Stuck

[Wester_Brewery]

I was feeling impatient and bought a Brown Ale kit from my LHBS 2 weeks ago. I didn't want to wait for mail order. It was a True Brew kit. They don't carry much in the way of beer kits, it's mainly a wine shop. The kit contained dry yeast.

I did a yeast starter and followed the directions. My OG was 1.044. After being away for work for two weeks, I returned and took a gravity reading of 1.020 and again two days later with the same results. The directions claim that the FG will be 1.010-1.012. I left my heat on while I was gone and it fermented at 68 degrees.

Is there anything that I can do to restart the fermentation in order to bring it down to the target range? Or should I just drive on and bottle it?

 

[D0ug]

I think you've hit the dreaded 1.020 wall.

Apparently it's common for extract kits to finish around there. You've probably already seen a few of those threads searching the forum.

I've seen people advocate warming, swirling, amalayse enzymes, Bean-0, and on and on.

You could try warming it up a little, but 68 seems warm enough for most ales. If the gravity is stable for three days, it's probably just done, and has more to do with the kit than your technique.

When this has happened to me, I've bottled it and in 6 weeks it is still all gone.

Good luck

 

[Wester_Brewery]

I think you've hit the dreaded 1.020 wall.

Apparently it's common for extract kits to finish around there. You've probably already seen a few of those threads searching the forum.

I've seen people advocate warming, swirling, amalayse enzymes, Bean-0, and on and on.

You could try warming it up a little, but 68 seems warm enough for most ales. If the gravity is stable for three days, it's probably just done, and has more to do with the kit than your technique.

When this has happened to me, I've bottled it and in 6 weeks it is still all gone.

Good luck

Yeah, I've done some research and that seems to be the way to go. Thats what I get for trying a cheap kit. I thought that I could overcome the dry yeast factor by doing a starter but oh well... It's still beer

 

[D0ug]

From what I've read, rehydrating a dry yeast may or may not help, but a full blown starter usually isn't necessary because the cell count in a pack of dry yeast is so much higher than liquid yeasts.

I think it might have more to do with the malting process used to make the extract. I think you can adjust the fermentabilty of those sugars in you wort by adjusting mash temperature/timing profiles... but (sipping store bought beer)... I don't really know if that has any thing to do with it or not. I've only done a few AG.

I've had good luck with the True Brew kits myself, I even won 1st in my region with one once at a comp.

 

[Wester_Brewery]

From what I've read, rehydrating a dry yeast may or may not help, but a full blown starter usually isn't necessary because the cell count in a pack of dry yeast is so much higher than liquid yeasts.

Intersting, hadn't heard that before. I've rehydrated before but I thought a starter would be the better route.

Good info!