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Author Topic: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip  (Read 29718 times)

Offline majorvices

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #30 on: October 23, 2011, 01:14:02 pm »
Kinda shoots a big hole in the metallic off-flavor theory, ay?

Post fermentation is different from pre fermentation though since the pH is lower and can dissolve more of the copper. You will find many copper clad BKs, I doubt you'll ever find a copper fermenter.

FWIW the copper trick worked per glass but did not work as well on the entire volume. Also, I may have been picking up a slight metallic off flavor. I'm going to go total reversal and not recommend this as a technique. I have added a little bit of copper back into my BK, however.

Offline euge

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #31 on: October 23, 2011, 01:40:16 pm »
Good to know about about the stirring though I've never really ever had a sulfur problem. Is it possible that just the stirring drove the sulfur aroma off?

Used to have a 10" piece of copper tube that I would stick in the racking hose to weigh it down. Started to get metallic components to my darker beers. Under Tom's advice it was removed from the system and haven't had a metallic flavor since in my beer; though I get it all the time in commercial craft brews.  
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #32 on: October 23, 2011, 01:52:04 pm »
I tried stirring with a plastic fork as well and had better luck with the copper.

Offline andyi

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #33 on: October 23, 2011, 02:42:34 pm »

When we brewed my Pro-am beer at New Belgium there was H2S post fermentation (WY3522).  They "ran it through the copper" to clean it up.  Worked like a champ

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #34 on: October 23, 2011, 05:05:18 pm »
I boil my copper immersion chiller for 15 minutes to sanitize it in the hot wort.  I've never noticed any sulphur flavours in any of my beers to date. 
Has anyone done this and still had sulphur flavours?

I have copper false bottoms in my mash tun with a copper pickup tube.  The boil kettle has a 1/2 inch copper pick up tube.  The 1/2 inch 50 ft immersion chiller goes in at 15 minutes from the end of boil.   Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.   
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Offline Kit B

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #35 on: October 24, 2011, 10:01:09 am »
Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.  

I'm amazed that no one pointed this out, earlier.
I get huge sulfur odor from Wyeast 2124 Behemian lager yeast.
After a diacetyl rest, it's undetectable.

Offline tschmidlin

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #36 on: October 24, 2011, 11:30:04 pm »
Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.   

I'm amazed that no one pointed this out, earlier.
I get huge sulfur odor from Wyeast 2124 Behemian lager yeast.
After a diacetyl rest, it's undetectable.

It's probably just that heating it up will help the SO2 bubble out of the beer rather than some chemical change, don't you think?
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Offline punatic

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #37 on: October 25, 2011, 01:13:51 am »
Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.  

I'm amazed that no one pointed this out, earlier.
I get huge sulfur odor from Wyeast 2124 Behemian lager yeast.
After a diacetyl rest, it's undetectable.

It's probably just that heating it up will help the SO2 bubble out of the beer rather than some chemical change, don't you think?

Hydrogen sulfide is removed from well water by splashing (allowing it to cascade down a stepped platform) or by bubbling air through the water.  It comes out of solution fairly easily.  

I don't know, but I'm guessing that bubbling carbon dioxide through the beer would drive off the dissolved hydrogen sulfide.
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Offline majorvices

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #38 on: October 25, 2011, 05:57:24 am »
Bubbling co2 up from the bottom is the most prescribed method - perhaps I didn't purge long enough but it didn't work in my case. I'm now thinking the copper trick worked afterall. Sulphur is gone, perhaps it took a few days for the reaction to completely take place, I dunno.

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #39 on: October 25, 2011, 06:27:37 am »
Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.   

I'm amazed that no one pointed this out, earlier.
I get huge sulfur odor from Wyeast 2124 Behemian lager yeast.
After a diacetyl rest, it's undetectable.

It's probably just that heating it up will help the SO2 bubble out of the beer rather than some chemical change, don't you think?

Could be, but I have often read that the increased CO2 production from the warmer fermentation at the end helps scrub the Sulfur compounds out.  It works for me.
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Offline Kit B

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #40 on: October 25, 2011, 11:33:51 am »
Some lager yeast will still kick out sulfur smells.   Doing a good diacetyl rest will help scrub that out.  

I'm amazed that no one pointed this out, earlier.
I get huge sulfur odor from Wyeast 2124 Behemian lager yeast.
After a diacetyl rest, it's undetectable.

It's probably just that heating it up will help the SO2 bubble out of the beer rather than some chemical change, don't you think?

That's my assumption...warming the liquid, to purge many of the gasses that were able to remain dissolved at fermentation temp.

I don't know, but I'm guessing that bubbling carbon dioxide through the beer would drive off the dissolved hydrogen sulfide.

I honestly think this would work, as well.
« Last Edit: October 25, 2011, 11:35:42 am by Kit B »

Offline majorvices

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #41 on: October 26, 2011, 06:02:47 am »

I don't know, but I'm guessing that bubbling carbon dioxide through the beer would drive off the dissolved hydrogen sulfide.

I honestly think this would work, as well.


As I mentioned above this is what is most commonly used to remove sulfur compounds from finished beer, I had tried bubbling up via a diffusion stone from about 2 minutes for approx. 95 gallons but apparently that wasn't long enough. The other problem is you tend to blow out other pleasant hop, malt and yeast aromas as well.

Normally I also let all my ales sit at about 68 degrees (or warmer for some belgians) and I believe as well that the warmer temps drive out any So4 as well as cleaning up unwanted yeast characteristics, but in the case of the beer that was the catalyst of this post I believe I rushed it hence the problem.

I am interested in the fact that New Belgium has used the copper technique to clean up some of their beers. I had never heard of this technique before. I do think it works but am hoping I will never have to resort to it again. In my case I had simply immersed a long copper pipe into the top of the bright tank because I did not really have time to rig up a copper coil, but I would be interested to know how long the coil needed to be in order to clear up the beer without causing any deleterious effects.

Offline BrewBama

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Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #42 on: April 17, 2020, 08:09:37 pm »
Any idea how long it will take a 1967 copper penny to rid 5 gals of ass? 

I drilled a hole in the penny, tied dental floss to it, and hung it in a keg in an attempt to save a beer. 

First time for everything I suppose, this has never happened to me before. Coincidentally, it is also the first time in a very long time I used tap water and used Kmeta to dose it for chlorine/chloramine removal. (Hence the “Ck my math” post to ensure I wasn’t adding too much sulfur).


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« Last Edit: April 18, 2020, 08:26:33 am by BrewBama »

Offline mabrungard

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #43 on: April 18, 2020, 06:25:52 am »
I know that a modern penny is zinc that’s clad with copper. I’m not sure when they went from solid copper, but exposing the core to beer would not be good since zinc tastes very metallic. The message is to make sure your copper source is pure. Either a piece of wire or tubing is safer.

The copper/sulfur reaction is very quick. A few minutes of swishing should do it.
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Offline BrewBama

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Re: Weirdest thing: Sulfur Removal tip
« Reply #44 on: April 18, 2020, 06:31:44 am »
Thx Martin.

The copper clad zinc pennies began in the 80(s). To confirm, I drilled a hole in a new penny and sure enough got zinc filings. When I drilled the hole in this ‘67 penny I got only copper filings.  So, I feel pretty confident there.


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