sulphur smell of lager
sulphur smell of lager
Just wondering does the eggy smell of lagers come from the grain or from the yeast, was reading a section on lagers from one of wheelers books and i could have sworn it was worded to say that it came from the grain (it was late though and maybe i misread it).
The real answer to your question is yes.

Generally the yeast converts sulphur containing precursors into the classic sulphide componds (eggy farts
). These precursors are derived from Malt for example S - Methyl Methionine leading to DMS (di methyl sulphide) and SMM levels are higher in pilsner malts than ale malts. Of course the mercaptan based 'light struck' taste is derived from hops having a large proportion of high sulphur levels in the essentials oils.
The other main producer of Sulphide are the wort spoilage bacteria, which can produce truly appaling levels of H2S, and also very high levels of DMS. You tend to notice beers which are infected

Generally the yeast converts sulphur containing precursors into the classic sulphide componds (eggy farts

The other main producer of Sulphide are the wort spoilage bacteria, which can produce truly appaling levels of H2S, and also very high levels of DMS. You tend to notice beers which are infected

You can reduce the amount of DMS in lagers by
a) Boiling Longer - would also cause more darkening.
b) Cooling much quicker. All the time the wort is hot but not actually boiling, more SMM gets converted but isn't driven off. If you cool very quickly then this is reduced (as a plus you also get better hop aroma from your late additions).
a) Boiling Longer - would also cause more darkening.
b) Cooling much quicker. All the time the wort is hot but not actually boiling, more SMM gets converted but isn't driven off. If you cool very quickly then this is reduced (as a plus you also get better hop aroma from your late additions).
I agree with all of the above. I've never had any DMS trouble in my lagers by boiling for 90 minutes and pitching a good amount of yeast. However I still notice a large amount of sulphur during fermentation using lager yeast, none of which is noticeable in the final beer. I have also made ales with continental pilsner malt and not noticed any sulphury smells - this leads me to believe the smell is yeast derived.
Ahh, you should hear my Oompah band!Andy wrote:Steve, your German accent is uncanny!

Hey, I've got enough stuff on to do this :-
Drinking - Old Git
Primary - Nothing (hmm I feel a brew coming on..)
Secondary - Old Horlicks
Seconadry - Burton Old Ale
Conditioning - London Mild
Conditioning - Attila's Porter
Hmm 'Old' comes up in 3 out of 5 beers. More imagination needed on the naming front
