Turbo cider smelling like ass

[scratch]

Hi all,

I've been brewing myself up some TC for drinking while my brews condition. First batch turned out really nicely, this current batch was made the exact same way except I added cider yeast and a teaspoon of yeast nutrient, and used Tesco Value juice instead of Lidl.

I put it in to ferment on Tuesday night and all was well until this morning when I noticed it has stopped fermenting completely. I thought this might be a good time to top it up with some more juice. I opened it up and it reeks of eggy farts, I nearly spewed. The smell gets worse the longer the top is off, like its getting stronger the more exposed to air it is. I don't know if this is normal with cider yeast or not and if it will go in a few days. The problem is its stopped fermenting so I'm not sure what the point would be in leaving it in the demijohn longer.

My friends jokingly named the first lot Ass cider since they seemed to think I brewed it in the bathroom, have they jinxed me?

[Geezah]

Dont worry about it, just let it finish fermenting (FG of 1.000 or less) then rack it into a clean demijohn and de-gass it.

[Hawkmoon1704]

Hi Scratch. I started making cider the other year and had the same problem. I have seen this condition being called 'rhino farts' and some people have said its natural. I stopped it by filling the fermenter almost to the top so there was very little surface exposed to air. I also added yeast nutrient as I read the gas was a bi-product of the yeast struggling to do its thing with little or no nutrient available as the yeast multiplied. I'm not the best of brewers and I'm sure someone else here will be able to give you more insight.

BTW anyone else reading, please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cheers.

[Marshbrewer]

Cider yeast, both when making TC and more recently, making a Magnum Cider kit with added apple juice, both give me that farty smell. Is dissipates in the bottle / keg after 3 weeks or so.

Interestingly, I made a TC with champagne yeast and it didn't have this, and was much nicer, but took longer to mature, in my opinion.

[Gordonmull]

I've had this happen a few times. Once so badly that it got tipped away. Another time it took 3 months for the smell to dissipate. You don't mention the brand of nutrient you are using but i suspect it might be youngs. I'm 95% sure that was my problem. It was always fine with just AJ and yeast but chuck some nutrient in and it was, as you say, ass cider.

Since I've switched to nutrivin I've had no shitty cider and i now add it to every TC.

[jason123]

It is regularly recommended to add a cup of strong tea to the cider. Something to do with the tannins in the tea helping out the little yeasties.

[scratch]

Thanks everyone.

Yes it was youngs nutrient, I picked it up on a whim in Wilko's and figured a spoon wouldn't hurt. There wasn't any in the last lot and it didn't smell like ass, despite the name it got.

I did add a cup of strong black tea to it as well, I think I may invest in tannin powder but as long as I have spare teabags here I won't bother yet.

It had stopped fermenting completely, but I topped it up with juice and gave it a shake and its started again. After that I'm going to put it in a clean demijohn for a while so it drops more sediment then bottle it and hope for the best. If it still smells like arse on a hot day after that, I'll probably sling it. I know I won't be able to drink it, and I doubt SWMBO will either.

Does this happen regularly? If so I won't bother with TC, the point of me making it is so I can make something alcoholic quickly and cheaply while I give the brews time to improve. 1-3 months waiting for it to stop smelling like a box of wet farts doesn't appeal to me.

[jason123]

Thanks everyone.

Yes it was youngs nutrient, I picked it up on a whim in Wilko's and figured a spoon wouldn't hurt. There wasn't any in the last lot and it didn't smell like ass, despite the name it got.

I did add a cup of strong black tea to it as well, I think I may invest in tannin powder but as long as I have spare teabags here I won't bother yet.

It had stopped fermenting completely, but I topped it up with juice and gave it a shake and its started again. After that I'm going to put it in a clean demijohn for a while so it drops more sediment then bottle it and hope for the best. If it still smells like arse on a hot day after that, I'll probably sling it. I know I won't be able to drink it, and I doubt SWMBO will either.

Does this happen regularly? If so I won't bother with TC, the point of me making it is so I can make something alcoholic quickly and cheaply while I give the brews time to improve. 1-3 months waiting for it to stop smelling like a box of wet farts doesn't appeal to me.

Don't sling it. It'll come good in time and a bit of ageing often works miracles with otherwise poor brews early on. Bottle it and leave it somewhere to forget about it and return to it at christmas.

[scratch]

You're right, what was I thinking? Throwing away booze?!? I must be going mad

[scratch]

In case anyone does follow this, I've put it into a clean DJ and am going to leave it to settle out. It still stunk to high heaven when I was racking it. I gave it a sneaky taste and it was unpleasant, VERY dry and with a vinegar aftertaste. I put this down to using cider yeast, the dryness at least.

It came out at 9% ABV so I really don't want this one going to waste!

[jason123]

In case anyone does follow this, I've put it into a clean DJ and am going to leave it to settle out. It still stunk to high heaven when I was racking it. I gave it a sneaky taste and it was unpleasant, VERY dry and with a vinegar aftertaste. I put this down to using cider yeast, the dryness at least.

It came out at 9% ABV so I really don't want this one going to waste!

Now vinegar in the taste is not good, afaik.

[scratch]

No its not... I think it may just be my tastebuds though, its very very dry and I don't like dry cider. At least I'm hoping.

Its clearing slowly, it dropped a LOAD of sediment in the 48 hours after being in the secondary. I'm undecided what to do if it still smells and tastes funky, other than put it on my chips.

[Gordonmull]

It's probably just the dryness. Me, I'd chuck it in 2L PET bottles, fire it in a cupboard and forget about it for 3 months. Minimal effort and you might just save it.

[EoinMag]

Don't add nutrient the next time, that's probably what your issue is. That's also why the cider is very dry. Also when cider is that dry I find that it's not turbo anymore, when I do it I'd leave it in the fermenter for three months to smooth out and lose the sourness.

[Curious Brew]

TC + ass = probably fine