PANIC!is my coopers stout infected?

[Mauri]

Hi all,
last friday I made up this kit according the same method I used in my previous succesfull kits. I have to admit that I was a little surprised to find that a few of the yeast granules in the supplied sachet stuck to the side of the sachet when I poured the yeast into the bottle I use for rehydration. At the time I thought that maybe I shouldn't have used this yeast at all but it rehydrate well and it seemed ok, so I pitched it anyway. The fermentation went absolutely mental, with a foam monster the likes of which I've never seen before. The brew is now on 1.012, as it was yesterday, so it seems to have done its thing. However it stinks. there is the sulphury smell that I have experienced before in Coopers kit and when using Safale yeast, but there is also a stranger smell, kind of sweetish, difficult to describe, and I am fearing the worse. I also tasted some from the FV and that smell is in the beer too, and it makes it impossible for me to understand if the beer is drinkable or not. Did I manage to get my first infection? If so could this have been cause by poorly dehydrated yeast? Should I simply say my goodbyes, spend 10 minutes mourning and then head for the homebrew shop and move on?
Or am I worrying too early. If so, would it help to move the brew to a different bucket for a few more days to see if the bad smell goes away?
Cheers
Maurizio

[Madbrewer]

It's hard to diagnose this from the symptoms supplied so my advise is to stick with it. At bottling/ kegging re-taste. Does it smell of TCP (that would most likely be chlorine causing the issue) or does it smell of vinegar (that would definetely be off) anything else I would mature it for a while and see if it improves. When doing kits I remember thinking 'that smells odd' only to find out it later turned out fine!

Good Luck

[Mauri]

Thank you,
i'll just stick with it for a few more days then. It's definitely neither TCP nor vinegar smell. Oh well, fingers crossed!
Mauri

[Curious Brew]

My Montmellick Stout smelt proper wrong a a couple of days ago but now it smell gorgeous! I can feel a Black Treacle priming coming on...

[Ditch]

Yeppers. Being probably The Most fanatical Coopers Stout fiend of the entire forum, I'm with MadBrewer on this one. Just throttle back. Keg it. Leave it. See what it turns into. Chances are, a couple of weeks from now ye won't be able to keep ye hands off it!

Plenty of people have been heard to say, " Don't drink with ye eyes. " Well, I think it's a glitch, with us lot, that we tend to 'drink' with our Hydrometers, Thermometers, Noses, Eyes and god knows what else, before the damn thing should be in any way considered drinkable in the first place.

I enjoy a drop of Jameson whiskey, myself. Bet I'd soon spit That out if I tasted it as it dripped from the Still though. See what I'm saying?

Beer constantly changes, as it passes through time governed stages of its own development. Hey; One of these days I may even get to taste some Fully Matured Coopers Stout myself! If I could only leave it alone for five minutes!