Four months of pasta smell and nobody said a word until now?

Wait, you were fermenting in a crock in your garage in Tucson? That heat alone would scare me, my garage hits like 95 degrees by noon in summer and I always figured that would wreck a mash. The metal taste makes sense though if air was getting in, that's oxidation plus who knows what off flavors from wild stuff. Did you ever check the temp in there during those 6 weeks, because air and heat together in a garage sounds like a double whammy.

Man, how do you walk away without checking once? I get the timer thing, but don't you worry about the broiler catching or the rack sitting too high? I've gotta know if the guy gave you a temp or time trick, because clearly my peek habit is the whole problem.