Rancid chocolate?

[saxomophone]

A few weeks ago I made my fist attempt at a parti-gyle batch of oatmeal stout. I hadn't exactly planned on doing it this way but after I calculated the liquid volumes I decided to give it a try.

I ended up with 6 gallons at 1.069 wort and 3 gallons at 1.035.

I didn't have enough hops for both batches so I decided to experiment with the small batch and add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder in the last 5 minutes of the boil to add some bitterness and see what happens.

It didn't ferment real well but I decided after a few weeks to go ahead and bottle it. The gravity was only down to about 1.015. When I took the stopper out, I noticed it had a very funky smell to it. The only way I can describe it is like a cross between tootsie rolls and an outhouse. Not good.

Is it possible that the chocolate went bad because I didn't use any hops? I've read that they act as a preservative. I'm always very careful about sanitation but there is always a possibility that something found its way in.

Any ideas? Any chance it could get better with age or should I just dump it and pray the other batch turned out fine.

[slothrob]

So, do you think it's a sulfur smell? A lot of times yeasts. particularly certain yeasts or yeast under stress, will make sulfur. Sometimes a weak fermentation will simply fail to blow off the sulfur. This usually ages out, but may take a few weeks.