Plastic fermenters are the best choice for beginner homebrewers because they are inexpensive, but they have their downsides such as absorbing odor from ingredients like yeast, and hops.
After brewing with a plastic fermenter for the fifth time, I noticed the obvious yeast odor coming from the plastic and I just couldn’t get rid of it.
I didn’t check this in time as I already brewed my beer and while it was cooling I went to clean and sanitize the plastic fermenter so I could transfer the wort to it. I tried all the quick cleaning methods I had by hand, but I couldn’t completely remove the smell, so I sanitized it and gave it a go.
If you have the same issue and wonder if can you still use a smelly plastic fermenter you should know the following?
Smelly plastic fermenters are known for absorbing the odor from yeast, hops, and other brewing ingredients but as long as you clean and sanitize everything there is no risk that the fermenting brew will get contaminated. Yet, be careful of acidic odor as it’s caused by lactobacillus, and in that case go the extra mile to clean it or replace the fermenter.
My brew ended up good and it’s unlikely that you’d have different results, but there are still a few tips I must share with you.
Why do plastic fermenters become smelly?
Reusable plastic containers such as fermenters are made from polypropylene which is a porous type of plastic. Thus, when you are storing food and liquid in it for long periods of time the odds are pretty high that some odor will get deep into the plastic layers and will be difficult to remove.
Hops and yeast are the main reasons why plastic fermenters become smelly as the strong hops presence and yeast fumes can be overwhelming. Personally, I find some hop and yeast fumes quite relaxing but the rotten egg, sulfur smell, and similar stuff could only be appreciated by maniacs.
The final reason why some plastic fermenters smell is due to a collection of bacteria somewhere on the walls (including scratches) or deeper into the spigot in case your fermenter also serves as a bottling bucket.
When can a smelly plastic fermenter ruin your brew?
1. If there are scratches
Bad smell from plastic fermenters may also come as a result of nasty germs hiding in hardly visible scratches you accidentally created in the past during cleaning. Thus, you may clean it and sanitize it and get a contaminated brew just because you couldn’t reach into those cavities with cleaning and sanitizing chemicals.
It’s important that you are confident there aren’t any scratches in the walls or bottom of the plastic fermenter before you use it.
Think whether you used the hard brushers or similar hard, grippy, or spikey material which could cause scratches when enough force is applied. If so, don’t use such a fermenter any longer, so either replace it with a new one or buy glass or ideally a stainless steel fermenter as they don’t scratch.
If you can’t remember or are not sure, use your sense of touch and carefully examine the walls and the bottom of the fermenter. If you can spot any imperfections which didn’t come as such from a manufacturer you know there is a problem.
2. You lack in cleaning/sanitizing method
Clean the fermenter with a cleaning solution with high PH value such as ChemiPro Oxi. Although 10 minutes may be enough to successfully kill bacteria, if there’s a strong odor present, you can let it soak in cleaner/hot water for 30-60 minutes and then rinse it.
Right before you are ready to transfer the wort to the fermenter use a sanitizer such as StarSan and sanitize all walls equally including the inner side of the lid and don’t rinse.
The combination of high PH value cleaners and low PH value sanitizers will successfully kill all nasties they can reach and this combination is usually more effective and safe than just using a cleaner or just using a sanitizer.
As long as you follow this simple protocol and you are certain there are no scratches in the plastic walls you can ferment the brew without worrying about it becoming contaminated.
3. Be suspicious of the acidic smell in plastic fermenters
This might be me being paranoid, perhaps without a strong argument as whenever I talked to others they’d say as long as you clean it and sanitize it even if the bed smell is still present it’s okay to use it.
I believe that if there’s a strong scent that comes from hops or yeast or in other words, the fermenter smells just like your last brew then everything you just read makes sense and there’s nothing to worry about as long as you have a good cleaning and sanitizing measures.
However, if the fermenter smells acidic like vinegar it’s due to contamination in which case you must be extra careful.
After all, the scent from hops may be strong but hops aren’t causing contamination while lactobacillus does.
In such a case, I’d either remove the smell from the fermenter using the method I’ll explain next or replace the fermenter.
Maybe it’s me being paranoid and this is unnecessary but I once got a suspiciously sour beer after fermenting it in a plastic fermenter with a strong acidic odor. Maybe I didn’t foresee some other factors which caused the mentioned contamination but I still believe it might have been due to a fermenter as the samples were already tasting a bit sour after 5 days in the fermenter.
I cleaned and sanitized as usual, but perhaps it wasn’t enough, so if you want to listen to me please go the extra long route and ensure everything is proper before use!
How to get the smell out of plastic
This is in my opinion, the safest and best way I have discovered to work tremendously when it comes to removing the annoying odor from plastic containers. It might seem like overkill, but putting in some extra work is really necessary when the smell is that bad.
1. Bleach it
I don’t like using bleach for homebrewing purposes as it’s often an unnecessary risk, but when it comes to this type of a problem this is the best solution.
Mix 1 tbsp of bleach with 1 gallon of water and cover it from the bottom to the top. So, if it’s a 5-gallon fermenter make 5 gallons of the solution.
Let it soak for a couple of hours or overnight if the odor is really strong. The high PH values of bleach are super effective at not only destroying the bacteria but also pulling the odor from most materials including plastic.
2. Rinse and wait
Rinse, rinse and then rinse some more. After rinsing the fermenter will have a strong bleach smell in it which means that it should be placed ideally in a sunny or windy place where the strong bleach fumes will naturally evaporate.
I’d put the fermenter on a balcony or near a window with the lid off and leave it there for 48-72 hours.
3. Clean and sanitize before use
When there is no more obvious bleach smell coming out from the fermenter, prepare some cleaner solution such as Chemipro Oxi in hot water and soak it for an hour. Rinse, and sanitize before use.
Final take on
It’s a good habit to immediately clean all equipment after use and this especially applies to fermenters, bottles, spigots, bottling wands, and siphons.
The mentioned brewing equipment can be difficult to clean if the sediment has time to dry as it will stick and become hard to reach.
The smell also builds up over time, so a lot can be avoided by being quick with cleaning. However, when you brew high-hopped beers like IPAs or use yeast strains that produce lots of sulfur like it’s the case with bottom-fermenting yeast strains or even top-fermenting yeast such as wheat yeasts lots of smell will get into the plastic during fermentation, so it’s normal to expect some odor when you finish using it.
At the end of the day If you can’t get the acidic smell from the fermenter, believe there might be scratches or uncleaned areas don’t hurry to ferment in it.
If you find this plastic property annoying, get a glass or a stainless steel fermenter as they are a far safer option.