DMS damage control

I don't know if the technique described will work. Sounds plausible to reduce (not eliminate DMS), as well as probably reducing some desirable aromas/flavors.

But I have nothing better to offer. I'm not aware of any naturally occurring processes in packaged beer that will make DMS go away.

 

DMS in a tripel?
that's kind of a first.
you sure it isn't an infection that's giving DMS-like flavours?

what temp did you ferment it at? how long?

also curious as to why you used pilsner vs 2-row for your grain. not a biggie, but more curious than anything

 

Of course I don't know @FeDUBBELFIST's reasons, but if I were making a Tripel, I'd use (Belgian) Pilsner Malt. It's traditional/to style.

 

I've never scrubbed DMS before, but it sounds easy enough to try. I wonder if using a stone would help as well.

If you try it, report back. I'm curious as to how well it works.

 

Consider getting a commercial tripel out and blending with your beer. Taste for your DMS levels and see if you can diminish them this way. You may end up brewing a second batch to wean DMS out.

 

“I think (hope) it's just green flavor from restarting the fermentation in the keg.” If you believe that to be the case then you would expect that more time in the keg would rectify the issue.

I would suggest give your Tripel more time in the keg and hopefully that will rectify the issue. It is worth a try; little effort beyond patience.

Best of luck!

Cheers!

 

wait wait..
so if it is in the keg, then why shouldn't he just perculate it with CO2 and burp the keg? that may get rid of the DMS, no?

 

I wouldn't assume this, because DMS is not a byproduct of fermentation, and I've never heard anyone describe DMS as a green flavor. Can you describe what you're tasting?

 

Exactly! Wait a bit and see what happens. If need be you could perform the CO2 scrubbing operation at a later time but their are consequences to this operation as you wisely pointed out.

Cheers!

 

I think I recently saw @jbakajust1 describe getting DMS from stressed-out lactobacillus. This stuck in my mind because I have been thinking about trying to culture up lacto bugs from yogurt, and @jbakajust1's report was the first indication I had heard that DMS might be an issue. (His advice to avoid DMS is to culture up the lacto to get a proper-sized healthy pitch.)

Now, I'm not saying there is lactobacillus in this beer, I'm just saying there's a possibility that DMS might be a fermentation product in some circumstances. If lacto can make it, maybe yeast can make it too.

 

I dunno. If stressed Sacch yeast (or Sacch yeast of any health) could make DMS, I think the textbooks would be filled with that knowledge. And if anyone could mistreat yeast, it's newbie extract brewers. I don't think I've ever seen an extract brewer describe a DMS-like character in their "Is my beer ruined?" posts.

So I won't say it's impossible. Only that there doesn't seem to be any evidence for it.

 

I've heard of pedio producing diacetyl, but never of fermentation producing DMS...could it be the yeast just throwing a little sulpher instead? 2 months in primary might be contributing also. ????

 

Well, I think what we have is very puzzling evidence. @FeDUBBELFIST is reporting that there was no taste of DMS after the boil, and "quite noticeable" DMS after fermentation and sugar-primed carbonation in the keg. If we take this evidence at face value, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that the DMS was introduced at some point during fermentation or carbonation, and I would count that as evidence for the fermentation theory. Not conclusive evidence by any means, but not something a Bayesian should ignore entirely.

Here is what Chris White and Jamil Zainasheff write in Yeast: The Practical Guide to Beer Fermentation (on p. 38):

The sulfur compounds typically found in beer are dimethyl sulfide (DMS), sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and mercaptans. Some of these sulfur compounds come from malt, while others come from yeast or a combination of both. For example, dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) is present in wort at varying levels, depending on the source malt. The level of this oxidized DMS compound is not affected by the boil like DMS and its precursor S-methyl-methionine (SMM). Unfortunately, yeast has the ability to reduce DMSO back to DMS during fermentation, increasing the level of those canned corn and cooked cabbage types of aromas and flavors in the beer.
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So I think the fermentation hypothesis is plausible enough to be worth entertaining, along with other theories. I agree that it seems bizarre that this problem would exist without being more extensively reported in the literature and on the forums, which suggests to me that the problem must be fairly rare.

 

Interesting paragraph from "Yeast." If correct, it certainly provides a plausible pathway.

I'm still interested hear what OP's beer actually tastes like too.

 

I don't know what Copes Corn is. Is it different from regular corn? Since you're also from PA, does it taste like Rolling Rock (assuming you're old enough to remember)? But corn is certainly a valid DMS descriptor.