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here is a great design for a cold smoker...they are using the amazing pallet smoker....but your shaker smoker will also work with this design...
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/136978/bulding-a-cardboard-box-cold-smoker
it's normal if there is to much smoke with no exhaust port....you stated above about a sealed box with a removable lid.....maybe cut a few holes in the lid or towards the top of your box on the sides.....a hint of smoke is all you need for flavor
i agree with Bearcarver....you should have had an exhaust port on your box...your cheese has to much heavy smoke...TBS is what you want from the exhaust port of your smoker..also know as Thin Blue Smoke...anything more than that will cause a bitter nasty taste...creosote...what you may have to...
if you smoke the chicken at a higher heat..300-350..some will even say a bit higher ....you should get a crisp skin...just keep a close eye on internal temp so you don't dry the meat out
was it sour or a bitter taste? what type of smoker are you using? i really can't see why there would be a sour flavor...every thing that is added to this is "sweet"...combining the syrup, honey and brown sugar is fine...the only thing i can really think of is you may have put "to much" smoke...
does your issue happen when you open the door on the MES 40 or when you add more chips? if its either of these, its because you are adding air in quickly and allowing the chips to flare up....which is normal and happens on my MES 40
if its going to be cold and windy, definitely get it sheltered from the elements, you will loose a ton of heat and burn a lot of lump or charcoal trying to keep the heat up to temp