Is homebrew a stinky business?
My husband’s a home brewer, and I have to say it’s a fairly smelly business. He tends to brew from grain (not kits). I actually like the smell of the “mash”; it’s a nice bready, yeasty smell. It’s the hops that are the problem. I don’t know if it’s that he’s a hophead and uses more (or stronger) hops, but both of us always end up with headaches after he brews. He’s started doing it out on the front porch instead, but it’s still fairly smelly. Maybe we’re just both extra sensitive to it or something. (Ooh, he just got home! He says if you’re doing it from canned kits, they’re usually not very smelly.
There will be a strong aroma when you’re actually boiling the wort, and it may linger around your living area for a day or two. It’s not a bad aroma, certainly, but it’s a strong one, and it might hang around for a little while. There’s basically no odor at all while it sits in the corner fermeting; it’s just the aroma from the initial boil that hangs around for awhile. Do not, however, think of it it as a stench. Think of it as the greatest fragrance a person can produce in his or her own kitchen. You are, after all, MAKING YOUR OWN BEER. If you’re seriously interested in good beer, you absolutely MUST homebrew for awhile. Your first batch will be pretty mediocre; your friends will tell you it’s good, of course, but when you ask them if they want another, they’ll ask what else you have. Do not let this discourage you. Keep at it, and adopt some advanced techniques like liquid yeasts and a two-stage fermentation. Your beer will get better very quickly. You’ll know that you’ve arrived w
When my wife and I lived in an apartment, I kept our homebrew (beer, cider and mead) in the 2nd (spare) bedroom. Since I can’t smell (anosmia), I repeatedly asked her to check in the room to ensure nothing smelled amiss. My wife’s closet was in the room, so she had a vested interest in not having anything stinking up her clothes. She said there is a smell, but it’s not overpowering, that she kind of got used to it, and that it did not permeate her clothing. If you keep the window open you should have no problems at all. The real smell comes from the actual mash and boiling process. I’m fortunate that my wife actually enjoyed the smell, but it’s apparently pretty strong, especially when using lots of hops. The only issue with smell that ever arose between me and my wife was when I started making sauerkraut. It sat in the spare room as well and apparently smelled a bit more strongly than the beer. A touch of that smell, she says, did in fact get into her clothing. Aaannnd, she just saw m
