Strange Smell - Help Me Identify (long)

[Chopper]

This past Sunday, I pitched the yeast on a 3-gallon batch of Vintner's Harvest Black Currant. I exactly followed the 3-gallon recipe, except my starting SG was 1.080. Per the directions, I used 3 crushed campden tablets. Equipment cleanliness and sanitation were done by the book.

Tonight, the SG was 1.020+, so I racked from the primary into a carboy. I always keep K-meta sanitizing solution in my carboys while they are not in use.

OK, so I poured all the K-meta out of a 3-gallon carboy, and allowed the carboy to drain for 3 minutes in a carboy dryer. Then I racked the wine into the carboy.

The wine had been smelling great all week. But as I was racking into the carboy, a very strong odor hit my nostrils, and made them burn a little. The odor was coming from the carboy, and it smelled like strong K-meta. For a minute, I thought I had racked into the wrong carboy (one that still had K-meta inside). But that wasn't it.

But after the racking was complete, the wine in the carboy smelled great again. Just like when it was in the primary.

It's bubbling away as I write this, so everything seems OK. I tasted it, and it seems OK. Fizzy, of course, but OK.

But why the strong K-meta smell while racking? Could it have been SO2 coming out of solution due to the "shock" of being racked?

 

[Bert]

It may have been not completly dry and you were getting vapor from the k-meta....should be OK.

 

[Chopper]

It may have been not completly dry and you were getting vapor from the k-meta....should be OK.

It was not completely dry, but it had drained. Live and learn. Next
time, I will allow the carboy to drain for a day before racking wine
into it.

Thank you for the reply.

 

[Boyd]

I smell the Kmeta every time I rack into a fresh bottle. I never drain the bottle, just pour it into another jug. Has never affected the wine.

 

[gaudet]

I agree with Bert and bboyd.

When you rack it, it sounds like you did exactly as I do. As the liquid level rises, it pushes the air / k-meta fumes out of the carboy. Very strong smells.

Your wine should be fine..

 

[grapeman]

K-Meta forms a gas which does the protecting. When you turned the carboy upside down to dry, you trapped the strong gasses in the carboy. Filling the carboy simply moved the gas out of the carboy into your nose. Like everyone says, nothing to worry about.