Ant In My Starter : )

[mongo]

OK - here's a good one...

I have just found a bloody ant in the starter that I have been so meticulous in keeping sanitised! I have racked my brain about how it got there. I can only assume that the ant was having smoko in the pot when I grabbed it from our cupboard and put it on the stove.

This means that the late ant has been boiled for about 10 - 15 minutes.

What do you think - would you continue with brew day if you found an ant in your starter?

I pitched my yeast - the lot - without noticing, so if the verdict is that it's not OK, I have lost a smak pak of forbidden fruit yeast. If, however, the verdict is that 10 minutes is enough to perfectly sanitise an ant corpse, then I'm happy to tolerate the extra protein : )


(edit: typo)

 

[Simon W]

Can't help ya with the sanitary side of things, but I do know that some ants really pong! Atleast some here in Perth do.
Crush an ant and you can smell it's stench a mile off. Wouldn't want that in my brew.

 

[Aaron]

There is only one way to find out. Let it go and see what happens. If you start getting off flavours, ditch it. If you don't, keep it.

 

[Crazy]

It might also be a idea to try and remove the ant incase it releases some crap as it brakes down.

 

[mobrien]

Suck it and see - who knows, you might end up with "Antz Pantz" the alternate to "Beez Kneez"



M

 

[Batz]

Suck it and see -

[post="108012"][/post]​

But don't put it back in the starter <_<

I had a frog in the boiler once , found it after chilling :angry:

Dumped the brew of course

Batz

 

[Ross]

i had a small ant get into my starter a while back - he got in under the foil lid & drowned for his efforts (probably got drunk & slipped ). I removed the ant & perservered with it though. The starter smelt & tasted fine & the final beer had no off flavours...

cheers Ross

 

[bindi]

Spider link

Reminds me of the spider posts last year but they were in the wort.

 

[warrenlw63]

Sick 'em Rex! :lol:

I think it should be OK. That said I'm a paranoid bit of work. I would have turfed it and started again. h34r:

Non-commital enough answer for you? :unsure:

Warren -

 

[recharge]

I wouldnt think one ant would be too significant, but if your worried you could make another starter using a small amount of yeast from this one.

And yes we have some very stinky ants here.

Cheers

Richard

 

[mongo]

Thanks very much for the responses!
As usual, this forum is great for getting these things in perspective.
Just tasted the starter, and it tasted fine.
Mobrien - if you don't mind, I am pinching your idea for the name of this brew. It is now officially "Antz pantz witbier". In fact, I need a brewery name, and that one is going in to the hat. very funny!

Warren, I am a bit like you. Everything needs to be in alignment, or I worry endlessly about the fermentation. Still - have decided it's worth a try. If nothing else, it will be another trial of the equipment.

Ross - thanks for the info re: your past brew. Your ant was not even boiled, so I feel pretty OK about going ahead.

Ah well - away I go!

Thanks again for the tips!

PS- sill strain the starter as suggested in this thread. Thanks for the idea.

 

[Boozy the clown]

Well at least you wont get indigestion from that batch...






Ba dum tish (ant acid) yes, not very funny but i had a small laugh.

 

[Lindsay Dive]

I was making an ale one day with some New Zealand Fuggles cones and after I added some to the boil I observed a huge bee going around in the boil. You would only see it for a very short period of time and it was gone again. I tried for quite a while to scoop him out without any luck.
I eventually gave up, left him there and there were no off flavours in the finished beer.
They obviously have some different bees in New Zealand to what we have 'cause this fella was a monster!

 

[Bazza]

I was making an ale one day with some New Zealand Fuggles cones and after I added some to the boil I observed a huge bee going around in the boil. You would only see it for a very short period of time and it was gone again. I tried for quite a while to scoop him out without any luck.
I eventually gave up, left him there and there were no off flavours in the finished beer.
They obviously have some different bees in New Zealand to what we have 'cause this fella was a monster!

[post="108173"][/post]​

It was probably a bumble bee - they're big and slow but best of all they don't sting (like most things in NZ, inc the rugby players!).

 

[PistolPatch]

Wouldn't worry too much about an ant in your starter. It's when full grown inebriated people get into a starter that has been left in a Cooper's stubby in the fridge that you really should start worrying! At least you don't have to worry about pitching - nothing left to pitch!

 

[Doogiechap]

A mate of mine found an ant in one of my Belgian Wit stubbies but after rigorous testing of many of the stubbies we found no difference

 

[peas_and_corn]

Wouldn't worry too much about an ant in your starter. It's when full grown inebriated people get into a starter that has been left in a Cooper's stubby in the fridge that you really should start worrying! At least you don't have to worry about pitching - nothing left to pitch!

[post="108335"][/post]​

people drank one of your starters?? how drunk were they?

 

[stephen]

Speaking of wierd things in your beer. Let me tell you a story of my brew day, yesterday. Please don't laugh too loudly, I can hear through the monitor!

There I was finishing off my lauter - taking a sample for the hydrometer test - waiting for the results to see if I stop my lautering. Now running in parallel with this is washing and sterilising some other parts of my gear using 2.5 ml of betadine in one liter of water. Finally I get the sample down to 35 C and take the reading. Result continue lautering. Ok I look at my mash tun and see my jug from which I took my sample from and think, "May as well add that to the to the kettle."

Several minutes later I go back to my washing and sterilising and notice that the jug of sterilisier is now empty and the jug containing my sample is not going to sterilise anything if it tried. Yep! I added about 600-700 ml of my steriliser to the boiler! Both were similar colour!

My own stupid fault, actually. Trying to do two things at once and having same type of jug for both tasks.

Remember I can hear your laughter through the monitor!

Steve

PS This explains the hint of metallic/medicinal taste in the sample I tasted prior to transferring to the fermenter.

 

[mongo]

Stephen - would this inhibit the yeast growth at all? I take it this happened recently - I'd like to hear how it turns out.

update from ant starter: beer seems to be going along fine at the moment. no off smells from the fermenter, and the starter tasted fine.

 

[Lindsay Dive]

Wouldn't worry too much about an ant in your starter. It's when full grown inebriated people get into a starter that has been left in a Cooper's stubby in the fridge that you really should start worrying! At least you don't have to worry about pitching - nothing left to pitch!

[post="108335"][/post]​

How bloody funny is that!

Regards,
Lindsay.