Bug Beer?

AGbrewer

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Joined
Oct 19, 2018
Messages
473
Reaction score
358
Points
63
I brewed a RIS and did a 2 step starter for it. As I was pitching the yeast, I happened to catch a bug (maybe a fly) fall into the beer that was definitely dead already. It likely got into the vitality starter that I created about 6 hours prior to me pitching.

Since the beer is a RIS and is pitch black, I can't seem to find it.

Do I have a problem?
Has anything like this ever happened to you?

I'm sure that this happens all the time at breweries, but just never heard of it.
 
It carried in some microbes but likely won't be a problem. The yeast should overwhelm anything it packed in.

Someone's getting some extra protein.... ;-)
 
I had that happen once. A lady bug got in the starter, it smelled sour to me so I dumped the wort on a yeast cake of a beer that was done and didn’t try the yeast.
Since then I have stretched a muslin bag over the top of the starter flask to keep them out and then a loosely fitted aluminum foil over that. I think they are attracted to the escaping co2.
With the fly in the yeast you never know, cross your fingers and hope for the best.
 
The hard part is that this beer was destined to have bourbon barrel wood chips in the secondary. It won't be ready for at least 6 months.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait and see at christmas time.
 
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar and each orders a pint of beer.
When the drinks arrive they notice that all three pints have a fly in them.
The Englishman just looks at his pint in disgust and pushes it away.
The Irishman picks out the fly with his fingers, throws it on the floor and proceeds to drink his beer.
The Scotsman picks the fly out of his pint, and holds it over the drinking saying, "Come on you little git, spit it out!"

If it has happened to me... I didn't know it.
Flies are dirty bugs, but I don't think that one in 5+ gallons would carry anything that the yeast can't overcome and that the ABV of a RIS wouldn't kill/hide.
 
The hard part is that this beer was destined to have bourbon barrel wood chips in the secondary. It won't be ready for at least 6 months.

Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait and see at christmas time.
No, if you sample it regularly and it really is infected, it won't take that long....
 
An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman walk into a bar and each orders a pint of beer.
When the drinks arrive they notice that all three pints have a fly in them.
The Englishman just looks at his pint in disgust and pushes it away.
The Irishman picks out the fly with his fingers, throws it on the floor and proceeds to drink his beer.
The Scotsman picks the fly out of his pint, and holds it over the drinking saying, "Come on you little git, spit it out!"

If it has happened to me... I didn't know it.
Flies are dirty bugs, but I don't think that one in 5+ gallons would carry anything that the yeast can't overcome and that the ABV of a RIS wouldn't kill/hide.

OG was 1.152, so it will be pretty high ABV. Plus, I stepped up a 3.5 Liter starter 3 times before pitching the whole thing in there. Hopefully that much yeast will beat out whatever that nasty fly was carrying on it's back!
 
No, if you sample it regularly and it really is infected, it won't take that long....


Good point, I've always sampled along the way every few weeks. If there is an infection, I'll know it much sooner.

I pitched it last night around 10 p.m. and checked it this morning at 5:15 a.m. and had to install a blowoff tube as the 1.5 gallons of dead space was full of krausen and it was about to reach the airlock. Massive churning going on.

Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
You're likely good. If it were a present-use beer I'd be certain you have no problem but given long aging....
 

Back
Top