fruit flies in starter

I made a starter today. When I checked back in two hours to give it a shake, there were fruit flies underneath the lid. I opened the lid and they all flew out. Apparently they squeezed under the lid somehow.

I didn't see any floating around in the starter, but who knows. I would figure they would go after the wort caked on the sides of the container rather than dive-bomb into the wort and die, but they aren't exactly smart. I sprayed starsan on the sides of the container and lid in case they landed on there. It's starting to develop a krausen now.

My question is, do I risk a 40 dollar batch of beer and a lot of time, or buy stuff for a new starter? I'd have to mail order and I wouldn't get to brew for a week, and it would cost another 20 bucks for yeast+shipping+DME. The only infection I have had out of 40 or so batches, I let the air lock dry out and found fruit flies in there. I got a lacto infection.

I'm so pissed. I really do not want to have to make another 5 quart starter.

I would just scrap that starter. Its not worth it, a small infection in a starter will turn into a big deal once you introduce it into a virgin beer.

5 qts is huge!

i'd scrap and start again....

i just had this same thing happen last week

so i put a sterilized muslin bag over the opening and then topped that with foil.. no bug problems since then

SHOOK said:

5 qts is huge!

i'd scrap and start again....

i just had this same thing happen last week

so i put a sterilized muslin bag over the opening and then topped that with foil.. no bug problems since then

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I'm so disappointed...now I get to spend 20 bucks, and I don't get to brew this weekend.

same thing happened to me a few weeks back, except the fruit fly got in after the starter was finished - figured it wasn't worth wasting a full batch and my time etc

i started using a sanitized coffee filter that i rubber band around the top of the flask to keep any more of those little bastards out

rexbanner said:

I'm so disappointed...now I get to spend 20 bucks, and I don't get to brew this weekend.

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Yeah.. I think scrapping it would be a good idea. Even if the starsan killed the bacteria on the surface of the flies, I am sure their bodies are full of bacteria on the inside that the starsan won't touch.

I had fruit flys floating in a starter one time I threw it and the frig let the yeast fall out and poured the beer and bugs down the drain and my beer turned out fine.

It's handy to keep a few packets of dry yeast hanging around, just in case.

I'm going to resurrect an old thread here. Last night I went to go check on my yeast starter and all of a sudden noticed a tiny gnat come flying out of nowhere and hovered around the foil covering my flask. I tried to swat it away but it managed to get into the flask. It did NOT come in contact with the wort. I just sat on the inside edge for about 5 seconds. I lifted the foil and it flew out. Do you guys think my chances of being free from infection are good or should I start over ?

I found a fruit fly floating in my skeeter pee that I started 6 days ago. Is it ruined. Will it turn into vinigar? If I have to dump 5 gal of skeeter pee and start over, I will not be a happy camper!

TheOnionKnight said:

Do you guys think my chances of being free from infection are good or should I start over ?

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I personally would RDWHAHB, but that's a decision a man has to make for himself.

I have the same problem now. I made a 1968 ESB starter yesterday morning. Later last night, I was transferring a beer that I brewed last Sunday that had spewed foam out of the airlock for two days and the bucket was covered in rotten beer and fruit flies. LSS, I went to give my starter a stir and I saw one of the bastards doing the back stroke. After one pints worth of deliberation, I have decided that I am going to go ahead and pitch the yeast this evening. I am brewing a 1.055 ESB using $16 worth of grain and a few ounces of EKG's that I bought a pound of at cost ($.75 and ounce). So, my reasoning is that a beer this small doesn't need to sit around for more than a couple weeks in the fermenter and once bottled I will drink it fairly quickly. I'm guessing it will be fine. If it goes bad, I'm only out a little over $20 and a few hours of time. Either way, it will be interesting to see just how sensitive starters are to "outside influences". I'll report back a couple months from now and let you know what happened.

This is why I dont understand why most people say to loosly put foil on a starter:fruitflys. wtf ? I think I would at least rubberband a coffee filter or cheescloth over it,in fact I think I did do that with my only 1 starter I ever did.

jonmohno said:

This is why I dont understand why most people say to loosly put foil on a starter:fruitflys. wtf ? I think I would at least rubberband a coffee filter or cheescloth over it,in fact I think I did do that with my only 1 starter I ever did.

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Good point. I think that most people who talk about yeast starters assume that you (like they) have their yeast starters in a fermentation chamber, which is free of flies. That assumption isn't good enough obviously!

I would dump a starter that got fruit flies in it. Not worth risking the whole batch, IMO.

I use aluminum foil on my starters and never had a problem with fruit flies getting in there. Maybe I've just gotten lucky, but it seems like they would really have to work at it to get in there...

I made a 1968 ESB starter yesterday morning. Later last night, I was transferring a beer that I brewed last Sunday that had spewed foam out of the airlock for two days and the bucket was covered in rotten beer and fruit flies.

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OK a couple of questions:

1. Do you put an airlock on your starter? Maybe I am mireading this sentence.

2. Why aren't you cleaning up the mess? If I have foam or beer coming out of my fermenter in an uncontrolled fashion, the first thing I do is clean up the mess, because I don't want to attract unwanted pests to the place there are likely to do the most damage. Also, I don't want to piss off my SWMBO, but that's another story. For some beers, that means I might clean it up two or three times during fermentation, although I have found fermcap-s helps quite a bit in this regard for most beers.

1. Foil on the starter. The airlock was on the foamy fermenter that the fruit flies flocked to.

2. I was cleaning up the foam: in the morning, at lunch, after work, and throughout the evening for two and a half days. It just didn't stop. It was like a soft serve ice cream machine. I've never had it happen that much before. I should have had a blow off tube ready but alas, hind sight...

Anyway, when the foaming stopped on the third day, I transferred the beer to a secondary so I could thoroughly clean the bucket. To do this, I had the bucket in the kitchen on the table where the starter was sitting. The fruit flies that had gathered around the foam covered lid found their way into the starter.

I've since started using the coffee filter/rubber band idea. I think its a winner. Especially during times of the year like now, when the last of our tomato harvests are sitting around attracting flies.

I've had no problems with the ESB (Extra Special Bugbeer) so far. I'll bottle it next week & see what happens. I'm still thinking it will be fine but we'll see.

While I would hate flies in my beer, do you ever wonder how they managed to make beer back in the middle ages? One thing for sure they did not have any sanitizer, probably didnt even wash their hands after taking a leak,or worse. But they still made beer.

Wow. Foam in the flask or a coffee filter over it is a good idea.
This is why many recommend you keep some dry yeast on hand. It comes in handy for emergencies. Cheap, no starter needed, and available in a pinch. I keep at least 2 packs in the fridge at all times.

My Extra Special Buggy has been bottled for a month. It tastes great. I can't perceive any ill effects from the fruit fly in the starter.

I may have gotten lucky, but my advice to someone with a similar problem would be to not panic, decant the fly, use the yeast, and try to drink the beer as fast as possible just in case.

I guess if I was brewing for a competition, I'd probably be more cautious.

Also, I've started using the coffee filter idea and I've stocked up on Fermcap-S to avoid the massive foam problems. I've been pretty impressed with it so far.

It tastes great. I can't perceive any ill effects from the fruit fly in the starter.

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Next time, just dip your finger tips in some sanitizer and pick the bugger(s) out.

If it's an infestation, then dump it, but just a couple fruit flies, pick them out. Your beer will be fine.