# okay wife is complaining now......fermentation smell



## Dend78 (Oct 10, 2012)

anyone have any good tricks to mask the smell? I have my buckets and such in a small closet, and i haven't had any issues until now, the pear wine i have going has a very strong smell, unlike the other things i have made. of course its day 2 and my wife is not happy, anyone have a good trick to mask the smell aside from maybe burning some tires in the kitchen 

just as a bit more info on the wine without going to my other thread

Fresh Pears
Red Star Pasteur Champagne Dry Yeast


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## dralarms (Oct 10, 2012)

Give her a ca of free breeze , lol. I tell mine if you don't want to smell it then stay out of my office.


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## Dend78 (Oct 10, 2012)

hahah, i wish that would work its actually overtaking the lower level of the house, like i came down stairs and i could smell it, open the closet door and its like walking into a cloud she has said something to me twice today about it hahah i figure i better at least attempt something


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## roadwarriorsvt (Oct 10, 2012)

If you can't move the primary somewhere else, try place a fan in the room to help dissipate the CO2. Personally, I love that smell. It tells me something good is happening. Apparently, no one else in my house shares my opinion!


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## ninjamonkey (Oct 10, 2012)

Ha ha. I have the same problem. My stuff is in the kitchen. So to keep my wife happy I keep her out of the kitchen. Which means I know cook all meals. Small price to pay to have my brew.


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## Rocky (Oct 10, 2012)

Yes, my first wife used to complain about this too until she turned up missing.


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## Dend78 (Oct 10, 2012)

i will verify for sure since i have 3 buckets going it is a lot stronger of a smell, i sent her a text message earlier and i said "what does it smell like? rotten eggs?" and the reply back was "a-hole" 

i dont think stirring or adding more nutrient will fix that one bahahahahaha


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## maddog (Oct 10, 2012)

I put my primary in a room with a window. A fan pulling air from the room and blowing it out a window outside for 15 minutes every 4 hours cuts the smell to almost nothing. If you dont have a window an electic airfilter with activated carbon works ok, but can be expensive if you buy it specifically for your hobby.


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## BobF (Oct 10, 2012)

Here's one way she can mask the odor:


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## s0615353 (Oct 10, 2012)

To me and my fiancé the smells are well worth it if you can make some awesome inexpensive wine. It sounds like your wife does not have the same opinion, haha.


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## ffemt128 (Oct 10, 2012)

Tell her to have a glass of wine, if that doesn't work give her another and another until she can't smell it.

Seriously though, no suggestions. Mine is in the basement and I'm anticipating another day or two until the entire house gets the wonderful smell of fermenting grapes. Guess I'm lucky, we both enjoy the smell.


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## Dend78 (Oct 10, 2012)

she wont drink my wine  i have to drink it all by myself...dang it i really hate that 

although i did get a challenge from her, she said if you could make it taste like grape juice i would drink it.....so looks like next batch is gonna be a welche's batch


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## wood1954 (Oct 10, 2012)

pear wine does seem to go thru a vomit stage for a couple days. mine is currently there now, luckily it's in the basement. By the time it's done fermenting it will be gone. I've made 4 batches of pear wine and they all go thru that stage, maybe it's converting the malic acid that smells like that. My apple wine was pretty bad also.


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## cohenhouse77 (Oct 10, 2012)

I have the same problem. I had to cover the warm air return in my den to prevent the smell from being circulated through the central a/c to the whole house because my kids were complaining that they were getting a buzz from the smell and that surely there were laws protecting them from such torture. Of course, covering the return leaves it warmer in the room which is making things even more potent. I love the smell. When I'm not home I dream of the smell. I have the bug bad....


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## Svehn (Oct 11, 2012)

Too bad your wife doesn't share your hobby. I started making wine so I had something to do. Now my fiancee asks me every couple days if it is taste test time.


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## btom2004 (Oct 11, 2012)

@cohenhouse77 very funny...lol...

Well I guess I'am not the only one who gets this complaint. I simply deny it. Just keep saying, "really I don't smell anything". Do this for the time limit it takes for the smell to dissipate. Tell her as I do, that the smell dose not last long and is an important part of wine making and if you thought it got to bad you would look into it. Some times I say, "Oh that's just me passing gas sorry!". You'll see that I use all the tricks listed below...lol.


Denial (also called abnegation) is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence.
[1] The subject may use:

simple denial: deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether
minimisation: admit the fact but deny its seriousness (a combination of denial and rationalization)
projection: admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility by blaming somebody or something else.


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## Arne (Oct 11, 2012)

Just tell her I can ferment in the basement, but it is too cold down there. If we raise the heat in the basement it will cost too much. This is only going to last for a couple of days, then the oder will get much better. Or you can try my normal reply. She says as she walks in the door "That stuff smells pretty strong doesn't it?" I say "Really smells good, doesn't it?" No problems. Or if I really did have a problem, would probably reply "Smells a lot better than the cat box." Arne.


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## Dend78 (Oct 11, 2012)

cohenhouse77 said:


> my kids were complaining that they were getting a buzz from the smell and that surely there were laws protecting them from such torture.



ugh kids these days, seems like back in the day there would have been some form of ducting put over the vent into my room going to a gas mask which would be affixed to my face if there was even a possibility i would get something from it 



Svehn said:


> Too bad your wife doesn't share your hobby. I started making wine so I had something to do. Now my fiancee asks me every couple days if it is taste test time.



its probably best that she doesnt more for me 


 btom2004



[quote = arne]Just tell her I can ferment in the basement, but it is too cold down there. If we raise the heat in the basement it will cost too much. This is only going to last for a couple of days, then the oder will get much better. Or you can try my normal reply. She says as she walks in the door "That stuff smells pretty strong doesn't it?" I say "Really smells good, doesn't it?" No problems. Or if I really did have a problem, would probably reply "Smells a lot better than the cat box."[/quote]

no basement, no cat to blame it on granted the dog did get blamed for a little bit 


good news is I stirred it up last night and checked it all out still smells terrible but it isnt filling the house quite as much today, now the lil closet whoa! but the rest of the house is safe again, and in about 3 or 4 more days it will be making its way to carboy anyway.


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## JohnT (Oct 11, 2012)

MASK IT???? 

Heck no! I wish it came in aerosol cans!


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## Dend78 (Oct 11, 2012)

JohnT said:


> MASK IT????
> 
> Heck no! I wish it came in aerosol cans!



LMAO 

i dont care for the smell that im getting from the pear wine, the others have been just fine nothing bad at all actually the banana i could just sit and sniff all day. the pear though has a crazy off smell


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## wineutopia (Oct 12, 2012)

Rocky said:


> Yes, my first wife used to complain about this too until she turned up missing.



Ah ha ha ha ha


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## Dend78 (Oct 12, 2012)

well the smell is now under airlock in a carboy


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## robie (Oct 12, 2012)

For next time:

I think you said you are fermenting in a closet. You can install a bathroom-style powered vent in there and vent the smell out into the attic.


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## cohenhouse77 (Oct 12, 2012)

robie said:


> For next time:
> 
> I think you said you are fermenting in a closet. You can install a bathroom-style powered vent in there and vent the smell out into the attic.



That is brilliant ol boy!


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## rodo (Oct 12, 2012)

*



okay wife is complaining now......fermentation smell

Click to expand...

 
Thats how I got my very own wine making room. Of corse my wife likes my wines.*


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## Julie (Oct 12, 2012)

rodo said:


> *Thats how I got my very own wine making room. Of corse my wife likes my wines.*


 
Rodo, that is an understatement!!!!!!!!!


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## Javila (Oct 12, 2012)

I also gone thru this phase. it's hard to stop smiling when she complains about the magic taking place. I had to back off to one batch fermenting at a time in the basement.....but we still get the pleasant aroma from the fresh air intake when the central air kicks on! . LOL


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## NoSnob (Oct 14, 2012)

Fermentation, clearing and aging occurs in my tiny winery which is a half-bath in the foyer. It is about ten steps from the kitchen where all the washing/sanitation/bottling occurs. During that week of fragrant yeast a-wafting (sounds like something from the 12 Days of Christmas!) I keep the door closed and periodically run the exhaust fan. But mostly, we have come to associate yeasty/fruity odors with the good side: excellent and inexpensive wine! 

My wife has come to provide a much needed third hand during production. So I bought her a custom grape cluster necklace and "promoted" her to production manager. No more complaints! Bribery seems to work for me.
NS


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## Dend78 (Oct 15, 2012)

if i were to try my half bath every batch would turn out to be skeeter pee , i have a 3 yr old whos afraid of nothing, and a 6 yr old for moral support for the 3 yr old.

as for adding a fan in this one would be hard as its the closet under the stairs, yes im the whine-o under the stairs hahah


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## astrologica (Oct 15, 2012)

Ours is in the closet under the stairs too. It's an old country farmhouse. The only stinky ones has been the watermelon.
Just did a half gallon of apple juice and 10 ounces of pure maple syrup with cinnamon powder. It started fermenting immediately and is full of bubbles.
I've fallen in love with this. I want to ferment everything. I would ferment the kitchen table if I could.


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## arcticsid (Oct 15, 2012)

This thread is too funny. We hve all been there. Seems like some batches are just worse than others. I live n a 12x22 ft cabin with three cats, During the winter I have had a couple stinky ones and they looked at me funny. One batch they hid under the bunk for days until it finally went to the secondary!!


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## Dend78 (Oct 17, 2012)

i hear ya on that! its sad that now everything i see im like hmmm wonder what that wine would taste like hahah


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## astrologica (Oct 17, 2012)

The black cherry, maple syrup n Lalvin 1122 has been like Mt. St. Helens for a couple of days now. It's more entertaining when it has a lot of pulp that's visible through glass. It's easier to see the eruptions.
Incidentally, I got my hands on a case of Widmer Brothers Pitch Black IPA in 22oz-ers for 12 bucks and I immediately thought "those would make great wine bottles"
Hoping I can find a cork that fits.
BTW, the beer is great!


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## astrologica (Oct 17, 2012)

Arcticsid, which ones did the cats hide from?


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## cconti (Oct 17, 2012)

Yes send your wife on vacation for 1 week


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