Melissa, starters do indeed have a smell to them! An established starter should smell tart and yeasty, but it often takes a while for the ecology of the starter to settle down. New starters can have a wide variety of smells, ranging from the pleasant (lemony) to the kind of gross (dirty socks, nail polish remover). If your starter is newer and smells funky, we'd give it more time to get established before worrying about it. It will always have a bit of an odor, though. That's how you know you have the "sour" for your sourdough! Happy baking! Kat@KAF

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