Extract brew - producing weak strength

[gjohnk]

Hi all,

I have an extract brew on the go at the moment and have done this receipe a few times now and can never get my gravity down to an expected 1.010, and therefore is turning out only around 3.1-3.4ABV and I am not quite sure what I am doing wrong.

I'm pretty confident with the receipe I'm using (I probably got it from here!) but as a quick check it is:
2 x 1.5kg malt extract (Coopers 1 x light 1 x amber)
With sensible abouts of Goldings hops
End volume is 22/23L
Boil length 1 hour

I currently have been using been using 1 sachet of dry yeast.

My current brew fermenting very quickly from 1.040 to 1.016 in about 3/4 days but has then been stuck there for a week (despite a good old stir and warming it slightly - but temp seems ok around 18-20C most the time).

At 1.016 I am guessing there is still malt there that could ferment so perhaps the yeast has been used up/ran out?

For my next brew is it sensible to try adding 2 packets of yeast (or could I add a second packet now).

Also I add the dry yeast directly into the fermenting bucket and dont bother rehydrating. Would rehydrating help? Or does this just speed up the fermentation or actually help the yeast increase in quantity and therefore help the above?

Any advice would be really useful, I am really not sure what I am doing (hopefully slightly) wrong.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kyral210]

Two packs of yeast, right temperature conditions for hydrating, pitching and fermenting. Also make sure you properly aerate your wort. Without the oxygen it wont ferment properly.

 

[graysalchemy]

My first few extract brews (I only did two before going AG) never got below 1015 using Muntons malt extract. I posted this question and was told that that was as low as it would probably go. Have you tried stiring to rouse the yeast? If you do this and it still doesn't drop after 3 days then it is probably as low as it will go. Next time try upping the amount of Malt extract to increase the OG, I know you are buying tins but you could also reduce the brewlength to up the OG.

:

AG