Newby wannabe dry-ager here with a couple of questions….

[Ron Pratt]

Welcome aboard, Tim.

That funky first smell off cryovac sealed meat is commonplace and the longer it was sealed (wet aged as it is called) the more noticeable the funk!

As for grass fed vs. grain fed beef being trickier to age – that’s a new one to me! Personally I can’t think of a reason why it would be.

And lastly, yes you can dry age previously frozen sub-primals and I do it all the time!
Ron