Will FG go any lower?

I did a 5.5 gallon batch of a sweet stout AG BIAB. OG was 1.060 and the SG is currently at 1.026. It was a total of 10 lbs of grain exactly and 1lb. Lactose. I mashed at 152F for 60 min. I used Wyeast #1318 - London Ale III, attenuation is 71%-75% (according to Wyeasts site for this yeast) and I've held the temp steady at 68F for about 2 weeks now. I know the 1lb. of Lactose adds a lot of unfermentables but I just wasnt sure how much. Perhaps the other grain besides the base malt wont ferment out too much either? Here is the grain bill:

7 lbs - Maris Otter
1 lb - Chocolate Malt
1 lb - Malted Oats
0.5 lb - Crystal 120L
0.25 lb - Carafa III
0.25 lb - Coffee Malt
1 lb - Lactose Sugar


Does the SG of 1.026 sound like it is about as low as it is going to get? I used a 1.5L Starter of London Ale III.

Edit: I'm not complaining about a nice 4.5% sessionable sweet stout, I was just trying to get an idea of what this would end at if I didnt use any lactose. Thanks!

Have you confirmed the accuracy of your thermometer? Not only at boil and freeze temps but also in the mash temp range... I suspect your thermometer was off, or something else is going on. Even if you only got 70% attenuation, you should be hitting about 1.018 SG at the end. Did you use any yeast nutrient in the batch? I've found that can be a decent help in getting the yeast to preform (on top of making a proper starter). When did you add the lactose to the brew?

I would give it another week or two and see what happens. You could also try rousing the yeast, and getting the brew up to about 70F (for a few days/week).

How did you aerate/oxygenate the wort?

Yes I confirmed the accuracy of my thermometer by using a regular old floating thermometer as well. I did use yeast nutrient in this batch. I added the lactose with the 60 minute hop addition. I also roused the yeast a few days ago and raised the fermentation temp for a day or so and that didn't do anything. I always oxygenate the wort for 20 minutes with an aquarium pump and micron stone.

Perhaps it is because 3 of the total 10 lb grain bill were specialty malts? Don't those not attenuate as well? And on top of that adding 1 lb of unfermentable lactose?

I think that having under 65% base malt is at least part of the issue here. I've never used lactose, so have no info there. I do know that I've used 1882 for batches that hit lower, with a higher OG. Some of them are in my recipe listing too. I try to maintain at least 80% base malt in my recipes.

Lactose adds about 9 SG points per pound in a 5 gallon batch. So, you'd be 1.017 without the lactose, which seems about right to me.

I agree with Yooper, that's the bulk of it.

Great, thanks for the replies everyone. And thanks Yoop, that is exactly what I was looking for. Guess I should up the grain bill just a little bit next time as I'd like to be closer to 5.5% ABV.