Tell us about your process from flameout into fermenter(chilling, air exposure, tubing, ball valves)?
After flameout I take the pot off the burner and wrap aluminum foil around the lid to try to seal off the gap where the chiller goes in. I use a standard copper immersion chiller, inserted at 20 minutes before the end of the boil. I have warm tap water (70+) so it takes forever to chill - at least 45 minutes or so. I made a prechiller out of some additional copper tubing, and I was using it the entire time, but next time I am going to try waiting a bit before I dunk it in the ice water bath... After the pot is cool to the touch I pour the wort through a sanitized funnel into the carboy - I don't have a ball valve on my kettle.
Do the ingredients smell / taste right prior to brewing?
Yes.
When does it smell and taste bad? (mid fermentation? or at packaging?)
During the first few days of fermentation I start to pick up the smell and the sample tastes a bit sour.
How/Are you taking samples?
I use a thief that I dunk in star san solution.
What are you smelling/tasting? (Some yeast suck and kick a gnar sulpur out that fades. some yeast it's a sign of poor health/chloramides and chloramines)
I smell a "garbage" aroma, like the bottom of a trash can...
Consider switching up sanitizers and moving to another that's more agreeable with your water situation, maybe iodophor?.
I am thinking about it... I am going to try mixing star san with RO water in my next batch.
The advice from the LHBS was to tell everyone that it's belgian.