What is this called? over attenuation? over fermentation?

[DansBrew]

I made an extract kit from my lhbs. A belian Dubbel. Its been fermenting since jan 10th, recipe OG stated 1.074, my OG was 1.071. FG per recipe was supposed to be at 1.017. I still have signs of fermentation in the airlock, and there is a light head still on some the surface of the wort. I took gravity today and it was at 1.014ish. What is this called? over attenutation? It tasted fine, a little bit of a bite, but I think itll mellow as it ages. I'm going to secondary it tomorrow, just to open up the fermenter for some german wheats for the spring and summer. I want to bulk age it for another couple of weeks until i have time to bottle. What am I experiencing here? Should I cold crash it to stop fermentation or should I let it dry out? I'm not too versed on the belgian dubbel flavor profile. I don't want to make a dubbel Saison here, and have it real dry if it isn't supposed to be. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[northernlad]

It is quite liekly the "signs" you see are CO2 escaping, not continued fermentation.
Have you taken 3 consecutive readings to see if your FG is stable?
As far as moving to secondary, you have time to bottle while your wort is boiling for an hour. All your stuff is out anyway.

 

[Nurmey]

You are not that far off on your readings. Sounds like you got slightly more attenuation than expected. Rack that brew to your secondary and let it sit for a couple week to bulk age and you'll have a better idea of what the final product is going to taste.

 

[DansBrew]

no, I havent taken 3 conscutive readings yet, because the airlock(i know its not definite signs) has been bubling like 2 or 3 times per minute. I took the lid off the bucket and there is still a fairly white layer on top of the wort. I'll take another reading tuesday, or wednesday, then again on the weekend, and secondary it for a while. I want to see if bulk age is really all its cracked up to be. I have never thought about bottling while boiling. That is a fantastic idea for time management. It sure beats standing in my shed with my hands in my pockets watching a timer counting down.

 

[david_42]

The style uses candi to dry out the finish. 80% attenuation is fine.

 

[whatisitgoodfor]

Have you checked the calibration on your hydrometer?

Both of those readings are exactly 0.003 lower than expected, so it could just be that you're dead on, and your hydrometer happens to read 0.003 low.

 

[BigB]

Have you checked the calibration on your hydrometer?

Both of those readings are exactly 0.003 lower than expected, so it could just be that you're dead on, and your hydrometer happens to read 0.003 low.

+1 to this. Also, have you adjusted for the temperature of the sample?