Flakes in the Airlock

[ericelmer]

I am new to homebrewing and have come to a problem. It's day 9 of fermenting and my belgium strong ale is in my plastic food grade 6-gallon bucket fermentor. This morning I noticed 2 brown flakes in the airlock and am not sure if it's mold, or (hopefully) if krauesen was pushed into the airlock. I did not use sanitizing solution in the air lock, I used purified water.

I have been keeping it in a tupperware containter with water/ice to keep the temperature at 65. I just read this morning that musty areas can increase the likelihood of mold.

What do you think it is and what do you suggest I do?

Thanks!

Eric

 

[IrregularPulse]

Most likely just Krausen. Just let it finish up and taste the hydro sample. That will tell you if it's good or not. I keep a bottle of cheap Colonial Club vodka on hand for my airlocks.

 

[ericelmer]

I am new to homebrewing and have come to a problem. It's day 9 of fermenting my belgium strong ale is in my plastic food grade 6-gallon bucket. This morning I noticed 2 brown flakes in the airlock and am not sure if it's mold or krauesen was pushed into the airlock. I did not use sanitizing solution in the air lock, I used purified water.

I have been keeping it in a tupperware containter with water/ice to keep the temperature at 65.

What do you think it is and what do you suggest I do?

Thanks!

Eric

 

[mojotele]

At this point I'd just dump the water from the airlock, rinse it out, fill it with Star-San or cheap vodka and replace the airlock.

No use worrying about the beer. I'm sure it is fine, anyway.

 

[ericelmer]

I went to switch the airlock from water to sanitizing solution and discovered that the small flakes were actually fruit flies! I took a peek through the airlock whole and did not see any other fruit flies, any suggestions on what I should do?

Thank you!

Eric

 

[ericelmer]

I went to switch the airlock from water to sanitizing solution and discovered that the small flakes were actually three little fruit flies! I took a peek through the airlock hole and did not see any other fruit flies, any suggestions on what I should do?

Thank you!

Eric

 

[ericelmer]

Today is day 9 of my primary fermentation of a belgium strong ale which is in a plastic food grade 6-gallon bucket. This morning I noticed that there were three tiny fruit flies in the water in my airlock! I had been using water in my airlock, I just cleaned it out and sanitized it and now it is filled with the sanitizing solution.

I looked through the airlock hole and did not see any other fruit flies in the brew but am nervous it may have been contaminated during the 5 minutes it was exposed (when the airlock was being sanitized) , also I'm pretty sure fruit flies are not sanitary.

Should I bottle it now, wait or do something else?

Does anyone have any recommendations of what I should do? Is this kind of common?

Thank you!!

Eric

 

[Yooper]

You only need to post once- we see all the new posts so there is no need to post the same question in multiple places.

Anyway, I'd be glad that the airlock did its job and kept the fruitflies out of the beer. Keep water or vodka or sanitizer in the airlock and you'll be fine.

 

[ericelmer]

Sorry about that, I wasn't quite sure how it worked!

 

[GeauxBrew]

Eric,
I fear that you may have a problem. Fruit flies are extremely hazardous to homebrew. I strongly suggest you keg the beer and ship it to me immediately for quarantine for 2 months after which time my friends and I will subject it to rigorous chemical analysis. I will then send you a detailed report with suggestions for your next batch.

And by all means, you must learn the first commandment of homebrewers...... RAHAHB