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Lees - which is which

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Tiwas

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 30, 2011
366
0
0
Oslo, Norway
Hi,

I racked one of my batches last night, and seeing I had enough to fill a small bottle (to top off later), I went ahead, filled it to the top and put it in the fridge.

Now...after only a few hours, sediment started forming in the bottom, and I was wondering if this is "gross lees" or "fine lees" and whether it's fine to store the mead in this or not.

Attached is a picture of what it looks like, and I see the same in both my carboys - so it's kind of important for me to know. :)

Cheers!
 

Tiwas

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 30, 2011
366
0
0
Oslo, Norway
BTW - this sample was taken closer to the bottom of my bin, so I'd only expect a little more sediment from it.

Also, the FG is less than 1.0 and there's no sign of accumulating pressure in the bottle.
 

wildoates

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 22, 2009
2,373
4
0
Elk Grove, CA
I think that the gross lees is that which is left after racking from primary--and I guess secondary if you have a load o' fruit to rack off of. If I'm wrong, I hope someone more knowlegable corrects me, as I'd rather be corrected than wrong. :)

(I was just talking to my son and his lady in Norway, and thought of you because they said it's been in the 20s there and all the snow is gone. Happy snowless Easter!)
 

wildoates

NewBee
Registered Member
Mar 22, 2009
2,373
4
0
Elk Grove, CA
Oh, and I do the same thing to get the most out of my liters--pour it into a bottle, put it in the fridge, and let it settle out, then I pour it back in the main batch. I'm really cheap. :)
 

Tiwas

NewBee
Registered Member
Jan 30, 2011
366
0
0
Oslo, Norway
(I was just talking to my son and his lady in Norway, and thought of you because they said it's been in the 20s there and all the snow is gone. Happy snowless Easter!)

Yeah. It's too hot. I don't like it, and neither does my yeast :S Go away, sunny weather!
 

Chevette Girl

All around BAD EXAMPLE
Moderator
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Apr 27, 2010
8,443
53
48
Ottawa, ON
I think gross lees includes fruit bits and anything settling out from primary fermentation, fine lees would be mostly dead yeast settling out after vigorous fermentation is complete...

Hmm. From Jack Keller,
"A number of fruit put out a lot of pulp that forms what are called "gross lees." Gross lees are loose and harbor a lot of liquid in them, whereas "fine lees" are like a silt and are composed mostly of dead yeast cells. Mango, papaya, pineapple, apples, and most stoned fruit (peaches, cherries, nectarines, apricots, chokecherries, etc.) lay down a thick layer of "gross lees." These contain many, many times the amount of liquid in them than do the "fine lees" of dead yeast one normally sees."


So it's based on volume/density... Which makes sense, "grosse" and "fine" being "big" "and "small" if you start with French...

Wikipedia doesn't seem to differentiate, but one of the other links I found also indicates the gross lees to be the fruity bits...

So perhaps a traditional mead doesn't really have much in the way of gross lees...
 
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