>
>> Certainly sounds like the yeast has pooped out too early. I'm not familiar
>> with that strain, unfortunately. So, a few things you might try:
>>
>> Check pH, if you have the equipment.
>>
>> It may be insufficiently aerated. If you aereated with good old elbow
>> grease (or not at all), it may not have enough O2. Shake the crap out
>> of the bucket, then open it up and stir it. If you have an electric
>> mixer, or a power-drill/paint mixer, give that a try.
>> Since your fermentation is nowhere near done yet, this shouldn't hurt
>> anything.
>>
>> Is this one of the nutrients that says 'use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per
>> G of wine'? If so, you might try adding another half-teaspoon. This would
>> be the last thing I try.
>>
>>
>> -- WB
>>
>>
>>
> I think this did the trick. After a good beating and adding nutrient
> about 1 hour ago, I put my face in the bucket 20 minutes ago and still
> had a sulpher smell, but not as strong. I sterilised my electric whisk
> and went mad with the thing. Just had a sniff and the sulpher smell is a
> lot less potent and I'm getting the mead smell back. Hopefully things
> will continue to get better.

> Thanks.

Of course, you may have just driven any suspended sulfur-stench out
of the must when you beat the crap out of it, so the newer, more
pleasant smell may be misleading. (Or, more, the original sulfur
stench may have been misleading.)

As long as the SG goes back to dropping, right?

-- WB

lid wrote:
> In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>
wrote:
>>
>>>In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>>
>>>
wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>In rec.crafts.meadmaking alien > wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>I put on 3 gallons of mead last Sunday. 9lb of honey, some sugar to
>>>>>>bring the SG up to 1100
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Until a few days ago it seemed to be going fine, the SG was dropping
>>>>>>steadily and I was hoping to have it transfered out of the must bucket
>>>>>>on Friday. On Wednesday I took a reading and the SG was 1060. I thought
>>>>>>I'd give it another day or so to let the SG drop a bit more, ideally
>>>>>>less than 1015, it went to 1050. The SG is still at 1050 today and
>>>>>>hasn't dropped at all since Friday. The bucket is hissing and sounding
>>>>>>like its fermenting away happily. If I shake the bucket, and smell it,
>>>>>>the gasses burn my nose slightly and smells a little bit like match heads.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Though some yeasts do produce the sulfurous smell naturally, this can also
>>>>>be a sign of lack of nutrients. What kind of honey did you use, and did you
>>>>>use any nutrients in the initial must?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>- WB
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>I used 6lb of orange blossom, 3lb of eucalyptus and 1.5 teaspoons of
>>>>ammonium sulphate, ammonium phosphate dibasic as nutrient. The yeast
>>>>was a Gervin strain, type 4 I think, the one with the yellow sticker,
>>>>designed for medium dry wines.
>>>
>>>
>>>Certainly sounds like the yeast has pooped out too early. I'm not familiar
>>>with that strain, unfortunately. So, a few things you might try:
>>>
>>>Check pH, if you have the equipment.
>>>
>>>It may be insufficiently aerated. If you aereated with good old elbow
>>>grease (or not at all), it may not have enough O2. Shake the crap out
>>>of the bucket, then open it up and stir it. If you have an electric
>>>mixer, or a power-drill/paint mixer, give that a try.
>>>Since your fermentation is nowhere near done yet, this shouldn't hurt
>>>anything.
>>>
>>>Is this one of the nutrients that says 'use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per
>>>G of wine'? If so, you might try adding another half-teaspoon. This would
>>>be the last thing I try.
>>>
>>>
>>>-- WB
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>I think this did the trick. After a good beating and adding nutrient
>>about 1 hour ago, I put my face in the bucket 20 minutes ago and still
>>had a sulpher smell, but not as strong. I sterilised my electric whisk
>>and went mad with the thing. Just had a sniff and the sulpher smell is a
>>lot less potent and I'm getting the mead smell back. Hopefully things
>>will continue to get better.
>
>
>>Thanks.
>
>
> Of course, you may have just driven any suspended sulfur-stench out
> of the must when you beat the crap out of it, so the newer, more
> pleasant smell may be misleading. (Or, more, the original sulfur
> stench may have been misleading.)
>
> As long as the SG goes back to dropping, right?
>
> -- WB
The SG has dropped by about 10 over night. The mead is smelling pretty
good, still a slight sulpher tinge, but its very mild compared to
yesterday. I'm going to give it another good stirring in a moment, then
transfer to secondaries later today. I'll watch it closely until its
fermented dry. Thanks for the help.

> I read those threads, but I don't have a rotten egg smell, at
least
> not yet. It's more like the smell of a match head and is harsh on
the
> nose. This suggests to me a different sulpher compound than H2S.

A good solid whiff of CO2 will hurt your nose pretty bad. Is is
possible that you experienced this, with just a little H2S mixed in to
give the sulfury impression?

--arne

> I read those threads, but I don't have a rotten egg smell, at
least
> not yet. It's more like the smell of a match head and is harsh on
the
> nose. This suggests to me a different sulpher compound than H2S.

A good solid whiff of CO2 will hurt your nose pretty bad. Is is
possible that you experienced this, with just a little H2S mixed in to
give the sulfury impression?

--arne

arne thormodsen wrote:
>> I read those threads, but I don't have a rotten egg smell, at
>
> least
>
>>not yet. It's more like the smell of a match head and is harsh on
>
> the
>
>>nose. This suggests to me a different sulpher compound than H2S.
>
>
> A good solid whiff of CO2 will hurt your nose pretty bad. Is is
> possible that you experienced this, with just a little H2S mixed in to
> give the sulfury impression?
>
> --arne
>
>
The nose is very sensitive to H2S, even a tiny amount would give a
rotten egg smell, I didn't get that at all. Apparently some yeast
behaves this way when it runs low on nutrients, more nutrient and a good
airation seems to have solved the problem.

arne thormodsen wrote:
>> I read those threads, but I don't have a rotten egg smell, at
>
> least
>
>>not yet. It's more like the smell of a match head and is harsh on
>
> the
>
>>nose. This suggests to me a different sulpher compound than H2S.
>
>
> A good solid whiff of CO2 will hurt your nose pretty bad. Is is
> possible that you experienced this, with just a little H2S mixed in to
> give the sulfury impression?
>
> --arne
>
>
The nose is very sensitive to H2S, even a tiny amount would give a
rotten egg smell, I didn't get that at all. Apparently some yeast
behaves this way when it runs low on nutrients, more nutrient and a good
airation seems to have solved the problem.

"alien" > wrote in message
...
> > A good solid whiff of CO2 will hurt your nose pretty bad. Is is
> > possible that you experienced this, with just a little H2S mixed
in to
> > give the sulfury impression?
> >
> > --arne
> >
> >
> The nose is very sensitive to H2S, even a tiny amount would give a
> rotten egg smell, I didn't get that at all. Apparently some yeast
> behaves this way when it runs low on nutrients, more nutrient and a
good
> airation seems to have solved the problem.

Interesting. I've had plenty of ferments give off H2S, but never
anything else from sulfur.

--arne