Burnt rubber pee

[mikez104]

Any ideas? My fermentation went well. I sulfited and fined with super clear. Was still cloudy after about 3 weeks so I added Bentonite on 1-11. It cleared pretty good but has a slight haze to it. Last night I cracked it open and tasted. It has a burnt rubber smell to it. Any ideas? It is still on the sediment from the Bentonite.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Until a wine is fully clear it will have a chemical taste to it. That most likely is the bentonite. Your wine goes thru many tastes throughout it's life. Some you may know about while some are not (bottle Shock).

Patience

If you open a bottle of wine and it ahas an off taste place your thumb over the top and shake it real well 30 seconds. Let it rest a few minutes. The mixing of a lil air will help rid the odor.

Recommend doing this over the sink.

 

[Arne]

Until a wine is fully clear it will have a chemical taste to it. That most likely is the bentonite. Your wine goes thru many tastes throughout it's life. Some you may know about while some are not (bottle Shock).

Patience

If you open a bottle of wine and it ahas an off taste place your thumb over the top and shake it real well 30 seconds. Let it rest a few minutes. The mixing of a lil air will help rid the odor.

Recommend doing this over the sink.

Hey Steve, the last part of your post, Recommend doing this over the sink. Would you tell us how you know that?? LOL, Arne.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Honestly that was what I was told to do in that situation. I probably would not of thought of that last part on my own and would have experienced the "mini volcano".

Also would like to add is to remove your thumb slowly.

 

[mikez104]

It has not been bottled though. It is still in the carboy.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I really believe your wine needs to age Mike.

 

[Brian]

Are you taking it out of the carboy to smell it? If not you could just be smelling the rubber from the removed bung. I have done that before .. I am not trying to be a smart^%$.

 

[mikez104]

I really believe your wine needs to age Mike.

Dosent everyone say that Skeeter Pee does not need to age? On the skeeterpee.com web sits it says

"6.There’s no need to age this beverage. It tastes great soon after bottling. Serve chilled."

This is what has me worried.

 

[mikez104]

Are you taking it out of the carboy to smell it? If not you could just be smelling the rubber from the removed bung. I have done that before .. I am not trying to be a smart^%$.

I user a wine thief to get a sample and put it in a glass to taste. In the glass I get the funky smell. Yes it does smell allot like the rubber from the bung. Maybe thats it.

 

[midwestwine]

I sulfited and fined with super clear.

How much k-meta did you they will cause a burnt smell?

 

[mikez104]

I sulfited and fined with super clear.

How much k-meta did you they will cause a burnt smell?

I only added 1/4 tsp.

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Stressed yeast can cause odors. Sometimes it smells like rotten egg, other times like perm solution. The high acid can really beat your yeast up. I would take out a small sample, try pouring it back and forth between a couple of glasses to simulate splash racking. Since it's a small sample, you can experiment without fear of ruining the whole batch. See if the smell goes away. If the smell is eliminated or reduced, splash racking may be an option for you.

 

[Brian]

Stressed yeast can cause odors. Sometimes it smells like rotten egg, other times like perm solution. The high acid can really beat your yeast up. I would take out a small sample, try pouring it back and forth between a couple of glasses to simulate splash racking. Since it's a small sample, you can experiment without fear of ruining the whole batch. See if the smell goes away. If the smell is eliminated or reduced, splash racking may be an option for you.

I agree with Lon I would try this to see if the smell goes away and if it does in your small sample just splash rack you SP and that should help. I have never had this problem when I am taking the wine out of the carboy..

 

[mikez104]

Stressed yeast can cause odors. Sometimes it smells like rotten egg, other times like perm solution. The high acid can really beat your yeast up. I would take out a small sample, try pouring it back and forth between a couple of glasses to simulate splash racking. Since it's a small sample, you can experiment without fear of ruining the whole batch. See if the smell goes away. If the smell is eliminated or reduced, splash racking may be an option for you.

Thanks. I'll give it a whirl.

 

[robie]

Usually, burnt rubber smell is a sign of a serious mercaptan issue.
Look up "mercaptan smell" with google.

If it is not too far gone, it can be treated like the H2S rotten eggs problem, with copper and splash racking. There is even a company that sells a mercaptan treatment kit, but you would have to google it, too. I don't know how effective it would be.
I read an article by Tim V. of wineXpert. He recommended dumping it, but I would certainly try to safe it.

I had the same issue with a premium Pinot Noir kit. I have been working on it for several months, but still don't know if it is going to work out. It gets better with each copper and splash rack treatment, but it still is not where it should have been.

I believe I know what happened to mine. I used a different yeast, which should have been fed more nutrients than I fed it. Fermentation stopped a little early and never started back.
Can also be cause by not allowing enough oxygen during primary fermentation.

Don't give up too soon. Good luck.

 

[robie]

Let me follow up.
Fill a tall glass half full of the wine.
Swirl the glass and get a good whiff of the wine and remember it.

Place one or more shiny copper pennies in the glass with the wine.

Swirl it really well for a minute or so.
Now, smell the wine again. It should smell much better. This indicates that a copper treatment will help the wine.
Each time you repeat swirling for a minute, it should smell better.

If you had a rotten egg smell, it indicate H2S, which you can easily treat with copper and splash racking. I bought a clean copper tube, sanitized it, and splash-racked through it. Then I stirred the wine with the tube.

If you had a burnt rubber smell, you have mercaptans, which is sort of an advanced stage of H2S.

 

[djrockinsteve]

Usually, burnt rubber smell is a sign of a serious mercaptan issue.
Look up "mercaptan smell" with google.

If it is not too far gone, it can be treated like the H2S rotten eggs problem, with copper and splash racking. There is even a company that sells a mercaptan treatment kit, but you would have to google it, too. I don't know how effective it would be.
I read an article by Tim V. of wineXpert. He recommended dumping it, but I would certainly try to safe it.

I had the same issue with a premium Pinot Noir kit. I have been working on it for several months, but still don't know if it is going to work out. It gets better with each copper and splash rack treatment, but it still is not where it should have been.

I believe I know what happened to mine. I used a different yeast, which should have been fed more nutrients than I fed it. Fermentation stopped a little early and never started back.
Can also be cause by not allowing enough oxygen during primary fermentation.

Don't give up too soon. Good luck.

Thanks Robie, that's good to know. I've been trying to help him but it's hard via computer sometimes. I believe it needs to age and yes probably another splash rack could help. Do a test first with a small glass and see, I mean taste.

 

[Medieval]

I have a yeast nutrient by Crosby & Baker (fermax) and compared to the first nutrient I bought they are completley different. The first nutrient I used looked more like clear balls and has no odor. However the Crosby & Baker nutrient has a distinct odor and you can even taste this in the must. The first skeeter pee I used the clear pellete and it came out perfect. I have one fermenting right now and when I took a sample it has a totally different taste and I belive it's because of the Crosby Baker nutrients that I used but I am not really sure I have to wait until it's done fermenting and cleared to see if it resembles the first one or if I can still smell the nutrient odor from crosby & baker.

I think im going to go back to the clear pelletes... I don't know if that could be the reason for you odor but mine smells much like my nutrient at this stage.

 

[robie]

Thanks Robie, that's good to know. I've been trying to help him but it's hard via computer sometimes. I believe it needs to age and yes probably another splash rack could help. Do a test first with a small glass and see, I mean taste.

I hope it turns out well for him.
If it's mercaptans, it is going to take several months and several more rackings. You won't get it all with one racking. After a racking, it can seem OK, but let it set another month and you might find it is still there.

After three additional rackings, I faintly can detect it is still there, but much, much less than originally.

I wouldn't even consider bottling for six months.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I know when it was fermenting he was very busy and lack of stirring could have been a problem. Sure he'll jump in sometime soon and fill us in. Thanks again. We all learn