BAH! There is a Bee in my Wort!

I brewed a batch of Winter Ale yesterday. Today I went to see if fermentation had started and to my surprise there is a bee floating on top. Even more weird is that I brewed it indoors and we have already had cool weather where I live.

I can only assume he has been in there since the boil.

Do I chuck the whole batch or let it go?

Seems like a waste, but at the same time, drinking beer with a bee in it does not sound appealing either.

If it was me, I would scoop him out of there, and if it tastes okay once fermentation is complete, just discretely fail to mention it. Or if you feel you must fess up to your fellow drinkers, if people are bothered by it that’s just more for you. :slight_smile: If he fell in while the wort was still hot, he got sterilized. Even if not, he probably wasn’t carrying anything too nasty. People routinely make mead with raw honey, and besides the fact that honey is basically bee vomit, raw honey also frequently contains little bits of accidentally killed bees.

Nothing can live in beer that will kill you. If it tastes okay it is okay.

I had a bee make it through the entire process, only saw it while taking a final hydro reading at bottling time, not a problem. If it had been a roach though, I would have dumped it.

Thanks for the feedback! I was favoring just letting it go and see what happens and how it tastes, but I am a novice with brewing so I wanted to ask the question.

I very much appreciate the friendly and helpful feedback.

if it produces any Psychedelic properties let me know quickly so I can start collecting these bees

Did you slap him on the back and yell, “Spit it out, ye wee bastard!?” :lol:

you’re Scottish. we can smell our own. 8)

Buzz Ale :wink:

Isn’t the question really: “To Bee or not To Bee”?

Bill (sorry)

you’re Scottish. we can smell our own. 8) [/quote]

That’s where I get the red beard from. :cheers:

We all need a little more fiber in our diets…