Fruit fly rescue

Started a mead yesterday, pitched with a harvested yeast cake, 24 hours later no sign of fermentation so I went to re-pitch with some bread yeast.

Took the covering off the bucket, turned my back for a moment to get the yeast from the drawer, when I returned there was a fruit fly floating in there.

Fished the fruit fly out with a teaspoon and it seems like it flew away, either that or it got pinged off the spoon.

I know those flies carry aescetic acid bacteria on them so I guess it's a waiting game to see if I end up with mead instead of vinegar.

I hope it's not inevitable.

If it did fly away it was probably only in there for a few seconds and maybe it'll be okay but if it had been floating dead in there for hours I'm guessing it'll be contaminated.

Not a good start to the year's brewing.

Ugh - I have had acetobacter infections in the past and they suck (apparently malt grain carries it, so don't crush where you ferment).

It's a crapshoot, I would say. Waiting game like you say.

Don't know if the 5-second rule applies to flies. And with surface tension of the must, maybe the fly wasn't immersed enough to allow a lot of germs to enter the must. Perhaps the yeast will crowd out any bacterial invasions. Wait and see.

I had a similar incident when making a 25 litre batch of cider only that time it was a fungus gnat from the chilli plants, I think, rather than a fruit fly. Dived right in and I scopped it right out again.

As far as I can tell the cider hasn't turned to vinegar yet so maybe there's hope for the mead, although I'd guess that fungus gnats carry different microbes than fruit flies.

Dont fret too much. Some people actually give two poops during fermentation and get by just fine open tops and all. In the long run a fruit fly can potentially mess up a batch but those usually sit in it over a long period of time. There are many ways to get rid of the flies prior to it and most country bumpkins use vinegar in a glass with plastic wrap over it and a few holes poked with a tooth pick. I have given up this method for something that works way faster. Go buy you unsightly fly strips, the kind you have to slowly pull from a tube. I live in the country and have tons of fruit in my house. Those strips can clear all the flies overnight almost whereas the cup took days and you kept having to clean and replace it. The strips are use and toss. Yes more unsightly but if you toss it up the day prior to brewing and pull it down after your done then it is all good and your airlock will end up catching the stragglers if any are left.. good luck

Cheers for the replies.

The mead still isn't showing signs of fermentation which worries me because it was bread yeast which is supposed to be fast acting and which, when I've used it in the past, had the must bubbling away in much less time.

I'm thinking that maybe the EC-1118 yeast cake, which I think may have gone kaput from alcohol exposure, still has some kind of killer yeast property and did for the bread yeast.

Have you taken a gravity reading to be sure? Sometimes fermentation occurs without much visible activity. And airlock activity (or lack of) isn't always a good indicator.

Edit: I now see that you pitched day before yesterday. Give it a few more days before worrying. But still rely on gravity readings to know fermentation is working.

MaxStout said:

Have you taken a gravity reading to be sure? Sometimes fermentation occurs without much visible activity. And airlock activity (or lack of) isn't always a good indicator.

Edit: I now see that you pitched day before yesterday. Give it a few more days before worrying. But still rely on gravity readings to know fermentation is working.

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My hydrometer readings are a bit wonky, if only by a small margin, but if I remember correctly it was about 1.074. I checked again and it's showing the early signs of fermentation now just no fizzle as of yet.

If really slow, give it a good stir and if possible (and inside yeast tolerance temperature range) increase temp a few degrees. Then wait it out.

CKuhns said:

If really slow, give it a good stir and if possible (and inside yeast tolerance temperature range) increase temp a few degrees. Then wait it out.

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Will do. I usually beat it with an egg whisk for the first few days to degas / oxygenate.

My experiences with bread yeast esentially gave me a 1 week tolerance before I started getting annoyed. Some days it goes 'rawr' like my kid with a dinosaur toy, others it is like an old man with 'ED' until it finally starts perking up... if by 1 week it shows no life signs I would rinse and repeat, unless you are strapped for cash try putting it in a warmer room. I had one sit for over 3 weeks out of curiosity and nada. Anyways thats why I normally give it 1 week prior to trying to adjust anything. Oh also make sure the yeast is still decent, check the expiration date. My oldest yeast I had that worked was almost 2 years past it's prime lol. Not sure how hit and miss that can be.

I bought a reptile warmer. If it's colder in the basement I put it under the fermentation bucket and raise the temp a few deg.

I started a Cyser Sunday. Monday night I could see signs of fermentation. Today bubbling away.

DungMonster said:

My experiences with bread yeast esentially gave me a 1 week tolerance before I started getting annoyed. Some days it goes 'rawr' like my kid with a dinosaur toy, others it is like an old man with 'ED' until it finally starts perking up... if by 1 week it shows no life signs I would rinse and repeat, unless you are strapped for cash try putting it in a warmer room. I had one sit for over 3 weeks out of curiosity and nada. Anyways thats why I normally give it 1 week prior to trying to adjust anything. Oh also make sure the yeast is still decent, check the expiration date. My oldest yeast I had that worked was almost 2 years past it's prime lol. Not sure how hit and miss that can be.

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It's fermenting vigorously at the moment, rapid bubbles of C02 escaping from the airlock.

Thing I'm not sure about is whether it's the bread yeast or the EC-1118 doing the fermenting.

MarkKF said:

I bought a reptile warmer. If it's colder in the basement I put it under the fermentation bucket and raise the temp a few deg.

I started a Cyser Sunday. Monday night I could see signs of fermentation. Today bubbling away.

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Mine's in the kitchen which is pretty warm, even in January.

Right, so I just did a hydrometer reading and it sat at 1.000.

I think the hydrometer is 6 points over, though, from when I tested it in tap-water so I'm guessing that it's 0.094.

It's still bubbling but given the hydrometer reading I think that might be C02 escaping from the liquid rather than the yeast fermenting sugars.

The mead smells okay, not great, but then it never really smells that good to me when in a gallon glass jug with a rubber bung. Usually when I bottle it the smell is improved when it's in poured in the glass. The main thing is that it doesn't smell like it's turning into vinegar.

I'd think it's more likely the dissolved solids in your tap water making you think your hydrometer is off.

Could be.

I'm thinking next time I make mead I'll take a gravity reading of the water I'm using, which is usually some kind of bottled spring water.

Distilled might be your best bet to have the least amount of TDS.