Bug in airlock

[Okie Parrish]

So if got 5 gallons of straw berry i thought was going pretty great until I went to rack it today and found a bug in the airlock...i was vary thorough with sanitation and there was always possative pressure from the wine pushing the water (or is that negative i forget)......there ..airlock had a cap on it the whole time so I have no idea how it got in......does this mean the whole batch is contaminated and needs thrown out or is that just the airlock doing its job keeping things outView attachment 51999 View attachment 52000 View attachment 51999 View attachment 52000 View attachment 51999 View attachment 52000

 

[CK55]

The batch is fine, unless it actually got into the wine and touched it then its fine, and depending on what the fluid in the airlock is in the case its star san or vodka then it would kill any germs on the bug. If its water then it would not but it would drown the bug and therefore keep it from getting in.

 

[balatonwine]

Only one bug? And just in the air lock? Of course it if fine.

Especially when you know the amount of bug parts that are allowed in the food you eat every day:

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

 

[stickman]

I've seen this question several times regarding contamination by a fruit fly. Something that needs to be understood is that when making wine from fresh grapes, vinegar bacteria is always present in the wine. Studies have shown that even healthy grapes come into the winery with vinegar bacteria cell counts between 100 and 1000 cells per gram, damaged grapes may have upwards of a million cells per gram. Even the typical use of kmeta doesn't completely prevent wine damage by vinegar bacteria. The main point is to not worry about a few bacteria cells of contamination, but prevent the cells from multiplying by keeping containers topped up and minimizing oxygen contact.

 

[Okie Parrish]

Only one bug? And just in the air lock? Of course it if fine.

Especially when you know the amount of bug parts that are allowed in the food you eat every day:

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

Yea it was just one......I'm sher if it contaminated the wine if be able to tell soon enough I'm just curious how it got in there cuz there was pressure from the carboy pushing on the water the whole time so its air tight and the lid was always on the air lock and bug was to big to fit thru the hole

 

[Okie Parrish]

I've seen this question several times regarding contamination by a fruit fly. Something that needs to be understood is that when making wine from fresh grapes, vinegar bacteria is always present in the wine. Studies have shown that even healthy grapes come into the winery with vinegar bacteria cell counts between 100 and 1000 cells per gram, damaged grapes may have upwards of a million cells per gram. Even the typical use of kmeta doesn't completely prevent wine damage by vinegar bacteria. The main point is to not worry about a few bacteria cells of contamination, but prevent the cells from multiplying by keeping containers topped up and minimizing oxygen contact.

So your saying it should be alright I already did the right thing by having it topped up with an airlock it just prevented a problem?

 

[stickman]

Yes, that's essentially what I'm saying, a few extra bacteria isn't a big concern. The vinegar bacteria are always there, but they need oxygen to convert the ethanol to vinegar.

Here is an example cell count graph from Lallemand. Gluconobacter (a type of vinegar bacteria) is at 1000cells/ml as the must is just walking through the door at the winery. Acetobacter (another type of vinegar bacteria) is near 10,000cells/ml during storage conditions.

 

[ceeaton]

So your saying it should be alright I already did the right thing by having it topped up with an airlock it just prevented a problem?

I just checked my airlocks after seeing this thread. I have bugs (fruit files) in 5 out of 15 airlocks, including a sixth in an airlock atop my Speidel Plastic Fermenter that I've got a batch of blackberry wine fermenting. I try to check them weekly and dump them out and refill them with fresh fluid (usually use some StarSan I have mixed up in a jug). I'd have made quite a bit of vinegar by now if it was a real problem. Like already said, keep them topped up and minimize chances for oxidation when possible. The Acetobacter need oxygen to grow and replicate. Get some type of beverage in hand and relax, don't worry.

 

[Okie Parrish]

Yes, that's essentially what I'm saying, a few extra bacteria isn't a big concern. The vinegar bacteria are always there, but they need oxygen to convert the ethanol to vinegar.

Here is an example cell count graph from Lallemand. Gluconobacter (a type of vinegar bacteria) is at 1000cells/ml as the must is just walking through the door at the winery. Acetobacter (another type of vinegar bacteria) is near 10,000cells/ml during storage conditions.

View attachment 52050

Vary helpful thank you

 

[Okie Parrish]

I just checked my airlocks after seeing this thread. I have bugs (fruit files) in 5 out of 15 airlocks, including a sixth in an airlock atop my Speidel Plastic Fermenter that I've got a batch of blackberry wine fermenting. I try to check them weekly and dump them out and refill them with fresh fluid (usually use some StarSan I have mixed up in a jug). I'd have made quite a bit of vinegar by now if it was a real problem. Like already said, keep them topped up and minimize chances for oxidation when possible. The Acetobacter need oxygen to grow and replicate. Get some type of beverage in hand and relax, don't worry.

Alright you talked me into it ima open this bottle of weller reserve and. Relax

 

[mjrisenhoover]

Someone once told me that if you have fruit flies in your air locks that means the air locks are doing a good job.

 

[Okie Parrish]

Someone once told me that if you have fruit flies in your air locks that means the air locks are doing a good job.

I mean it makes since....just can't figure out how it got thru the hole in the lid

 

[mjrisenhoover]

I mean it makes since....just can't figure out how it got thru the hole in the lid

I guess they want that wine so bad they sqeeeeeeeeze thru that little bitty hole anyway they can. This guy wraps a tissue around the airlock.
http://nosnob.com/wine-reviews/pub:1048/How-to-keep-fruit-flies-out-of-your-airlock

 

[garymc]

I use 3 piece airlocks. I usually don't pull them out of the stopper when I'm cleaning them. I blast water through the middle tube in both directions. If I didn't do that, I could envision a bug being in the part that's in the stopper and not being seen because of the stopper.

 

[CK55]

I use 3 piece airlocks. I usually don't pull them out of the stopper when I'm cleaning them. I blast water through the middle tube in both directions. If I didn't do that, I could envision a bug being in the part that's in the stopper and not being seen because of the stopper.

Yeah I also prefer 3 piece although I have the other kind from beer brewing that I use from time to time. Any airlock works.