Ok, I aerated my 3 gallon batch of strawberry mead and took a sample. As I turned back from taking the SG reading I noticed a little fruit fly on the foam that had come up from the aeration. It obviously flew in on top of it while I wasn't looking so I took my stirring spoon and scooped up a big spoonful of the foam it was on (the fly was on the very top). How much of a problem could this potentially be? It just hit the 1/3 sugar break. How likely is it that bacteria could have contaminated anything other than where the fly was and how likely would it be for any thing like that to survive in there? I'm going to be pretty ticked off if I have to dump the whole thing because of one jerk bug. But I'm fearful that's what I'm going to have to do.
Possible huge problem
- Thread starter Kelvin
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Very likely you have nothing to worry about....you should read some of the posts here where bare arms, unsanitized equipment and a ferret or two have briefly made there way into active ferments to no harm. An active ferment will tend to be rather competitive with spoliage critters, particularly if you manage it well and keep things swirled up and in suspension. the yeasts with "K" at their beginning (K1V for instance) have in fact a kill factor that more then just competes.
Short answer...the fly got the worst end of the deal but probably died happy!
Short answer...the fly got the worst end of the deal but probably died happy!
Dont do it man. Do not dump that mead ;D
In all seriousness, there is no way that is going to harm your mead. Your yeasties will be hard at work making alcohol which will kill anything that little fruit fly brought with it. You should also gently swirl the mead to keep the top from forming a cap too (since its now after the 1/3 sugar break). That will help sanitize things. Good luck with your batch, too.
In all seriousness, there is no way that is going to harm your mead. Your yeasties will be hard at work making alcohol which will kill anything that little fruit fly brought with it. You should also gently swirl the mead to keep the top from forming a cap too (since its now after the 1/3 sugar break). That will help sanitize things. Good luck with your batch, too.
Yeah, there really shouldn't be too much to worry about. That little bugger couldn't have drunk overly much. 
"Spit it out, ya bastid!"
I discovered with a 3 gal batch of wild grape wine several years ago that fruit flies that hatch IN your wild grape wine turn... pink. Still turned out to be one of my best batches to that point (although it's also the reason I own a wine filter).
So yeah, nothing much to worry about since you got it out, especially if your fermentation's still active.
I discovered with a 3 gal batch of wild grape wine several years ago that fruit flies that hatch IN your wild grape wine turn... pink. Still turned out to be one of my best batches to that point (although it's also the reason I own a wine filter).
So yeah, nothing much to worry about since you got it out, especially if your fermentation's still active.
OMG! This batch in the bucket is killing me!!! So I gave it a little stir just a bit ago just to keep everything moving around a bit and to degas. I took a reading (which dropped .004 in 3 hours which I think is coming along nicely) and be damned if I didn't find one of my girl friend's hairs floating on the foam. OMG! I'm sure that isn't a big deal but damn... this bucket ferment is killing me.
Big problem is how am I gonna do a real fruit ferment in a carboy? I mean the bucket foams like a mofo with the strawberries. I'm not liking the bucket too much because of the larger chance of baddies getting inside when I am working with the lid off. I feel like I'm gonna have to double the size of the carboy for anything i want to do with real fruit.. is this just strawberries or what? I mean if foams A LOT with real fruit in it.
Anyway, I just thought it was funny after the little fruit fly incident the next time I open it I see a damn hair. Jeesh! I can't win.
Big problem is how am I gonna do a real fruit ferment in a carboy? I mean the bucket foams like a mofo with the strawberries. I'm not liking the bucket too much because of the larger chance of baddies getting inside when I am working with the lid off. I feel like I'm gonna have to double the size of the carboy for anything i want to do with real fruit.. is this just strawberries or what? I mean if foams A LOT with real fruit in it.
Anyway, I just thought it was funny after the little fruit fly incident the next time I open it I see a damn hair. Jeesh! I can't win.
Yeah, it is entirely possible the little guy was trying to drown his sorrows. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/16/health/male-fruit-flies-spurned-by-females-turn-to-alcohol.html Such a terrible end... The horror... the horror... (Que Apocolypse Now credits music)
As a side note, I wonder if the little guy was pining for your girl friend there... Hehe
Feh, if anything, I'm the queen of learning by making mistakes 
As long as you're reasonably sanitary, your mead should be able to survive just about anything. And if something untoward falls into it while it's past its vigorous fermentation, hit it with campden tablets. Problem solved.
And with buckets, you just have to clear your area and sanitize everything that goes in there. Take your watch off, and sanitize your arms if you're putting your hands into the bucket, don't wear baggy sleeves, put your hair back if it's long (make your gf do the same if she comes in the room while you've got the bucket open)... make sure there's nothing that can be knocked into the bucket while it's open, make sure the lid doesn't get contaminated before you replace it... I still say buckets are the way to go for fruit, but yoru mileage may vary.
Most fruit traps bubbles, which then can lift it to the point where it gets into your airlock... bucket and bag really are the lesser of the evils...
Edit: frigging awesome article, Deacon!
As long as you're reasonably sanitary, your mead should be able to survive just about anything. And if something untoward falls into it while it's past its vigorous fermentation, hit it with campden tablets. Problem solved.
And with buckets, you just have to clear your area and sanitize everything that goes in there. Take your watch off, and sanitize your arms if you're putting your hands into the bucket, don't wear baggy sleeves, put your hair back if it's long (make your gf do the same if she comes in the room while you've got the bucket open)... make sure there's nothing that can be knocked into the bucket while it's open, make sure the lid doesn't get contaminated before you replace it... I still say buckets are the way to go for fruit, but yoru mileage may vary.
Most fruit traps bubbles, which then can lift it to the point where it gets into your airlock... bucket and bag really are the lesser of the evils...
Edit: frigging awesome article, Deacon!
Well, I'm a very careful person, CG, so I make sure everything is sanitary but obviously I can't control where my GF's hair ends up. But yeah I know I take all precautions. I just think I like my carboy batch better. Which makes me sad because the bucket is so much easier as far as working with it. But in all honesty I'd rather a clean batch than an easy batch. I guess I'll just be super extra careful with my bucket batches from now on. And yeah, reading your posts and others and from my own experience now, I most likely will never do a fruit batch without a bag from now on.
Ah! a story of mead invasion eh ?
Don't worry, I have an enolmatic and matching filter housing/cartridges, a mini-jet and a harris filter.
Why so heavy on the filtration kit ?
In our house, we have to live by a certain maxim, whether we like it or not.....
"EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER WITH CAT HAIR IN IT"
We've been thinking about having a "clean room" built, but I bet the damn stuff would find a way in........;D
p.s. Oh and it's 4 regular furry residents and another that just visits at meal time....... Which I don't mind, as long as I don't end up having to cough up hair balls!
Don't worry, I have an enolmatic and matching filter housing/cartridges, a mini-jet and a harris filter.
Why so heavy on the filtration kit ?
In our house, we have to live by a certain maxim, whether we like it or not.....
"EVERYTHING TASTES BETTER WITH CAT HAIR IN IT"
We've been thinking about having a "clean room" built, but I bet the damn stuff would find a way in........;D
p.s. Oh and it's 4 regular furry residents and another that just visits at meal time....... Which I don't mind, as long as I don't end up having to cough up hair balls!
Hahaha That's awesome, Bloke. Yeah I mean it can't be all that bad considering the FDA allows a maximum amount of rat hair or feces in foods. Shit happens I guess. I prefer dogs myself but I do like me some cats.
Our baby.. even though he isn't really a baby anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQEFLSZg5Io
Our baby.. even though he isn't really a baby anymore.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQEFLSZg5Io
I am constantly finding dog hairs in my buckets when I'm cleaning them even though theoretically the dogs shouldn't be in that room at all. I'm sure there's been a brew or two that could have been named Hair of the Dog Brew and meant every word of it. No one's died yet!
Rabbit hair, horse hair and husband hair have all made their way into everything I make. Meh. When you compare that to what gets into professionally manufactured wines (bugs, sticks, birds, squirrels, the ocasional cat), I really can't make myself sweat about it.
Chevette Girl, methinks you have us all beat... car parts in one of your wierd-o-mels'... haha. Gotta love it... I've been considering doing a batch of "Gamer's Grog" and dropping a set of polyhedral dice in the secondary... I just have to find a set that is made out of glass... Mwahahaha
<blink> I can't believe I never thought of that... of course, I think of our twelve-player gaming group, two don't like wines, two are on meds where they shouldn't be drinking alcohol, two don't drink at all, one gets migraines or allergic reactions to most alcohol now, one's diabetic and shouldn't drink... which leaves four of us who might have a few now and then, but I don't like to drink anything if I'm driving.
But I do have a set of stone 6-sided dice. Thank you SO much for the latest addition to my to-brew list...
And it's two of my weirdomels which have had a car part ;D
Now I wonder what "burnt clutch debris" mead would be called ?
Probably smell a bit rank, but I'd sure it'd taste fine.
Plus if someone wasn't sure about the flavour, it could have diesel as a mixer and be chilled with frozen Scammell wheel nuts - then we'd really be "cooking with gas".....
