Mead suddenly got Sulfur Smell

**Corasian** · 08-02-2019, 08:04 PM

I have a mead which for the first 3 days of fermentation seems to have gained a sulfur smell to it.
From my understanding, I need to remove the smell any way I can so I shook it till I can not smell the sulfur in it anymore.
I want to understand if this is normal or what I have done to produce it as well as the consequences of the smell being produced. As this is my 3rd attempted so far and this is the first time I have come across this

So to explain what I did in this during yeast hydration I added 11g of go-ferm and 100ml of water at about 40C and the yeast 8g Mangrove Jacks R56 (I wanted to try a red wine yeast this time instead of a champagne or white wine) to a stainless steel double-walled flask (to try to make it easier to maintain temperature) then every 15 minutes I added about 100ml of must to it to try to slowly introduce it to the the sugar level in the must after about an hour I added that to the must. My must consisted of 3.34Kg which was then topped up with water till it had a gravity fo 1.096. Then for the next 3 days, I added 3g of Fermaid-A on each day. On day 4 I smelled the sulfur smell. My temperature control may be been quite terrible as well I haven't really been able to keep track of it but I suspect it has been fluctuating between 14C and about 25C.

**m0n5t3r** · 08-03-2019, 03:08 PM

You didn't tell us what's in the must; my cysers (meads with apple juice instead of water) with the yeast I have at my disposal tend to smell sulfur-y for 2-3 days in the beginning, no matter the temperature; it goes away long before fermentation is done.

So, I wouldn't worry unless the smell gets worse / lasts more than a few days, that would indicate the yeast being stressed by something (most likely not temperature, 25C is not that hot).

**Corasian** · 08-03-2019, 11:23 PM

My must is literally just honey and water.

I decided to just tip it between carboys to try to release as much of the sulfur as I can which caused a horribly bad smell to get released but it does not seem to have returned after a day.

Thanks