mild hint of vomit odor

[ptech]

What does it indicate when a finished fermentation starts to smell a tiny bit like vomit? I racked it out of the fermenting bucket then left it covered in a 5 gal watter jug. Tasted & smelled fine but 3 days later it had a slight vomit odor.
I distilled it & the product had a tiny hint of it too.

[DasFriek]

Id say you infected the mash when you racked it and let it sit.
I always run my mash's within 24 hours of it being finished fermenting unless it can be kept cool enough around 40f and lower to keep it from going bad.

[ptech]

so what are the suggested ways to prevent these things? especially if the fermenting is complete and I can't run it for 3 to 5 days?

also, I had my heart set on drinking my very first fermentation but should I divorce it and throw it away. the drink doesn't taste as good with this mild vomit smell but It's more of the principal of it. might I get sick if i do? or is the only down side the flavor problem?

[Dnderhead]

low PH,,,sterilize everything ,,once ferment starts leave it alone and covered,run when finished.

[bellybuster]

I doubt you had an infection at all, what did you ferment? Infections are rare and usually by wild yeasts in the environment you are fermenting in.
Some fermentation a can put off some awful gasses, I've had beers that smell like ass while fermenting then turn out great
Did you get anyone else to smell it?

[Tater]

I would run it then decide . .

[Rod]

I cannot help much with your problem , but

the smell you can get with vomit can be from high molecular weight esters

[ptech]

I would run it then decide . .

I ran it and if I had to try to put numbers on the strenght of thethe odor I'd say this;

100 is pure actual vomit
30 was the fermentation as it went into the boiler
5 is the collected out take

[Washashore]

I doubt you had an infection at all, what did you ferment? Infections are rare and usually by wild yeasts in the environment you are fermenting in.
Some fermentation a can put off some awful gasses, I've had beers that smell like ass while fermenting then turn out great
Did you get anyone else to smell it?

I'll have to disagree a bit. Infections are very easy to get unless you boil your wort and practice proper sanitation, which most home still ears don't, IMO. There are lots of nasties on the grains we throw in our washes. Most hope to out power them though with heavier doses of yeasties and the massive amounts of co2 they give off. Once the yeasties are done, it's fair game for infection every time you open her up.

[ptech]

it's fair game for infection every time you open her up.

So is the solution as simple as just don't open the fermentation bucket until the very hour that it will go directly into the boiler and start distilling within one hour of opening it??
I can do that if that would prevent it.

ptech

[Tater]

ptech what I would suggest is that you slow down.From your questions since you have joined HD you have jumped from one subject to another without giving time to yourself to fully understand what your doing.Take a week or two off of posting and read parent site then reading lounge.Then come back to the questions you have.