[milesmcl]

Hi - I recently refinished the inside of my chest freezer (sanded, sealed, spray painted) as it was starting to rust.  It came out great, and instead of a very slight 'damp/rust' smell, I now have a very strong 'spray paint' smell!     

Question: can fermenting beer inside plastic buckets pick up odors from inside the fermentation chamber that may affect beer flavor?

Thanks,

Miles

[morticaixavier]

Assuming the flavors/aromas are water or alcohol soluable and that the positive pressure inside the fermenter changes to negative pressure I would guess yes.

I'd air it out for a couple days, maybe put a fan or even a little heater in there to get the VOCs out before chancing it myself.

[majorvices]

My guess is glass or stainless, no - but plastic, possibly. Airing is most likely best.

[milesmcl]

Thanks.  I refinished it a few months ago and let it air out for at least a week.  Had one batch in there since and it came out fine, but noticed a slightly off flavor I can't quite account for.  Just put another batch in last night and then started to wonder.  If this one has same taste, I will definitely put some heat in there with a fan for a day or so.  Thanks for the idea!

Miles

[mblanks2]

Add a box of baking soda for few weeks to see if it can absorb some of the smell. Pour it out on a plate. The larger surface area seems to work well.
I re-claimed an old dairy refer for my kegerator that was terrible. Once cleaned it still had that soured milk smell. Turned the refer on and used baking soda for about a month switching it out about once a week. Worked great!

[kylekohlmorgen]

I installed a CPU fan to help regulate temp in my chest freezer. It may help evacuate some of the odor in yours!

Nice work on the dairy refer - would love to see pics!

[reverseapachemaster]

With paint fumes I wouldn't risk finding out the hard way.

[ynotbrusum]

Toss a bowl of charcoal and a box of baking soda - that should do it after a few days.