bad smell to sweet feed mash

[steve541]

I have a sweet feed mash going for about 38 hours and now its getting a rotten eggg smell. I brew beers and wines and have never had a smell this bad ever! Is this normal? I am strict about sanitizing everything so I'm doubting its a bacteria but i'm not sure why it smells. I used the four inches of sweet feed and the five pounds of sugar as the recipe calls for I piched two packs of EC 118 because its what i have. any help or advice would be great ! Thanks

[tater-shine]

Never had that before. There are two types of sweet feed, pelatized and whole grain, which did you use? I'd throw it out and try again. All of my sweet feed batches have had a kind of sour beer like smell but nothing like rotten eggs!

[rad14701]

You may have gotten some sweet feed with sulfured molasses, which would explain the smell... When I did sweet feed washes it was hit and miss as to whether I'd get a sulphur smell out of it... There was no consistency to the mix which is why I eventually stopped using sweet feed... That was many years ago...

[tater-shine]

whoops again!

[steve541]

It dosen't say if its pellitized or not but it has whole grains and pellets of mollasases that look like rabit food. The brand is acco foods sweet feed from sams club. I may be over thinking it because this is my first wash gonna se what it smells like tomorrow.

[rad14701]

Your Sam's Club has sweet feed...??? I better check my local store, just out my office window, a little more closely... I've been kicking around the idea of trying another batch again if I can keep the smell in check but don't like the local tractor supply product...

[steve541]

yup at sam's seven bucks! 50 lbs. Ohio not even in farm country. Ever had bad smells when you ran it? Never mind just saw you made the first post. sorry

[HookLine]

IIRC, rotten egg smell can indicate a lack of nitrogen nutrient.

[steve541]

So I got a few noses to help me out (paranoid) and they all said it smelled yeasty. Its still bubbling away and in my room and not a smell that makes me want to leave unlike my bulldog (PEEYOU!) so mabee its because I used more yeast and am not used to the sweet feed smell! Thanks for all the help

[Hack]

I'd say if the smell isn't overpowering, I'd wait and see what you get when it's distilled, but if it gets to the point where you prefer the smell of Bulldog farts over your wash it may be time to toss it out. You could even write that last bit down as a hard and fast rule of thumb.

[steve541]

Thanks, and never would prefer bulldog farts . Its still fermenting like hell and the smell is nowhere near like it was.

[steve541]

In the late 1800's it was legal for a man to beat his wife as long as the stick was no larger than the thickness of his thumb. Well I say it should have been the rule of fist!