Typical Noob Fermentation Question

First... thanks to you all for all the info I've received from this board.

Second... my thought is this: that I moved my beer to a secondary too soon. I was "following the directions" on the kit... and moved it to a secondary after 8 days.

However, when I transfered it, I took a reading and it was 1.024. That was 6 days ago. I took another reading just now, and it was still right at 1.024.

OG was 1.060

I'm thinking I should have left it in the primary longer? Is there anything I can/should do at this point? Or am I only .006-.004 away and I should relax?!
Thanks for your help.

If this info helps, here it is...

It is a Mac & Jacks African Ale type clone.
FROM RECIPE: OG - 1.070
FG - 1.018-1.020
Fermenter(s) have been right around 64 degrees for 13 days

Extract or AG? If extract, what kind? If AG, what were your mash stats? What kind of yeast are you using? And how did all of this compare to the recipe?

Maybe you should be doing something to kickstart the fermentation, maybe you should RDWHAHB. Hard to say without more info.

Bike N Brew said:

Extract or AG? If extract, what kind? If AG, what were your mash stats? What kind of yeast are you using? And how did all of this compare to the recipe?

Maybe you should be doing something to kickstart the fermentation, maybe you should RDWHAHB. Hard to say without more info.

Click to expand...

It is AG.
8oz honey malt
8oz carastan malt
8oz 120degree L Crystal Malt
4oz toasted malt

7lbs Alexander's Pale/Munich blend malt extract syrup
2lbs Muton's Extra Light Dry Malt Extract
3/4 oz Chinook Hop pellets

Many more hops added through boil.

Yeast: Danstar Windsor Ale

All was done according to recipe

Actually, that's not an AG recipe, it's extract plus steeping grains.

There's quite a bit of unfermentable sugar in your beer from all of those steeped grains, so your FG sounds about right. You're only missing the recipe FG by .004 points, which is pretty close in my book. Also, Windsor is a fairly non-attenuative strain, so I'm not surprised that your FG is a bit high.

My advice? Taste it. If it's too sweet, pitch a packet of Nottingham or US-05 into it to dry it out a little. If it tastes good, let it clear and condition in the secondary, and bottle as usual.

Thanks...

I figure since its been at the same reading for a week now... that it is done. I won't have time to prep my bottles until after Christmas anyway- so in case any magic happens in the next 3-4 days, it'll have a chance.

I gave it a taste... it was pretty good. Definitely not 'sweet' so I think I'll skip pitching more yeast.

--- Since the FG is a little high, would it be wise to scale back on the priming sugar at all?

The residual sugar are unfermentable by normal ale or lager yeasts and won't affect the amount of primer you'll need for the batch.