What should sugar mash taste/smell like?

[Horus92]

Just wondering.

Mine smells mostly like alcohol but I also smell some odd odors, almost like the way rum smells but very light, as well as an "apple" odor too.

Taste-wise it tastes like extremely bad, carbonated wine, only it also has a bit of a bitter after-taste. It's not horrible or anything, I could drink it without gagging if I wanted to.

Is this normal, or are these other odd smells/tastes signs of something wrong?

[rad14701]

What recipe are you using, Horus92...??? Many wash/mash recipes have off tastes and/or smells yet distill just fine... I wouldn't panic as long as it hasn't turned to vinegar or rancid...

[astrangebrew]

As Rad said - unless it is sour or rancid you are OK. The wash takes on the taste of the additives (but fermented).

I do a OJ style that tastes like ... well fermented OJ - not nice but you could drink it on a dare without penalty . The distillate on the other hand has as nice citrus note to it that I really like. It is all personal preference.

SB

[Horus92]

Alright thanks.

Incidentally when I first poured the sugar water onto yeast in my fermentation containers it bubbled so much that it got *all over* the filling cabinet where I'm storing it. Looked like a friggin' sugar-water-and-yeast bomb went off. This gunk dried and ended up getting infected with some sort of bacteria, smelled a lot like yogurt. I cleaned it up today though.

Anyway yeah, the mash itself smells and tastes fine, I mean not great but certainly not rancid. Thanks for putting my mind at ease.