High final gravity question

So I don't think I aerated my wort enough before I pitched my starter. This is my first AG beer and didn't think about having to aerate more due to the full volume boil. My beer started at 1.052 and I transfered it to the secondary after 7 days and it was at 1.020. Thats 62% attenuation with WL Frisco Lager yeast.

I think I should have let it sit in the primary for a few more days but hindsight is 20/20. Will I have bombs if I bottle it at 1.020 or will it be sweeter than its supposed to be? I had a lot of specialty malts, which I read on here can effect attenuation.

Last qustion, is there anything I can do to lower the gravity, or will 2 weeks in the secondary be enough? Beersmith projected 1.016 as my FG. Should I just say F-it and have a homebrew?


Thanks,
Mike

Leave it for a few weeks in the secondary and then check the gravity. It will likely fall a few more points in which case it will be close to the predicted FG. Remember that is only an estimate. Specialty grains such as crystal will result in more unfermentable sugars and will raise your FG.

GT

What was your saccharification temp(ie conversion temp of the mash)?

Dude, you guys are fast. Thats awesome.

My mash temp was 153 and my batch sparge temp was 166. I couldn't quite reach 168 for some reason.

I had munich, vienna, crystal, and wheat malts in it also.

From what I understand, munich and vienna aren't highly modified which is necessary for single infusion mashes.

They make a turbo munich and turbo vienna which is better suited for single infusion.

Still, I'm thinking it should have gone down a bit further. Could you give us the exact recipe for evaluation?

153 isn't a bad mash temp and should have got the FG down further. As with most stuck fermentations, there are several possibilities: high mash temp, temperature fluctuations during fermentation, lack of aeration, low volume yeast pitching, insufficient yeast nutrients (did I miss any?). I've had a couple high FGs and tried everything... pitching different yeast, yeast nutrients, stirring up the yeast, etc. Then I investigated high mash temp because I bottled them all and got no bombs. I found with my mash tun (thermometer installed), not to trust it. Even with stirring there are pockets of different temps that always seem to make my installed thermometer give an unreliable reading. I had a couple batches of high FG before I started using a handheld probe thermometer at several different points in mash. The first time I used it, I saw why I was getting high FGs.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=53888
Thats my First AG thread. it includes the recipe.

Last night before bed I went down to the basement and noticed that the airlock was bubbling about once every 30 seconds or so. I think this might be due to some CO2 escaping, not fermentation. Could the CO2 have held my hydrometer up a little?

Absolutely. I take a sample with the wine thief and put it between my hands and twist it back and forth like I'm trying to start a fire. The bubbles can make a hydrometer read 4 points high, or more. Also, read straight across the surface of the liquid. Here's the wiki on SG readings:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Hydrometer#Using_a_Hydrometer

Specialty grains will affect your final gravity, but if they are below 10% of your grain bill, they shouldn't affect your final gravity much. It has been by experience that the higher the amount of non fermentable specialty grains in your grist the less your attenuation will be. For example my house red is 20% crystal malt. The starting gravity is around 1.044 to 1.048 and the final gravity is rarely below 1.012. It is ready to drink on draft three weeks from brewing. A couple of weeks in the secondary should be plenty. I wouldn't worry too much about it. It will probably have a bit more body, but will be just fine. Enjoy your continuing adventures into all gran brewing. You will find that the results are very rewarding. DWHAHB