using lees

[misha]

Hi all. My first attempt to make homemade cider is going ok so far, got my dabinett apples, crushed them and squeezed out the juice, let it ferment for few days in the buckett, then decanted in to airlocked bottles, and its been a month now, I improved my juice making gear, from then, and got more apples from the same batch...but they where exposed to 0 °C, so my question is, would it be a good idea to use all the residue/lees from the bottom of the first batch to enhance newly squeezed juice with it? Is the yeast some what dead or impaired in those apples? Cheers

 

[bernardsmith]

Hi Misha - and welcome. If you are using gross lees then you might find that they impart off flavors - they contain a great deal of dead yeast cells and the cells autolyse and expose their innards with all the enzymes and other organic material that from the cells. With some yeast this is not a big issue but other yeasts are notorious for imparting off flavors and so the recommendation is not to allow your wine even to stand on those lees for any extended period

 

[misha]

ok so I'll wait and see how the fermentation goes with the new 'squeez', cheers