Should I bottle at 1.016?

[rpt]

Did my first AG 10 days ago, a Graham Wheeler Cocker Hoop clone using Safale S-04 yeast. OG was 1.046 as expected. The recipe gives an FG of 1.011 but the gravity has been at 1.016 for the last 4 days. This is an apparent attenuation of 65% - perhaps this is normal for S-04. So should I bottle it?

 

[rpt]

Something I should add is that I started the mash at 68C and it lost 2.5 degrees over the hour and a half. Could this temperature have produced more complex sugars that are slower to ferment or even unfermentable?

 

[pittsy]

It is possible that it's finished at 1016 but i would of thought more 1010/1012 , Ag or a least mine do tend to finish higher than kits (more body) and although you say you started at 68c it may of been a little hotter , did you give the mash a real good mix and stir after strike water added , when you start mashing at a certain temp even if your temp lowers only the higher temp that was reached will affect the mash . To be certain i would raise the fermentation temp a few degrees and give your brew a gentle stir then wait around 2 to 3 days and test again if still at 1016 then it's finished . p.s what was the recipe mash temp .

 

[rpt]

This was BIAB so the mash is quite thin and I did give it a good stir so I am pretty confident the temperature was even. Thinking about it, after I doughed in the temperature was above 68C - I let it drop before putting the lid and insulation on. So the start temperature would have been above 68C.

I have been fermenting at a constant 20C (+- 0.3C) so is it ok to raise the temperature? Perhaps at this stage I needn't worry about the off flavours from a higher temperature but how far should I go? I'm a little reluctant to stir as the last time I did this I had really cloudy beer that took ages to clear. Or do I just ensure I don't disturb the sediment when I stir?

The recipe gives a mash temp of 66C. I started higher because I didn't know how much it would cool over an hour and a half. Graham Wheeler's book says temperatures from 62-68C should give good results.

Having tasted the samples my only serious concern is bottle bombs.

 

[boozy_shoes]

Mashing temperature is very important. The enzymes for breaking down the malts starches into sugars will work between 62-70oC (ish) but where you mash on that scale determines two things and it's about balance or how you want your end beer to be.

The lower end of the range will give you a wort that is lower on body but will contain more of the easily fermentable sugars resulting in a thinner more alcoholic beer that will let the hops sing through and so is suited to pale ales and IPA's. The higher end will result in the opposite and produce a beer that is full of body due to having more less fermantable sugars in and so is suited to porters, bests and darker maltier styles.

This is probably what has happened with your mashing at 68oC. I have had a couple of beers with a 1.016 FG and they were bottled fine with no bottle bombs. You could raise the temperature a couple of degrees but I'm not sure it would do much, i'd just leave it another week and then take one more hydrometer reading to see if this is still the case then bottle.