When to rack to brett secondary

[ctoast]

This is my first crack at making a cider. I've been brewing beer for about 3 years but my friends and I are currently making a 10 gallon system and we can't brew beer so this isn't my first fermentation rodeo.

I got 5 gallons of local cider freshly pressed and pasteurized. I pitched omega yeast hot head and I plan on doing a brett brux secondary. What I'm wondering is if I should rack before the cider hits terminal gravity so the brett has some sugar to eat or if it will just do its thing even if their isn't any sugar left to eat.

 

[ten80]

Yes, rack before terminal gravity, otherwise the brett will have nothing left to ferment. In a beer there would be some dextrins left following saccharomyces fermentation, but cider just has sugar.

I've not done a brett cider yet but I think racking at about 1/2 way to expected terminal gravity would work. Might be worth doing a starter with the brett so that the saccharomyces doesn't blast through the sugars before the brett can "wake up" and adjust to a low pH, low nutrient environment with alcohol present.