I went down to check on my primary this morning and noticed that their are about a dozen dead fruit flies in the airlock. Not sure where they came from as we've never had a problem with them. I'm just going to be extra paranoid now when it's time to rack.
Glad I Use Vodka in the Airlock
- Thread starter bennyd
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Skarekrough
Well-Known Member
Um, fruit flies are drawn to alcohol.
During Margarita season when we get lazy about taking the compost out regularly I have to dodge the little cretins in my drink.
Odds are they were drawn by the smell of the alcohol in the airlock.
If your lid is secure on the fermenter and the airlock is in place there shouldn't be any noticeable smell of the wort as it ferments.
During Margarita season when we get lazy about taking the compost out regularly I have to dodge the little cretins in my drink.
Odds are they were drawn by the smell of the alcohol in the airlock.
If your lid is secure on the fermenter and the airlock is in place there shouldn't be any noticeable smell of the wort as it ferments.
devilishprune
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My recommendation is to put some star-san or other sanitizer (probably not bleach) into you airlock. Flies don't like sanitizer.
BrewDocND
Well-Known Member
hahha. probably
Agreed. It's really easy to put sanitizer in the airlock, since you're sanitizing it anyway. Although, one of mine does have a small spider in it as we speak.
munche
Well-Known Member
My Airlock has really small holes in the top that would not allow bugs in. So there's that.
ditto. All my airlocks, s-type and 2-piece all have a "cover" with small holes that keeps bugs out, well maybe not a fruit fly, but no spidies for me.
klyph
Well-Known Member
In case there is any suck back, you don't want unsanitary water in your beer. I use starsan since that's what I sanitize everything with and a little in the beer doesn't hurt a thing.
starrfish
Well-Known Member
Used water for years and never had a problem, switched to starsan recently just because I keep a spray bottle of it around for brew/bottle/keg days... got it might as well use it.
I use starsan because:
1)I'm soaking it in anyway, so it's "pre-filled;" and
2) *if* something gets in there (rogue yeast, etc) *and* I have negative pressure in my fermentor (temp decrease, or lifting the better bottle (usually that sucks a little air in) the chances of that rogue yeast, etc, living in starsan and gettinging into my brew are very slim.
Of course, the chances for it without the starsan are slim too, but as I said, it's "pre-filled" from the soaking.
NWMOBrewer
Well-Known Member
for my first brew, I used boiled water i put in the fridge because I got rid of all my starsan before i thought about filling my airlock. Will be using starsan this brew though because I saved some
ToddO
Well-Known Member
Best thing about Vodka in the airlock is when you are all out of booze you know there's always a nice fly filled nightcap shot waiting for you. Yum!!
Kidding.
Kidding.
starrfish
Well-Known Member
LOL just like worm in mezcal!!! but more an smaller!
used water for years, and never had a polluted batch. finally switched to vodka; 2 batches later, had a fruit fly in my airlock
Fruit flies mean youre not cleaning something well enough. I was a bartender for years and in an imperfectly sanitary bar you see fruitflies. In a clean bar you dont. Ever. Every time ive ever seen fruit flies it was because there was alchohol/sugar somewhere. In the well. Sink. Under the sink. Somewhere. They arent created out of fresh air they have to hatch somewhere. All it takes is a tiny bit of water/alcohol/sugar somewhere. And they love alcohol btw.
Skarekrough
Well-Known Member
Finally...someone who works in a bar...a voice of reason!
...because we typically need to over-complicate the simplest act in hopes that something magical will happen. I'm convinced of it.
hereforbeer
Well-Known Member
I had a blowoff tube,well,blowoff the carboy and it got on the walls and what not.Had fruit flies for about a month thanks to that.After that fermentation was over,so was my problem with them.
slicksmix
Well-Known Member
Is that the same as one step?
bmsteele
Active Member
I tried this once... but my Star San foamed up and I lost most of it.
No. OneStep is technically not a sanitizer. It is a cleaner. First I need to find out where the fruit flies are coming from since I've never had them in the house before. Then I'll make sure to use StarSan in the airlock. I picked up a 32 oz. container at Midwest today....along with 2 better bottles, bungs, tubing, a 28 inch spoon, bottle caps, brew hauler, ph strips, two recipe kits, funnel, filters, and a couple of 32 oz. bombers.
This explains sooooo much of life
