Milk Stout Clone question

I brewed a left hand milk stout clone. Its been in the primary about 3.5 weeks..My hydro reading has been at 1.024 for a week. Is this too high ? I was going to bottle it Saturday. I'm still getting some random bubbles out the air lock a few times a day. And should I even bother using a secondary?

I think my OG was approx 1.064 - 1.068 (hydrometer was off a bunch of points due to a hairline crack)

here was the recipe:

Type: All Grain
Date: 6/28/2008
Batch Size: 5.50 gal
Boil Size: 7.08 gal
Boil Time: 60 min Taste Rating(out of 50): 35.0
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00
Taste Notes:

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
7.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 61.22 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
1.00 lb Munich Malt - 10L (10.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
1.00 lb Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 8.16 %
0.75 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 6.12 %
0.50 lb Barley, Flaked (1.7 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
0.50 lb Oats, Flaked (1.0 SRM) Grain 4.08 %
1.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.00 %] (60 min) Hops 18.7 IBU
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.00 %] (10 min) Hops 4.5 IBU
17.60 oz Lactose (Boil 15.0 min) Misc


Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.059 SG
Measured Original Gravity: 1.010 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.014 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.005 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 5.88 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 0.65 %
Bitterness: 23.3 IBU Calories: 43 cal/pint
Est Color: 39.7 SRM Color:

secondary isnt needed, but try giving your carboy a swirl to get the yeast back in suspension, maybe that will get them attenuating again. 1.024 is a little high.

How much longer would you suggest leaving it after swirling it? And if the FG doesn't drop should I just bottle anyway?

What yeast did you use ... and what was the ambient temp while it fermented?

I used S05 and ambient temp was roughly 66 to 68 degrees

My math calculates the FG at 1.023, so your 1.024 sounds right on target You are getting 0.009 points from the lactose that will not go away, since lactose is not fermentable. If you subtract those 0.009 gravity points, then the FG (without lactose) would have been 1.014. This is right in line with the recipe. I have seen some brewing software that considers the lactose to be a fermentable sugar, and they usually give a lower predicted FG than you can really expect to achieve. I generally prefer to "calculate" my recipes without the lactose, then add the appropriate number of points to the expected FG that I get from calculating the "base" recipe. I have found this method to more accurately account for the unfermentable nature of lactose than my brewing software does. I think you are probably safe to bottle now, but give it a couple more days just to be sure that the FG does not drop any more.

That certainly should have worked. I'd agree that carefully swirling (to avoid splashing and oxidizing) could get it finished. I'd also do another gravity reading away after swirling.

Brewed this last year, mine finished right around that. It is an awesome stout! Rebrewing it this weekend.

Thanks for the input. Its still in the pale not carboy so I gave the best swirl i could without splashing. The airlock has had alot of activity again. Ill see if there is any change in gravity on Saturday.

Thanks again the info is much appreciated

the lactose is not fermentable and contributes towards your high finished gravity. Your mash temps can also sway your finished gravity as well. I bottle milk stouts often in the 1.02x range and they carb up nicely.