conditioning a strong ale in secondary? and other questions (pics)

[perfecxion]

Two weeks ago i brewed NB's number 8 all grain. It was my first strong ale and my fourth all grain brew(i started all grain). The OG was 1.081 @ 67F. I only used one smack pack that was in a starter for 24 hours. Fermentation was at about 65-68(lower acceptable end). Despite all the reviews i read, there wasnt a tremendous amount of foam. I never had to use a blow off and the krausen didnt seem to go over 3 inches high. Today, after only two weeks, i took a reading and it was already 1.01. I'm a little concerned that its too low and will go even lower in the following weeks. Am i worrying over nothing? What does it mean if the FG is too low?

It smells great, but upon tasting doesnt seem to have very much body.

Ive been debating how long to keep it in primary before moving to secondary. Since the gravity is already so low should i just move it to secondary and leave it in secondary for (?) how long? Ive read of people leaving this beer in secondary for up to 3 months. I'm in no hurry and want this beer to be its best, so what should i do? 3 total weeks in primary and 2 months in secondary? then pitch extra yeast prior to bottling?

Finally are these floaters just remnants of the krausen?:

 

[perfecxion]

only one view? i guess i picked a bad title

 

[Northbanu]

I'd leave it in primary for two months and then bottle/keg. Moving to a secondary container wont stop fermentation, and will only promote oxidization.

 

[jfk69]

I doubt it will go a lot lower. I'd give it another week to finish up, take a hydrometer reading, and see where it is. You say it tasted a little thin on body? What was your mash temperature?

 

[perfecxion]

when i mashed the temp was 156 for the first 30 min but i was able to then get it down to 149, it mashed for about 90 min total before i started sparging

 

[WileECoyote]

Hello, your beer looks great !

Its done, 2 weeks in primary is all you needed, transfer it to secondary and let it sit for 3 months @ 70 deg, just like you were saying as its a strong ale and needs time to condition.

If you are careful during transfer you won't have to worry about oxygenating your beer.

It didn't need a blowoff because you have a lot of head space in your fermenter.

Like already said, its done and most likely won't go any lower, you will also gain some mouthfeel in the bottles or keg, most beers are watery in the fermenter.

Cheers

 

[logan3825]

What was the yeast and did you add any simple sugars?

 

[Yooper]

when i mashed the temp was 156 for the first 30 min but i was able to then get it down to 149, it mashed for about 90 min total before i started sparging

A lower mash temperature (149 is low) and a longer mash (90 minutes is long!) will make a thinner beer with less body.

It sounds done, and now I'd get it out of the bucket with that wide open headspace since it's no longer producing C02 to protect it.

You can bottle it and age it in the bottle, or you can rack it to a carboy. Just try to minimize headspace and rack carefully as to not splash or otherwise allow oxygen to get to it. If it was me, I'd bottle it and age it in the bottle.