Bee In My Brew

[Hopsta]

As i was racking my brew to a secondary fermenter this morning i noticed a bee in the bottom of the primary The BEEr still tasted fine, the bee had been fermenting in there for 8 days. Now i usually have a s/s mesh cover on my kettle during the boil, but on this bew i didnt..... thats the only way the bee could have gotten in there, so im assuming the boil has santised the bee or the beer would taste infected by now? Is this safe to assume do you think?

And no i wasnt brewing a "bee's neez" clone.

- Hopsta

 

[normell]

As i was racking my brew to a secondary fermenter this morning i noticed a bee in the bottom of the primary The BEEr still tasted fine, the bee had been fermenting in there for 8 days. Now i usually have a s/s mesh cover on my kettle during the boil, but on this bew i didnt..... thats the only way the bee could have gotten in there, so im assuming the boil has santised the bee or the beer would taste infected by now? Is this safe to assume do you think?

And no i wasnt brewing a "bee's neez" clone.

- Hopsta

Not really enough honey to make a difference.

 

[mikem108]

Hey Hopsta
What is it with bees and beer. As soon as I got the boil going on saturday a whole lot of bees started hovering around the kettle. As soon as they felt the heat they pissed off.
If it got in during the boil I don't think it would infect your beer but it may add an unusual flavor. Have a taste, one bee may not be enough to spoil the flavour!

 

[Stuster]

Should still give you a buzz though.

Sorry. Couldn't help it. I'll go and sit in the corner now.

 

[Hopsta]

Ha Ha Norm i was waiting for it

Seriously what do you think? if the beer was going to get infected, would it have done so by now?

Hey Hopsta
What is it with bees and beer. As soon as I got the boil going on saturday a whole lot of bees started hovering around the kettle. As soon as they felt the heat they pissed off.
If it got in during the boil I don't think it would infect your beer but it may add an unusual flavor. Have a taste, one bee may not be enough to spoil the flavour!

G'day Mike, yeh i think they can smell the sweetness and try and stock up on pollen. It still tastes fine. Its just the fact that all the beer was filtered through a dead boiled bee which was stuck in the taps sediment reducer that turns me off. :blink:

I'll get over it.

Should still give you a buzz though.

Sorry. Couldn't help it. I'll go and sit in the corner now.

Come on Stuster im sure theres more where that came from? :lol:

 

[Fingerlickin_B]

I wonder if any ill effect may be seen in a consumer who is allergic to bee stings? :huh:

PZ.

 

[Airgead]

Hopsta

I wouldn't worry. The bee would have been carying a lot of wild yeasts but bees apparently have some amazing antibiotic action going on so bacteria shouldn't be a problem. In any case the boil will have pretty well sterilised it.

The bee venom would most likely have been denatured by the heat so that shouldn't be a problem either. I seem to recall that most venoms are denatured at temps well below boiling.

And I doubt it drank much.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Hopsta]

Hopsta

I wouldn't worry. The bee would have been carying a lot of wild yeasts but bees apparently have some amazing antibiotic action going on so bacteria shouldn't be a problem. In any case the boil will have pretty well sterilised it.

The bee venom would most likely have been denatured by the heat so that shouldn't be a problem either. I seem to recall that most venoms are denatured at temps well below boiling.

And I doubt it drank much.

Cheers
Dave

Thanks Airgead, that makes sense, i've heard that honey has some medicinal purposes and i suppose it comes from the bees antibiotic actions your talking about. I just wish they'd stay out of my beer!

P.S Had your your oatmeal stout last night, thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[Hopsta]

Heres the offender, he's still got all his limbs so i shouldnt find any wings in my pints :blink:

Dont know if the pic will show with all this site maintenance going on...

 

[Finite]

Is he green?

Extra hopped bee?