What Caused My High FG?

I brewed a brown ale extract kit, which has been sitting in the primary for the last 20 days. The OG range was 1.048 to 1.052, and I came in at 1.052, so I was pretty happy with that, afterall, it was only my second brew.

I started taking gravity readings a few days ago and they all came in the same; 1.020. The recipe states that the target FG is 1.012. I'm fairly certain fermentation has stopped because I've taken three consecutive readings and it was constant throughout.

What would cause me to miss the FG by so much? What would cause me to come in higher? A few weeks ago (before this brew), I built a fermentation chamber, and the primary fermenter has been sitting in there with a temp ranging between 64 and 68. I used US-04, which came with my kit, and the range is apparently from 64 degrees to 75 degrees.

I transferred the beer into a secondary tonight (not looking to start a debate on long primary vs. seconday), but I'm curious to learn what happened here.

Thanks all...

Refer to my post on 5-18-10 Final Gravity in my Blueberry Wheat, it should answer your question. I had the same problem

The curse of the extract kit.....1.020 fg......happens all the time....RDWHAHB

What exactly was the recipe/process that you used? It could be a few things, I suppose.

shanecb said:

What exactly was the recipe/process that you used? It could be a few things, I suppose.

Click to expand...

It was an extract kit from Midwest Supplies.....Big River Brown Ale.

Steeped the specialty grains for 30 mins at 154 degrees.
Added the LME and brought to a boil.
Boiled for 60 mins, adding the hops at the correct time.
Ended up with 3 1/2 gallons of wort.
Topped up to 5 gallons with spring water.
Pitched dry yeast
Primary for 20 between 64 and 68 degrees.
Racked to secondary on the 20th day.

I tasted my hydrometer sample last night and it was beyond my expectations.

I didn't deviate from the instructions at all.

Any thoughts?

I'm certainly no expert, but I had the same thing happen to me and wound up bottling several batches that stalled at 1.02. They were ok, just a little sweet. IMO the reason this happens is the extract manufacturer mashed at a too high temp and the resulting wort has to high a level of unfermentable sugars. The type of yeast and whether you properly re-hydrated it before pitching, as well as solid fermentation temp control can also play a part.