Is it ok to rack?

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russb123

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Is it ok to rack to a secondary before all airlock activity has stopped?

It has been one month for my cider and it bubbles once every 20 seconds or so.

I plan to rack off a couple gallons into test 1 gallon batchs and then topping off the main. I have some free time this week and I am wondering if it is ok to rack now?
 
I have only made apfelwein, but the general concept there is to wait until is clears, then wait a bit more. I personally would not rack anything if it is still bubbling - unless your plan is to kill fermentation with campden or something like that, to retain some sweetness.
 
Well you can take a Hydro reading and then that will give you a more solid indication. Cider usually finishes very close to 1.000 if you don't do anything odd to it.
 
I prefer to rack when the cider is getting close to complete fermentation, but before. I've been advised around 1.01-1.02 This leaves enough sugars in solution that when you rack your cider, the yeast will create plenty of new co2 to blanket your brew.

Having said that, there are plenty of people, myself included, that have left it in primary for months without negative side effects.
 

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