Fly in beer bottle...?

I was looking at my bottles that we bottled 9 days ago just to see how they were doing, and two bottles that were next to each other had something in common...

one had a dead fly floating in the bottom, with some baby-flies (little maggots) stuck on the sides of the inside of the bottle... the other bottle just had some maggots.... after my stomache settled down, I dumped those two bottles...

Now... would those guys be in there due to a problem with sanitation, although I was quite anal about keeping everything clean, or is it most likely that those two bottles had eggs in them that didn't get fully washed out from sitting in my garage? Should I be worried about all my bottles in this batch? I looked at every one of them and didn't see anything foreign in the others... but now Im worried about contamination... this beer was so tasty in my tests so far too...

Thanks.

I just threw up a little in my mouth...

mattjmac said:

i just threw up a little in my mouth...

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+1

It sounds like they may have not been cleaned out very well.

If all those bottles were stored in the same place, cleaned and sanitized the same way and then filled at the same time I don't think I could drink from any of them, heh. Not sure if it is more emotional than logical but either way... gag.

I'd have saved those two bottles for when a "friend" comes by to mooch "free beer".

ChshreCat said:

I'd have saved those two bottles for when a "friend" comes by to mooch "free beer".

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Haha brilliant!

Especially if they're the "Don't put in in a glass... I drink from the bottle like a man" type.

Can i please be the first say, A. this sounds like a gag, and B. if you have any wildlife in a bottle post fermentation you should probably buy a book before brewing another batch.

just sayin.

this s*** cracks me up though!

redpelon said:

I was quite anal about keeping everything clean

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I found your problem.

CrustyBrau said:

I found your problem.

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Ha ha, that made me laugh loud enough my wife asked what I was doing.

if you had maggots in the bottles, they were there BEFORE you filled the bottles. I am with the others, I would dump it all.

The Inuit people once considered maggots a delicacy, they are also high in protein. I say, drink 'em down!

CrustyBrau said:

I found your problem.

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BwaaaaaH

Here's what happened, and I do know from experience. Your empty bottles where stored somewhere with a bit of old beer in them. Flys entered, laid eggs, maggots resulted.

You must clean the bottles thoroughly after you pour a beer. This will completely prevent this. I store empties outdoors and this has happened only in bottles that had some beer left in them.

BTW, those maggots can be very difficult to clean off the walls of a bottle once it's gone through the dishwasher. They dry and stick and won't come off with oxyclean. Tossers.

passedpawn, thats 100% what happened.... i was lazy on some of the bottles and didn't completely clean them out...... i double checked every other bottle and they seem fine.... woudl it be stupid to even try some of the other bottles that seem visually ok?

What did you do when this happened to you, passedpawn, did you drink the other bottles?

I just dont want two things to happen: That I get sick (even though I saw no more flies/maggots in any other bottle), and that I dont get to drink my lovely IPA that I've waited 5 weeks to try :|.

brad26 said:

The Inuit people once considered maggots a delicacy, they are also high in protein. I say, drink 'em down!

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I've eaten worse things in my life by accident.....

redpelon said:

I just dont want two things to happen: That I get sick (even though I saw no more flies/maggots in any other bottle), and that I dont get to drink my lovely IPA that I've waited 5 weeks to try :|.

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Highly unlikely you would feel any physical effects from consuming the beer that actually had the maggots in it, let alone the beer that isn't showing signs of contamination. Though reading your post put me off the beer I was consuming while reading your post, and I'm thousands of miles away.

Flies breed pretty quickly so if you don't see any in your other bottles, they're probably safe. Getting the thought of those maggots out of your head may be tricky though... for both of us.

redpelon said:

I've eaten worse things in my life by accident.....

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hell I've eaten worse things in my life on purpose.

redpelon said:

What did you do when this happened to you, passedpawn, did you drink the other bottles?
|.

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Don't let it bother you. There's nothing there that can hurt you.

I have successfully cleaned out bottles with maggots, and I drink out of them now. I also have had bottles that I couldn't clean out and I trashed them.

Every atom that you eat at one time was probably passing through the anus of some creature.

Mmm, FlyPA

shelly_belly said:

Mmm, FlyPA

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At least you have a definite name for this batch, if nothing else! :cross:

I wouldn't throw out the bottles that don't show a sign of wildlife. Drink it down like a man!!!!