Is eyelash a yeast nutrient?

[RatsoRizzo]

Decided to start using Brulosopher's method for harvesting and saving yeast and transferred my first harvest into a mason jar yesterday. This morning I was admiring my efforts in the form of an impressive layer of creamy yeasty goodness. I noticed what looked like an eyelash stuck to the jar and tried to wipe it off but of course it soon became apparent that the lash was in the jar. A quick swirl confirmed this.

So now what? Should I just throw the yeast out or is it worth keeping for my next starter? Should I try and wash the yeast and see if that separates the offending lash?

Other info: The yeast is under 250ml of boiled and deoxygenated water.
The yeast is Wyeast Irish Ale (not that I'm hoping that this strain is more resistant to eyelash bacteria than other strains, but who knows with the Irish)

 

[Andrikos]

Let's just hope you don't suffer from Demodex...

 

[broadbill]

Whatever damage is done when the lash fell in the jar....and realistically it is probably 0 damage.

I'd probably use it, but then again I'm not a guy who wipes down their entire kitchen in Starsan either.

You'd be surprised at the acceptable amounts of "foreign matter" that is allowed into the food you eat everyday. By foreign matter, I mean rocks, rodent droppings, hair, etc., etc.

 

[DSorenson]

That... is a very gross picture. Makes me want to scrub my eye lids with acid.

 

[bd2xu]

Let's just hope you don't suffer from Demodex...

What the heck am I looking at is this a human hair?

 

[fizgig]

I was cleaning my bottling wand after bottling the other day and it had a hair stuck in it. My 3 year old was "helping" me, I blame him, hopefully no damage was done.

 

[tennesseean_87]

I've gotten hair stuck in the bottling wand, too. I would use it for something that will be consumed relatively young, if you're nervous.

 

[fizgig]

It came out, but I had just bottled 53 bottles of black beer (dark horse clone).

 

[DocScott]

Demodex is a parasitic mite that lives in the hair follicles of mammals. Many humans have them and most of us don't ever know it. Typically more common in the elderly. That above pic is very magnified as they are typically not easily seen even in a clinical setting (I'm an eye doctor and use upwards of 20x mag). Don't worry about these...they rarely cause any problems

In respect to your yeast, no worries about the lash.

 

[RatsoRizzo]

Thanks Doc and everyone else. I ended up throwing the yeast and regretted it immediately. Bad yeast karma but I plan to use the yeast I harvest for at least five generations from now on and I didn't want my first attempt to get off to a bad start. I did save a small amount of the same yeast in a WL vial so I'm stepping up a starter now to harvest some more. Getting some dainty beard nets (maybe eyebrow nets as well) for future use

 

[olz431]

Had a cat hair crimped half in the bottle under the cap. The beer was delicious.

 

[masonsjax]

I'm straight up negligent when it comes to sanitation. I rarely clean my carboys, sanitize stuff only if I feel like it, and have never had a beer turn out bad. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I don't think it's necessary to be super anal about it either. RDWHAHB