Merde! A Fruit Fly Fell In There!

[Papillon]

A kamikaze fruit fly dove and drowned in my primary just as I was siphoning into the carboy (first time this happened). I finished the job anyway but am I better off to just dump this one? I know fruit flies are foul little critters that carry all kinds of nasties that ruin beer.

I marked the carboy that contains the batch and will be watching it closely and will do a taste test before I decide whether to bottle it.

Have any of you experienced this before? Looking forward to your replies. Thanks in advance.

 

[IowaStateFan]

Looks like you just added a little more protein to your beer. It'll be fine. It's actually pretty hard to get an infection in your beer (assuming that you followed good sanitation procedures).

Now if you really don't trust it, you could ship it to me for proper disposal.

 

[sudbuster]

Looks like you just added a little more protein to your beer. It'll be fine. It's actually pretty hard to get an infection in your beer (assuming that you followed good sanitation procedures).

Now if you really don't trust it, you could ship it to me for proper disposal.

Dang! And i was hoping for first dibbs on that!

 

[niquejim]

If it did infect it will turn it to vinegar....slowly ( from experience)
So I would bottle ASAP and drink quickly(I know it's a real pain )

I had a cream ale that was great for a while then began to sour, after 3 weeks it was dumped.

I hope you have better luck

 

[boo boo]

Doubt if you'll have any trouble with your brew. Alcohol can disinfect a lot of things, lol.

 

[Papillon]

lol ISF

Well I'm banking on the hopes that the alcohol content (at that stage) and the hops will have killed off the unwelcome intruders.

I'll be tracking and taste-testing the batch between stages and as long as it tastes as it should, I'll take it all the way to the finish. Secondary, then cold-age 3 - 4 weeks, and then bottle.

 

[niquejim]

Fruit flies carry acetobactor, which is what causes the vinegar flavor. BTW acetobactor eats alcohol so the alcohol won't kill it. It may be fine, just keep an eye on it. If it starts to taste just alittle off(still tasty) then drink fast because it won't last long.

 

[POLISHALE]

A kamikaze fruit fly dove and drowned in my primary just as I was siphoning into the carboy (first time this happened). I finished the job anyway but am I better off to just dump this one? I know fruit flies are foul little critters that carry all kinds of nasties that ruin beer.

I marked the carboy that contains the batch and will be watching it closely and will do a taste test before I decide whether to bottle it.

Have any of you experienced this before? Looking forward to your replies. Thanks in advance.

after i pitched my yeast with my first brew, i noticed an fruit fly stuck to the inside of my carboy. i ended up just letting hang out there. it turned out just fine...

 

[Papillon]

Fruit flies carry acetobactor, which is what causes the vinegar flavor. BTW acetobactor eats alcohol so the alcohol won't kill it. It may be fine, just keep an eye on it. If it starts to taste just alittle off(still tasty) then drink fast because it won't last long.

Hey niquejim, doesn't acetobacter need a steady supply of oxygen to do its dirty work? I guess we'll find out soon enough. I'll run another taste test at the end of the secondary ferment before deciding whether to take it to the next step: cold-ageing. If it's off-tasting, oh well... it's just one carboy

 

[srm775]

I seem to have some sort of infestion of fruit flies in my basement where I keep my beer while fermenting. I have a Dubbel (in glass carboy), Cream Ale (in glass carboy) and an Carmel IPA in secondary in a 6.5 gal bucket. All of them are sealed, but for some reason, the flies are really attracted to the IPA and don't really bother with the other two. I'm certain that the bucket is airtight but there are probably 20 of those little bastards buzzing around just that one bucket.

 

[EvilTOJ]

Fruitflies love the smell of alcohol just as much as they do actual fruit. They can actually metabolize the *fumes* of alcohol. They may actually smell the alcohol coming through the bucket and that's what attracts them. Or of there's any residue of wort on the bucket lid, they may just like that more instead.

 

[niquejim]

I've read on another site that they will lay eggs(larvae) where the lid meets the bucket. The larvae are small enough to slip under the lid. Clean and sanitize the fermenter before it gets any worse!!

 

[Madtown Brew]

The same thing happened to me during my recent transfer of a fruit wit to the secondary. Damn sucker just flew right in and there was nothing I could do. I even sanitized a straw and tried to suck him out since he was just floating on the surface, alas to no avail.

I just bottled the batch yesterday and it tasted fine. I say RDWHAHB.

 

[Ó Flannagáin]

Fly flew into my APA a week ago, took a taste today and tastes AWESOME, I'm not worried about it and neither should you be. Let it ride, it should be fine.

 

[JohnBarleycorn]

Greetings Polishale. Cant believe someone else from Brownstown on HBT , may have to get in touch I cant seem to get any of my yellow water swilling friends into brewing . Have fun and happy brewing !

 

[bigben]

I noticed that since my last batch has been fermenting, there has been an increase in fruit flys in my house. Not sure if it's the time of year, or the beer. Probably the beer as one of those suckers was found floating in my cup of iodophor at the end of my blow-off tube. Hopefully none got in there!!

 

[Jim Karr]

It DEFINITELY is the time of year.....My basement is a mass of fruitflies, since I have 10 gallons of wheat fermenting, 22 gallons of blueberry wine, 8 gallons of peach wine, and a gallon of elderberry wine.

An old friend told me years ago, "The instant you bring either a peach or a muskmelon into your house, you'll have fruit flies!" Actually, since he was from the Old South, he called them "sour gnats."