Final Gravity is too high on a Kit Pale Ale

[tom.h.mcdonald55]

Hey guys,

There is a few different posts all over the internet with a similar story, but there is a bunch of varied answers o thought I'd put mine out there.

I have a Pale Ale Kit (not Coopers) fermenting. It has been about 10 days now, and the OG was 1.043, and now it seems to have settled at around 1.020, which is obviously too high.

There was no bubbling at all which doesn't stress me too much, but there was a good Krauesen and lots of condensation, but obviously the FG is still too high. I have tried swirling but it hasn't had much effect. Adding to that, it is a very very cloudy brew.

Any tips on what I can do to save it and push it over the line?

Thanks everyone!

 

[Richard williamson]

I'm a bit of a newbie myself but had a similar situation. I gave the fermenter a bit of a shake to get the crud at the bottom moving about, I've also found sticking dry hops in can start fermentation off again a bit. Try both. I would still bottle as my first beer ever had a FG of1.015 and I drunk it, in fact finished it off last week.

 

[MHB]

Once a yeast gets going it usually only stops when it runs out of food, or the conditions change too fast or far and it goes dormant.
Assuming you didn't use something like Lactose or lots of Maltodextrin (what the US calls Corn Syrup) along with the kit there should be plenty of sugars left to ferment so first question is exactly what went into the brew.

More likely - is the beer in a place where it can get too hot or cold, say cooler than 15oC or warmer than 27oC. If you are using a heat plate or a belt, stop it, it isn't all that uncommon to get a lot hotter than people expect.
Can the temperature change rapidly - too fast a change will upset the yeast and make it go dormant (take some time out), it will often not start brewing again until its back in its brewing temperature range for some time.
Putting your fermenter in a cool but not breezy place where it will be at a stable temperature is good for brewing.
Mark