First off, thanks guys - this thread has been an inspiration.
Here's what I've done:
I brewed saq's updated recipe about 3 weeks ago for 10.5g, using direct fired step mashing and reserving some candi sugar to add in secondary.
OG was high at 1.101 (too efficient!), so I diluted with water to get to 1.084, with the intention of adding the last 6pts of gravity at secondary.
Primary temps shot up to ~81F on day 2 and I cooled to ~65F on day 5. On day 9, gravity was ~1.020 without the last sugar addition.
I racked to secondary, added 2lbs of candi sugar (upping gravity to 1.026) and started cooling to ~44F (no temperature control, unfortunately). It's been sitting there for ~2 weeks.
I'm worried about a couple things:
1) did I rack too early? I figured 1.090 -> 1.026 was ~80% apparent attenuation.
2) is lagering at 44F too cold? will the yeast go dormant, leaving my brew too sweet? should I move it to my 62F basement?
I did save some yeast from primary, so I can add it if needed. Apologies for the long post, but this endeavor is becoming all-consuming!
Thanks.