Vinegar/White Wine Smell?

[h_doody]

Just took a sample of my Brewbuddy Pear Cider kit and there is a vinegary/white wine-ish smell coming from it. Had a taste and it tasted fine, so is it ruined? It's been fermenting for a week now, OG was around about 1.040 and the gravity now is about 1.020.

 

[carl_saint]

You want to leave it alone for a good two weeks at least. Any off flavours will be eaten up during the ferment and the flavour will then develop more during conditioning. Once bottled you want to leave it at least 3 months to properly condition!

 

[h_doody]

So it's not ruined then? Awesome!

 

[carl_saint]

It's very hard to tell after a week. If its still the same after a couple of months then I would maybe get a little concerned, but not after a week!

 

[oldbloke]

Occasionally I hear it suggested that when you sniff an active ferment, the CO2 reacts in your schnozz into something similar to vinegar, leading to false conclusions