Why do some lagers smell like rotten eggs, cooked corn, or burnt matches — and how do you actually fix it? In this episode, Mark and Richard walk through one of the most misunderstood (and most feared) parts of lager brewing: sulfur compounds.
Using key insights from Nate’s recent video Advanced Lager Techniques: Navigating Sulfur in Lager, we explore:
The difference between “good sulfur” and sulfur faults
The five major sulfur compounds found in beer
Why yeast makes sulfur in the first place
How to diagnose sulfur by aroma (your nose is your best instrument!)
Process levers — oxygenation, FAN, pitch rate, temperature, spunding
Cleanup strategies that work (and when it’s too late)
Sulfur is a normal part of lager fermentation — the goal isn’t zero sulfur, but controlled sulfur. This episode helps you understand which compounds belong, which don’t, and how to keep your lagers clean, complex, and stable.
Featured in this Episode: