RAZ said:
Well kids, racked into the secondary Monday night and all is well. I took a gravity reading and it was 1.020 with an OG of 1.055. A little higher than I expected but still in the range that the supplier told me. Will the gravity still drop a little while in the secondary? I did notice a little fermentation start up again after racking.
Yes, it may drop a few points in the secondary. I hope you like malty beers though!
Just a little unsolicited advise though, if you don't mind... It looks like I made the same "mistake" as you when I was starting out and the result was an AMAZINGLY tasty brew! You see, I thought that making a strong beer was just a matter of using more fermentables. I shunned weaker beers. But then I came to realize that brewing high gravity beers actually requires some attention to details, especially aeration and pitching a big starter. As a result, if you aren't using a starter or aeration, you can get nearly the same amount of alcohol using a lot fewer fermentables just by adding fewer fermentables. The yeast attenuate better in lower gravity environments (though the result will be a lighter, less malty beer).
For example, my Scottish Ale started at 1.047 and ended at 1.010, for an alcohol volume of 4.86. Compare that to my ESB that started at 1.052 and finished at 1.017 for an ABV of 4.61%.
I'm not saying what you did was wrong. Not by any stretch of the imagination. I really like malty beers! I'm just saying that you may have gone past the point where adding fermentables gives you more alcohol and now you're just getting body and maltiness unless you aerate really well or use a starter. What I'm saying is: Your beer will be malty and delicious, just like mine have been, but you need to refine your techniques if you want your beer to be strong as well.
That's just a little unsolicited tip. Hope it doesn't make me look (or you feel) like an ass. It's just something I have been thinking about lately. Cheers!