Smell of burning in the air, Dublin 8

questioner22

I recently moved to this part of the city and notice every so often there's a strong smell of burning. Noticed it used to be on Sunday nights and would be gone in the morning. Thought at first it was the neighbour below me burning toast or using an oven that hadn't been cleaned.

I noticed this smell yesterday evening when I got off James St Luas. I had to close windows in apartment, it continued into the night. Even this morning it's still in the air a bit. Anyone know what it is ?

Gavin "shels"

The Hops from Guinness Factory?

questioner22

I don't know. It's air pollution really is what it is. There should be regulations against if it's coming from a factory.

SuperBowserWorld

People buring solid fuel ?

Especially if it's cold ... it's probably this.

Mystery solved ? 😁

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490662#Comment_120490662

There is regulations. Guinnesses have been there for over 250 years, if you live beside a brewery you will get smells.

Uncle Pierre

My guess is the Guinness brewery too.

Also, be conscious there's a difference between odours and pollution.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490680#Comment_120490680

It doesn't seem to be related to weather. Yesterday was a warm day.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490708#Comment_120490708

There is no difference when it's something burning. I have to close the window. If it was just a harmless smell, like cut grass or something, I wouldn't have to.

Dial Hard

I'd bet the farm on it being the smell of the hops roasting from James' Gate. It's a very distinctive smell. Some people love it, I wouldn't be a fan, tbh, but it's not close the windows bad.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490775#Comment_120490775

As I said it's like burnt toast or someone with an oven on that had never been cleaned - definitely not a nice smell. It's so strong I thought it was coming from apartment below. Maybe whatever they're using needs to be cleaned? 

I'm about a mile from Guinness factory.

It's gone now whatever it was, but seems to happen around once a week.

Dial Hard

Burnt toast is exactly what the roasting hops smell like to me. Anyway, it's not going to stop so your choices are put up with it or move.

uberwolf

almost certainly Guinness

saintsaltynuts

Free smells of Guinness.

questioner22

Well if they're going to be phasing out petrol because of supposed pollution, they'd have to shut something like this down first. I'd have windows open with traffic on the road underneath all the time - no issue. Same with solid fuel.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490891#Comment_120490891

Burning hydrocarbons is not the same as roasting hops.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490903#Comment_120490903

It's like the difference between roasting in a clean oven vs one that's never been cleaned. So all the burnt stuff in the oven is being burned as well.

artanevilla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490935#Comment_120490935

Ok.

Princess Calla

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490935#Comment_120490935

What makes you think the oven is dirty? Just because it reminds you of something burning doesn't mean it is. That's just the natural aroma of hops.

Guinness isn't going to be going anywhere so up to you if you want to stay in the area....if you decide to move do a better "due diligence" in the next area.

Best of luck in bbq season .... there'll be plenty of burny smells then!

Gavin "shels"

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120490855#Comment_120490855

I lived about 2 miles from Guinness Factory for 30 years and could smell.

Girl Geraldine

If it is occuring at night time then I think it might be travelers burning the PVC insulation off of stolen cables.

They do it at night time because a) the origin of the smoke plume won't be visible and b) the councils evnironment people won't be on duty at that time, and won't be able to react to catch them in the act.

Metal and cable theivery is rampant in certain areas. The price of scrap metals is up. PVC smoke is a very toxic, choking and horrible smelling smoke.

HotWaterCylinder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491487#Comment_120491487

if you say so

thefallingman

Used to be a much stronger smell years ago, it's hardly there now with the modern suppression systems. You should be thankful it's not a piggery now there's a smell in the summer.

Larbre34

Yeah it's the hops roasting for sure, one of the most beautiful smells in Dublin.

Its funny how much it has changed over the years though, when I was in primary school out Dundrum way in the 80s, we'd often get quite a strong aroma of the hops if the wind was in the right direction. Nowadays, as the OP demonstrates, the smell is only really noticeable in a radius of a kilometre or two around the Brewery, presumably due to scrubbing technology and other environmental protections.

Girl Geraldine

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491521#Comment_120491521

It is rampant in parts of Cork City. Even sometimes in the day you can see plumes of smoke emanating from areas which would well be known for their strong "culture".

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491487#Comment_120491487

Well that's an oddly specific and strange thing to post.

o1s1n

OP - is the smell localised or when you smell it, can you go outside and smell it in the streets/when you go for a walk?

If you can smell it everywhere in D8 then it's definitely the brewery. I love it myself, can smell it sometimes over in D7 too.

If it's localised to just your apartment area then it's something else.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491487#Comment_120491487

It could be, though my thought was it's some kind of burning food or something like that. All I know is it's polluted air, it affects my throat and I don't want to breathe it.  I'd wake up with a headache if I didn't close the window.

I've lived in the city for decades and am used to different smells. This is long-lasting, whereas a bbq or something like that a couple of hours at most.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491574#Comment_120491574

If it was a natural herb kind of smell I'd be fine with it. Maybe it is burning cables then as Geraldine suggested.

I don't know what hops is supposed to smell like, but @Dial Hard says it does smell like burnt toast. It's hard to imagine how anyone would like that. But then different people like different things. Some like being around cigarette smoke for example, others can't stand it.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491805#Comment_120491805

The smell of hops from the Guinness factory is not going to affect your throat or give you a headache. It's just a smell, not noxious fumes. So I doubt it's that in this case.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120491599#Comment_120491599

Up until yesterday I thought it was coming from the building, because it happened when I went to bed, so I wasn't going out to check.

Yesterday evening I got the same smell when I got off the Luas around 6, but not as strong. Maybe it was there before but I didn't notice when weather was colder. It got worse then after 9 or so.

monkeybutter

the stank of the hops from brewing is pretty distinctive, you'd not confuse it with something else

The Continental Op

They can roast hops next door to me, wonderful smell. In the UK used to live near the Farleys Rusk factory and the smell of the factory was wonderful. Also lived for a few years within half a kilometer of a tannery now there's a smell you don't want anywhere near.

Dial Hard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120492080#Comment_120492080

You might if you'd never smelled it before.

Hotblack Desiato

Guinness is made with roasted barley not roasted hops.

questioner22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120492149#Comment_120492149

I was force fed those as a baby, don't like the smell of them! Agree with you though, a tannery or something like that would be worse.

questioner22

I was walking around there this evening and got the smell again. Fairly sure now it's from the factory as people said. Smell is like a sponge cake cooking, slightly burnt.

It's a mile away from James St, but seems to be another entrance up near Heuston which would make it closer.

During the day it doesn't bother as much or it's not as strong. It's at night when I like to leave the window open a bit to let air in. At least now I know what it is 😐️

HeidiHeidi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120492780#Comment_120492780

It's not a factory, it's a brewery.

I wasn't mad about the smell when I first moved to the area (even though I love Guinness), but I really miss it now that they seem to have much reduced spread of the smell.

MacDanger

Have you showered recently OP?

homingbird

Here in limerick a certain community burn electric cable to get the metal out of it if it was you or i we would be thrown in jail not them.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120494176#Comment_120494176

Do you really think someone would actually be thrown in jail for burning some cables?

homingbird

You & me are paying for the fire brigade to call to put it out not them so they keep doing it. Things need to change as they are born with so many rights like a pension when the majority of them never worked a day in there life you dont have enough stamps you aint getting a pension.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120494453#Comment_120494453

50% of travelers die before they reach 39 and and 70% don't live passed 59 - so don't worry, most of them will have died before your tax money has to support them with a pension.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120494314#Comment_120494314

Well if they've stolen said cable and are retrieving copper from it by burning the plastic off it.. then frankly yes - jail and hard labour.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120495166#Comment_120495166

Big difference between should and would.

I seriously doubt anyone would go to prison for that. Let alone hard labour. Be they traveler or not.

GLaDOS

Closing this as the question's been answered and we're getting wildy off topic