When to rack?

I'm a noob to cider and I recently made TWO 1 gallon batches as an experiment. All seems well and the cider is still fermenting out after about a week. I'm curious when I can begin the racking process, since there appears to be a bit of trub accumulating on the bottom of the glass jugs. My question is, will I be able to rack the cider off without disturbing the fermentation process, since I have no idea when it's going to stop fermenting?

I would let it ferment out then once you are sure that it is finished fermenting, rack off the lees. If you rack prematurely off the lees you are removing a valuable source of nitrogen (dead yeast) which may halt fermentation.

okay, thanks

Cider generally ferments longer than beer. So +1 on wait and rack when it's done. There's no rush. I usually rack off the lees after primary is done, but some prefer to leave on the lees. Leaving it on can promote MLF but can also produce off flavors. I'm not necessarily looking for MLF with my ciders, so I prefer not to take the chance with the off flavors. In any case, nothing is going to happen if you wait a few weeks after primary is completely done.

Papagayo said:

Cider generally ferments longer than beer. So +1 on wait and rack when it's done. There's no rush. I usually rack off the lees after primary is done, but some prefer to leave on the lees. Leaving it on can promote MLF but can also produce off flavors. I'm not necessarily looking for MLF with my ciders, so I prefer not to take the chance with the off flavors. In any case, nothing is going to happen if you wait a few weeks after primary is completely done.

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Sorry if this is a dumb question, I am new to this as well, If you leave the cider in primary until it is completly done ferminting can you still back carbonate after racking? Wouldn't there have to be some live yeast running around in the cider?

yes you always carb after fermination takes place, the yeast will feed on the priming sugar that u add, then u need to leave for approx 3 weeks to fully carb, hope this helps

cookie1980 said:

yes you always carb after fermination takes place, the yeast will feed on the priming sugar that u add, then u need to leave for approx 3 weeks to fully carb, hope this helps

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So carbination takes 3 weeks because of the low amount of live yeast left in the cider? Again I apolagize if this is a retarded question.

it just varies. it's done fermenting when it's done fermenting (and apparently done ferminating when it's done ferminating???), and it's done carbing when it's done carbing. how's that for vague. but every one is different. plus it will only get better if you let it age, by leaving it alone, so why not leave it in primary until it's well done fermenting, rack to secondary if you like, i age for a few months in secondary, and then leave it in the bottles for a few months, and by then it will have carbed up and also gotten all yummy. bottle carbing will indeed take longer with a well cleared bulk aged cider because of the low amount of yeast there, but so what