Yeasty-Smelling SP and DDDB

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Quicksilver

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I've made two batches each of SP and Dragon's blood. I've had a similar issue with all of them--they just smell really yeasty, even when by the creators' accounts, they are ready to drink. Here are brief notes on the issue:

The first batch of DB, made chapter and verse by Danger Dave's original instructions, my son and I plowed through in a matter of two weeks after backsweeteningg. It was lovely. Yeasty-smelling, but otherwise very nice.

The first batch of SP (made with yeast slurry from the DDDB above), is nice, but it just smells really yeasty when we crack a bottle. The taste isn't yeasty, just the smell. It's off-putting to me, but again, it tastes fine. I stress that this is not a rotten egg smell. Yeast. I don't want to give any away to friends, smelling like that.

Both batches were crystal clear before bottling, and remain(ed) crystal clear in the bottle. No cloudiness at all.

I now have a 6 gal batch of DB and a 3 gallon batch of SP in secondary. I racked, stabilized, and backsweetened on 5/20. I'll probably bottle it this week. Have not tasted or smelled them yet. BUT---

I just sampled a batch of blueberry wine that I've had in secondary for a month--crystal clear--- and it's got that same, yeasty odor. I mention this bc this blueberry batch produced the slurry I used to start the 3 gallon batch of SP referenced above. Sorry this is so convoluted.

All yeasts were EC-1118. All directions closely followed. All were fermented right at 72 F, as this is what I keep my thermostat at in summer.

My question is, is this smell characteristic of SP and DB, early on? And will it dissipate? I have a batch of apple wine I started the same week as my first DB, and it smells just fine.

I'm happy to provide stats, measurements etc, but truly, I used exactly what Lon and DD posted in their original recipes.

Thanks in advance all. Maybe a few months in the bottle will resolve the issue?

I'm super new at fruit wines. Obviously :h
 
Usually aging in the carboy will help get rid of any fermenting oders. Don't know if they will go away after being bottled, but they probably will. I know these are supposed to be fast drinking wines, but time helps them out just like the slow wines we make. Arne.
 
Personally, I'm getting away from using EC-1118 for that exact reason.
For reds, I use either Lalvin Rc212 or Red Star Pasteur Red. I want to try the Lalvin BM 4x4.
For whites I use either Lalvin D47 or Red Star Cote des Blanc. May try some Lalvin QA23 next time.
For mead I've only used the Cote des Blanc but I've been told that D47 will also be a good one.
For fruit wines I'm using K1V-1116 by Lalvin.

This is a good resource: http://winemaking.jackkeller.net/strains.asp
 

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