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finigan4710 · 01-13-2013, 05:08 AM

Ii have just came down with the flu. My beer is done fermenting And ready to bottle. Should I wait till I'm better to bottle the beer or is it okay as long as I'm very clean??

thatshowyougetants · 01-13-2013, 05:12 AM

The flu is a virus. Unlike bacteria, viruses can't live outside a host body. Therefore I don't think the fact that you have a virus should affect your plans to work with your homebrew. You can't get your beer sick with the flu.

Captain Damage · 01-13-2013, 12:43 PM

Wait. You'll be better in a week, and your beer will be fine in the meantime.

Quote:

Unlike bacteria, viruses can't live outside a host body.

Sorry, n_c_n, but if this were true, finigan4710 wouldn't have got the flu in the first place. While I agree the risk of transmission via bottled beer is very small, why risk it at all? Friends and family are usually skeptical about the quality of a beginning brewer's beers as it is; if people drink his beer and start getting sick he might never live it down.

Rest up and bottle next week. (and make a mental note to get a flu shot next year)

**RM-MN** · 01-13-2013, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by finigan4710

Ii have just came down with the flu. My beer is done fermenting And ready to bottle. Should I wait till I'm better to bottle the beer or is it okay as long as I'm very clean??

How sure are you that your beer is done fermenting? Has it been in the fermenter more than a month? There isn't much rush to bottle it any way. I've heard of people leaving their beer in the fermenter much longer than that with no problems.

thatshowyougetants · 01-13-2013, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Captain Damage

Wait. You'll be better in a week, and your beer will be fine in the meantime.

Sorry, n_c_n, but if this were true, finigan4710 wouldn't have got the flu in the first place. While I agree the risk of transmission via bottled beer is very small, why risk it at all? Friends and family are usually skeptical about the quality of a beginning brewer's beers as it is; if people drink his beer and start getting sick he might never live it down.

Rest up and bottle next week. (and make a mental note to get a flu shot next year)

Ok, so the flu can survive somewhere between a couple minutes and 48 hours. It still needs a host body to survive after that. I don't think there's any concern getting the flu from a beer that's aged in the bottle a couple weeks.

half_whit · 01-13-2013, 04:50 PM

I had a similar concern recently and I deferred to "Complete Joy of Homebrewing" and a fellow brewer. Both used the phrase "There are no known human pathogens that can survive in beer." Your beer is likely to kill off any of your bug that gets in it. Everyone pretty much said "just dont start hacking loogies into your bucket and you should be fine."

That said, and unless you're doing single stage, a few days extra in secondary never hurt anyone. Hope you feel better!

KBentley57 · 01-13-2013, 04:53 PM

The flu is virus is not alive, and can exist outside a host for a long long time. It may not get into your beer, but bottle caps? equipment? ect.. Take it easy and bottle when you're feeling great!

Captain Damage · 01-13-2013, 05:33 PM

If you know you have a communicable disease, you should not be preparing food for others to consume.

**BrewerBear** · 01-13-2013, 08:37 PM

If I had the flu I would not feel like bottling so it would not matter, I would just let it ride a little longer.

**Braufessor** · 01-13-2013, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrewerBear

If I had the flu I would not feel like bottling so it would not matter, I would just let it ride a little longer.

+1^^

I would not bottle when I was sick . . . . . because I would not feel good, and might screw things up because I felt like crap.

Whether you "get your beer sick" is really not even the main point.

Wait to bottle it because you can, and it is no big deal.