Made a yeast starter and while my wort was boiling 3 fruit flies landed inside and died in the boil. I hadn't noticed until after I pitched the yeast in the starter.... what should I do?
It it was during the boil and before the pitch, you'll be fine. If it was after you cooled the wort and pitched your yeast, you should dump it out immediately.
Oh, that's rich Since I brew outdoors in Tx in a woody area, there are plenty of bugs and critters hanging around all the time. Most types of common bug have wound up in a batch at one time or another. Spiders, flies, wasps, yellow jackets, honey bees, you name it, they're always hanging out when there's beer to be made, and occasionally one gets crispy trying to grab some free sugary wort. I figure it just gives the beer extra crunchiness. I have a specially fabricated lid that goes around the wort chiller to keep them out after the boil is complete.
Fruit fly in starter = bad news (had this happen and was straight up vinegar) Fruit fly in boil = carry on
It smelled like vinegar. Sour and unhealthy smelling. Im going to try to get some bottles and start again. I felt i mishandled it when transferring from vessel to vessel.
You dumped what? I couldn't tell if the fly landed in your wort or your starter? I can't imagine you'd get a vinegar smell in the matter of hours. Either way, RIP
Fruit flies carry acetobacter, which converts alcohol into vinegar. Letting them in your starter is a good way to make malt vinegar.
Unless I misinterpret the OP, they were boiled in the starter wort boil. So it's not very likely that any infection came from them.
Why was your starter sitting for a week and a half? The point of a starter is to add yeast that is actively fermenting, meaning the starter should be no more than about one day old. I am confused as to what happened here.
Maybe he cold crashed his starter and it sat in the fridge? Or it was sitting at room temp to clear before decanting the spent wort/beer off? Starters don't have to be pitched while actively fermenting. I crash mine, and I think there are pretty good reasons to do so. (Shouldn't take a week and a half though.)
Waited 5 days for the bottle dregs to start. Waited another 2 for them to finish. 3 days cold crash. 4 day step up
