rack to tertiary?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JLem

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2009
Messages
3,643
Reaction score
191
Location
Attleboro
I racked my cider to secondary about a month ago and am still waiting for it to clear. I noticed that the secondary has accumulated about a 1/2 inch of lees. Should I rack off too a tertiary? I don't actually have another 3-gallon carboy to rack into, but I suppose I could rack into my 5-gallon, clean out the lees in my 3-gallon, and then rack back to the 3-gallon. Seems like a lot of work and I'm not so sure about moving the cider around all that much and risking oxidation. So, I guess my real question is whether it will be OK to leave the cider on the secondary lees? :confused:
 
I'd leave it. You've moved it off most of the yeast, so you don't have to worry about the autolysis boogeyman. It can bulk age where it is for a while as it clears. If you rack it, you're just going to get more lees and wonder if you should rack it again.
 
I would let it sit. Be sure you already have it elevated high enough that when you rack over to a bottling bucket you don't have to move it.
 
Back
Top