# Gross lees vs fresh yeast?



## JDesCotes (Jan 24, 2014)

I'm new to wine making and have a red and a white on the go and am very interested in starting a SP. 

In the recipe it calls for a yeast slurry... I don't exactly know what that is...

Can I use the gross lees (which I assume contains yeast) from my Riesling when I transfer it to the secondary fermenter on Monday, or do I have to buy fresh ec-1118 champagne yeast?


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## JDesCotes (Jan 24, 2014)

Just to be clear: I'm using the cheeky monkey Riesling kit.


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## Julie (Jan 24, 2014)

The gross lees is your slurry, a slurry is the yeast that drops to the bottom of you primary, yes you can use that.


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## cmason1957 (Jan 24, 2014)

I have made skeeter pee at least 6 to 8 times. Never used the gross lees to start out. I always just add yeast and never have a single problem. If you want some flavoring, add it like dragon blood.


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## Deezil (Jan 25, 2014)

Sounds like you're interested in something called 'Yeast Washing', which is basically taking gross lees and culturing healthy generations from the living yeast left.

There's some publications and YouTube videos on it; I haven't gotten around to making a write-up on it yet but I guess I should huh?


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## JDesCotes (Jan 28, 2014)

In case somebody else stumbles on this thread, here is a quick follow up:

I pitched my gross lees into my carboy full of sp (after it sat for 24 hours) and as of this morning nothing was happening. 

I was worried that I had fermented my primary from my Riesling too dry and had killed off too much of the yeast, but when I got home from work today it was all foamy and beautiful 

Now to check daily for the 1.050 level


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## Arne (Jan 28, 2014)

This is my opinion. Lon developed this using the lees off another wine. The reason for it is you are using live healthy yeast in the gross lees. Sometimes the lemon must is difficult to get going. The working yeasts being thrown in take off fairly easily. Usually when I make it I start out with one bottle of lemon in it, ferment it down a ways, add another bottle of lemon and the rest of the yeast and energizer, let it get down to 1.030 or so and throw the last bottle of lemon in. When fermenting this way, I have never had a problem with it fermenting. Throw all the lemon in up front and I have had some problems with it. Good luck with yours, Arne.


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## wineforfun (Jan 29, 2014)

I always use a new packet of yeast. It is cheap, and I am not always ready to start up a batch of SP when I have gross lees available. Usually, I am wanting to flavor it a different way than the flavor my gross lees are.

I always throw all the lemon juice and nutrient in right away and let it go.
Arne probably just jinxed me now.


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## JDesCotes (Jan 29, 2014)

Interesting... I came home from work today and there was no visible activity... But the SG fell to 1.050, so I continued as normal. I hope it starts back up 


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## Arne (Jan 30, 2014)

Take a flashlight and shine it on top of the must. Bet youwill see little bubbles popping away. If not, stir it up good and get it warm. Good luck with it, Arne.


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## JDesCotes (Feb 2, 2014)

Ok I certainly still see bubbles. How long is it supposed to take until it ferments dry? My carboy is at a constant 69 degrees and I do see lots of bubbles on the surface, but over the last 4 days it has only dropped from 1.050 to 1.030. 

Also, when should I think about adding a fermentation lock, is it around 1.010 like other wines?


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## Arne (Feb 3, 2014)

Yep, you can airlock it at 1.010 and let it finish dry in the primary or you can transfer it to secondary and let it finish. I usually just let it finish in the primary, then transfer. It is steadily going down, you have a good ferment going. Your temp. mite be a bit low which is why the ferment is going a little slower than what you think it should. Not to worry, it is still going and will probably finish in a few days. Good luck with it, Arne.


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## JDesCotes (Feb 6, 2014)

4 more days and I'm at exactly 1.000 and there is still lots of bubbles... Seems to be going a lot slower then my Barolo or Riesling that I did earlier.


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## Arne (Feb 7, 2014)

This time of year there are a lot of posts on here about slow ferments. I think with the general cold around the country, the house temps. are colder and the ferments slow down. They are still fermenting, just take a little more time. Let it go til it finishes and I will bet it will be just fine. Good luck with it, Arne.


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