Rubber bung taste!!!

[Samh200]

Does the Rubber bung taste ever go away? All my wine is about 2 months old and seems to me it taste like the bung, smells... Am I crazy or is this normal?

 

[Runningwolf]

I have heard of this before but never witnessed it. Could it possibly be H2S.

 

[grapeman]

Do you use the one gallons size? If so, go buy some different bungs. I have had a few before that made the wine stink like rubber and it definitely came from the bung. At the time I threw out the couple that got it bad. I don't know if it will ever go away.

 

[Samh200]

I have 4 (5 gallon) and 5 (1 gallon)... all seem to have that taste...

 

[russfink]

You're not crazy. It's sulfur, and probably not from the rubber stopper. It's most likely hydrogen sulfide from stressed yeast. The bung almost never comes in contact with the wine, so how would it contaminate the wine with it's taste?

 

[Samh200]

Is there a fix for this or do I have to poor out the 25 gallons...

 

[Julie]

Is there a fix for this or do I have to poor out the 25 gallons...

Geez, where is Tom when you need him. Patience, Patience, Patience. I have never in ALL of my wines had a "bung" taste. Russlink did a pretty good job on an explanation.

What you are tasting/smelling is a young wine, just be patient, it will go away. 2 months is a very young wine. Give it at least 6 months and you would be surprise at the wonderful taste you get from your wines when they are a year old.

Don't worry Sam you are fine.

 

[Samh200]

Geez, where is Tom when you need him. Patience, Patience, Patience. I have never in ALL of my wines had a "bung" taste. Russlink did a pretty good job on an explanation.

What you are tasting/smelling is a young wine, just be patient, it will go away. 2 months is a very young wine. Give it at least 6 months and you would be surprise at the wonderful taste you get from your wines when they are a year old.

Don't worry Sam you are fine.

Even my skeeter pee has this smell/taste... Thats, normal?

 

[koda_ky]

I had the same thing happen and I switched to the silicone type and it went away, as for what you have done all I can say is it will get better with age if it is coming from the rubber bung. hope this helps

 

[grapeman]

Like I said before, I had a couple gallon "overflow" bottles that got the rubber smell and yes rubber taste. It was not hydrogen sulfide- that smells like rotten eggs. It was from the bungs. There were a few a couple years or so that one supplier had that gave off the smell and taste. The best thing to do if you suspect it is to replace them and see if the problem reoccurs after that. If not, you have solved the problem one way or another. Time will probably solve the current problem if you switch the bungs out. It will not cost much to replace them with silicone ones.

 

[lloyd]

I only had this trouble when I bought new rubber bungs and did not wash them prior to sterilization. If I had it to do over I would wash a couple of times in the dishwasher

 

[Samh200]

Ok.. Thanks everyone for the info... I just hope it goes away with time!!!

 

[Espoir]

just had the same problem with this...... with my pineapple wine.. thinking what I should to rectify this..

I am guilty of not washing them prior to sterilization though. just soaked them in the sterile solution.

Now it tastes like im drinking a rubber bung thats melted and blended into the wine. bleah

 

[EdwardLongshanks]

I thought the same thing when my wine is very young, 2-4 months the wine starts to balance out. I thought it smelled like my bungs but it really was just the post-biochemical reaction in the wine that makes a sort of "fart" smell. It doesn't come from the bung itself it's just the natural process of the wine. I learned after a few batches that I really don't like green wine, and am now bottling at 90 days rather than 28, and Im trying to wait at least until 6 months to open the first one. My dad on the other hand thinks my wine tastes great the week after I bottle it lol.

 

[jswordy]

I have an overflow gallon of apple with the same thing. It IS from the rubber bung, which was purchased from a reputable supplier, was new and in its first use, and was washed and sanitized carefully. These (expletive) bungs are coming from China now, and who knows what is actually in them? My original 5 gallons was fine.

Whether the taste will go away I don't know, but it is no fun to find it after 4-5 months of aging, I can tell you that!

My deepest sympathies. If it had been 5 gallons, I would have been

Thing is, you can't smell this until it has concentrated in your air gap in the carboy. Sniffing the bung will not reveal it. I really need to let the supplier know, too.

 

[stujol]

All of mine that have had the "rubber" smell have lost it over time. One turned out to be the best batch of apple wine I have made so far. That one took about 10 months before it was good to drink.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Are you smelling this out of the carboy??

Mine smells that way - if you leave the bung off for a few mins - take another wife - it smells like your wine.

The rubber you might be smelling is just around the ring of the carboy.

Take a sample out in a wine glass - give a sniffy sniff and see if u get the same results.

 

[jswordy]

Emailed my supplier. Even though I clearly told them I washed and sanitized the bung, their reply was wash it. Gee thanks!

BTW, thanks stujol but I do know about aging apple wine. Not my first rodeo.

I hope you are correct, Jon, cuz I am going to find out this weekend. It'll be bottled or it'll be drain cleaner, one way or the other.

 

[oldwhiskers]

Stressed yeast can give a burnt rubber taste/smell. I had a similar problem on an apple wine recently that letting a copper wire sitting in the wine for two nights and a splash rack and some time cleared the smell/taste. To be sure it's the wine and not the area around the neck, remove a sample to a glass and smell/taste.

The Wine Maker's Answer Book pg 256 and the PDF article from Cornell University mention the problem and some possible cures.

 

[jswordy]

Today, I opened the gallon jug of apple I mentioned and took a sample. It tastes exactly like the bung smells. Undrinkable as-is. As I said, this is a portion of a batch I made, the majority of which was finished in a carboy. The portion finished in the carboy does not have this taste or smell. Also as I said, this is not my first rodeo, so I carefully washed and sanitized the bung prior to use.

As an experiment, I bottled two 720 ml off the gallon for the sake of science, to see if the rubber taste goes away after a few months. I highly doubt that it will, but maybe. I tossed the rest of it.

I'm going to take these new bungs, which are white in color, and put them in the dishwasher for multiple cycles to see if the smell can be washed away with hot water eventually. But I think it is in the rubber itself, so only time will diminish it. I rarely do gallons, and I won't buy those again!