Larvae in a sealed keg?

[corkybstewart]

I usually wait until I have 3 or 4 empty kegs so I can clean them all at once. It's worked for 20 years but today I released the pressure and took the lid off. It stank badly, really nasty and there were larvae everywhere. I just finished this keg a month ago and I'm pretty sure it hasn't been opened (still had pressure ) so where did the bugs come from? The beer was excellent right down to the last glass.

View attachment 1495300363330.jpg

 

[day_trippr]

This might be one of those questions you don't really want answered

 

[kh54s10]

Those don't look like larvae to me. Maybe well soaked grains, or rice?

 

[MaryB]

Were they moving? If not I go with just grain that soured bad.

 

[shoengine]

The one wrapped around the side of the opening has... sections.

 

[Inkleg]

Those don't look like larvae to me. Maybe well soaked grains, or rice?

Were they moving? If not I go with just grain that soured bad.

I'm going out on a limb to say that if you have grain or rice on the underside of your serving keg lid...........you might be doing something wrong.

 

[passedpawn]

It's fruit fly larvae. They hatch in there and then crawl up the walls to the top, trying to get out. I've had the exact same happen to me a few times.

In my case, I pulled the kegs out of the keezer and left them outside for a week or two, waiting for cleaning day. And I SWEAR I didn't open them. But I guess it's possible I purged the gas out and left the PRV open. Usually, I'm cleaning several and only one has the problem. And I fully clean the kegs after each beer - I even remove the posts, then after cleaning I put a cup of starsan in there, reseal the keg, and swish it around. I'm pretty thorough.

I'd have to guess a fruit fly got in there through the PRV after I removed the keg. That's what I'm praying is happening.

 

[kh54s10]

It's fruit fly larvae. They hatch in there and then crawl up the walls to the top, trying to get out. I've had the exact same happen to me a few times.

In my case, I pulled the kegs out of the keezer and left them outside for a week or two, waiting for cleaning day. And I SWEAR I didn't open them. But I guess it's possible I purged the gas out and left the PRV open. Usually, I'm cleaning several and only one has the problem. And I fully clean the kegs after each beer - I even remove the posts, then after cleaning I put a cup of starsan in there, reseal the keg, and swish it around. I'm pretty thorough.

I'd have to guess a fruit fly got in there through the PRV after I removed the keg. That's what I'm praying is happening.

How would a fruit fly survive in the absence of oxygen long enough to lay eggs, then how would the eggs be able to hatch so that they become larvae?

The only way I could see this happening is if the keg was opened after the beer was drunk and a fly got in then. But then the keg should not have had any pressure.

 

[passedpawn]

How would a fruit fly survive in the absence of oxygen long enough to lay eggs, then how would the eggs be able to hatch so that they become larvae?

The only way I could see this happening is if the keg was opened after the beer was drunk and a fly got in then. But then the keg should not have had any pressure.

I've got all the same questions, and really no answers.

Check this out for another data point: Yellow/white creepy crawly things in my beer!

 

[corkybstewart]

I'm thinking that a fruit fly got into the keg while I was filling it, laid eggs and died. Once the keg came out of the fridge the eggs hatched but since there was no oxygen they never developed. Fruit flies are a real problem down here so that makes sense.

 

[processhead]

Seems possible. Fruit flies are pretty small and can get into a tight opening like a pressure relief valve left open.
Now you know why the beer tasted so good. Secret ingredient

 

[day_trippr]

I just threw up in my mouth a little

 

[Stealthcruiser]

I just threw up in my mouth a little

I bet they didn't drink much.

 

[MaryB]

Trust me, you eat far worse than fruit flies in your food!

I use a cup of cider vinegar on the counter with a couple drops of dish soap in it to keep the fruit flies down in summer and especially fall when I am full bore on canning so have lots of veg scraps in the pail to go to the compost pile.

 

[corkybstewart]

Trust me, you eat far worse than fruit flies in your food!

I use a cup of cider vinegar on the counter with a couple drops of dish soap in it to keep the fruit flies down in summer and especially fall when I am full bore on canning so have lots of veg scraps in the pail to go to the compost pile.

Mary, I've tried every concoction I can find, every sort of trap, nothing really works down here.

 

[tiredofbuyingbeer]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation

Just sayin'

 

[augiedoggy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_generation

Just sayin'

ever see the many youtube experiments where they pour coca cola on a pork chop and see what happens in anhr or 2. It gives a whole new meaning to "you are what you eat"... lol in reality only certain sourced meats do because of butchering and storage processes its but its still pretty gross.