Too soon?

[JJack887]

Hello, gang. I made a cyser last week with an OG of 1.092, and today it's fallen to 1.013. I used D-47 yeast. Could I transfer to carboy, or too soon? Thanks!

 

[lumpher]

I generally wait about a month. That gives the yeast time to ferment and then start clearing. In research, I picked up numbers anywhere from 3-6 weeks, so I decided on a month, and it's worked for years for me.

 

[loveofrose]

It is best practice to rack after the mead is 1.000 or less. This avoids stalling the ferment which leads to bottle bombs.

 

[Yooper]

I rack at under 1.010, but sometimes it's closer to .990 if I miss it. You're good at just about any time, as it's not the yeast at the bottom that are fermenting the mead anyway- it's the yeast in suspension. Once you get to where fermentation slows down, it's fine to move it but not all that important to do it at a specific SG.

 

[JJack887]

I usually wait until I'm near 1.000, and I let my meads dry out so bottle bombs aren't a problem (so far). I'm just impatient because this is my first batch I'm transferring to a carboy ever. Thanks for the responses!

 

[SerifSansSerif]

Racking is fine at any time after your ferment starts to slow down from the initial wildly bubbling ferment.

The worries about ZOMG!!! STALLED FERMENT!!! are overblown. Why?

Cause the first thing you do with a stalled ferment is to rack it.
(the racking process typically introduces more O2, giving the yeast a new lease on life, as they now get to go to their preferred aerobic form of metabolizing rather than their secondary anaerobic (alcohol producing) form. It also redistributes your yeast and nutrients throughout the solution, and removes unwanted, and possibly off flavoring yeast cake and sediment at the bottom. Additionally, stalled ferments are due to lack of nutrition or having WAAAAAY high levels of sugar, which, basically leach the water out of the yeast and they just can't establish themselves, OR, WAAAAAAAAAY high ABV levels, in which case, the yeast pee (alcohol) is so great in the solution it poisons the yeast).

On another not. Why worry about a stall? Your SG is lower than most beers start out at!

You'll be just fine....

In faaaaact.... You could bottle ferment with that SG then pasteurize and possibly have a slightly sweet, carbonated cider/honey beverage!

I still reiterate. DO NOT FEAR RACKING!

 

[Jaybird]

I read.."Last week." I would wait just on principle 2-3 weeks primary in my book even if the FG is south of triple-ought. But that's just me. I want that stuff cleaned up before I rack the first time.

Cheers
Jay

 

[MarshmallowBlue]

I'm with Jaybird, I sometimes go 2-3 months before a first racking, and no I haven't had autolysis.

 

[JJack887]

Racked! (Sorry, guys – I'm impatient lol). Gravity came in at 1.000. Tasted good! View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1452718689.571790.jpg