First brew -'Great Eastern Ale'... unpleasant smell??

[napalm]

Hi guys!

I'm new on here, and to the brewing world! I'm halfway through making my first brew, it's now conditioning out in the shed.

I'm brewing a Woodfordes Great Eastern Ale two-can kit.

Problem is i noticed a bit of an unpleasant smell when i cracked open the fermenting bin to take a hydrometer reading. Is this normal?

I tried to be pretty thorough with sanitizing the equipment although i didn't use a campden tablet for the water. The ale itself actually tastes ok (for being only two weeks old) but amongst all that good beer smell there is a bit of an unfavorable odour. It's not a vinegar smell as i've read described on here. So being a total newbie I'm just wondering if there is something wrong with it? Or could it be just the yeast or something?

It had been fermenting at around 20c degrees for a week, then i siphoned it into a pressure barrel with 90g of brewing sugar and left it for another week at 20c. I've now moved it out into the shed where it's a bit cooler.

As i say, i've tasted the beer after a week in the barrel and although that hint of a bad smell is still there but the beer tastes alright. It actually tasted a bit like Boddingtons in my opinion, sorta smooth.

Anyway, i'm just a bit worried if my beer is going bad... or will make me ill!


Thanks for any advice!

[Jerry Cornelius]

Strange and unpleasant smells are usual. If the beer tastes okay, it is. Don't worry about it, just relax If it goes bad, you wont want to drink it!

[dunc]

its not unusual to get various unpleasant smells during fermentation, as long as the finished beer tastes ok its fine.

your barreled beer is still very green and not really ready to drink yet, so it may still be a bit yeasty. another couple of weeks to clear properly should improve it nicely. And by six weeks it'll be better still.

[napalm]

Thanks guys, you've put my mind at ease!

[jubby]

I did a couple of great easterns. One of them smelled so bad, I very nearly binned it. A couple of weeks later, it was fine.

[napalm]

I did a couple of great easterns. One of them smelled so bad, I very nearly binned it. A couple of weeks later, it was fine.

Interesting... thanks man! My lack of experience made me think i'd messed it up somehow. What did the finish product taste like? Was it comparable to a particular commercial beer?

[EoinMag]

The best beer I've made yet was a great eastern, fantastic kit, make sure to let it condition a few weeks before it hits its peak.

[jubby]

I did a couple of great easterns. One of them smelled so bad, I very nearly binned it. A couple of weeks later, it was fine.

Interesting... thanks man! My lack of experience made me think i'd messed it up somehow. What did the finish product taste like? Was it comparable to a particular commercial beer?

Nah.