HELP! Brew stuck at 3.6% ABV

[CrissCross]

Hi There,

So I'm brewing a two can real alekit (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Woodfordes-Admirals-Reserve-Real-Home/dp/B00K76Z3GS similar to this).

It's been brewing since Thursday last week, with an original gravity of 1.044, and its now stopped at 1.015, giving a rough ABV of 3.8%.

The kit was supposed to brew 40 pints at 4%, but I added some additional sugar to try and increase the ABV as a bit of an experiment. Should I add more yeast to get the brew going again? More sugar? The temperature is steady at 23C ish.

Any suggestions would be great :)

 

[Slid]

You could try leaving it for another week - that should do it. The best explanation I have seen is the diagram below which is taken from John Palmer's How to Brew. There is a link below to the relevant page in the free on-line version.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/fermentation/re-defining-fermentation

 

[user 18729]

If the gravity is stable after taking measurements a couple of days apart then it’s finished fermenting. 1.015 is a realistic FG so I wouldn’t worry too much. The main thing is that’s it’s had time to finish

 

[CrissCross]

If the gravity is stable after taking measurements a couple of days apart then it’s finished fermenting. 1.015 is a realistic FG so I wouldn’t worry too much. The main thing is that’s it’s had time to finish

Its quite a low final ABV though isn't it? Considering I added extra sugar too?

 

[CrissCross]

You could try leaving it for another week - that should do it. The best explanation I have seen is the diagram below which is taken from John Palmer's How to Brew. There is a link below to the relevant page in the free on-line version.

http://howtobrew.com/book/section-1/fermentation/re-defining-fermentation

Just leave it as it is, or add more yeast and sugar?

 

[user 18729]

Its quite a low final ABV though isn't it? Considering I added extra sugar too?

It is a little high but perfectly acceptable if that’s where it finishes

 

[Slid]

Just leave it as it is, or add more yeast and sugar?

No more yeast, maybe 100g of sugar, if you must.

 

[Dave 666]

Doesn't priming with sugar add up to 0.4% abv or so anyway?.

 

[terrym]

Does this kit come with a miserly 6g of yeast like they used to supply in the Wherry kit which was notorious for sticking before they gave you two packets of yeast? Plus I'm sure I've read on here that others have had this kit stick.
Anyway at 1.015 I don't think you will get it going again but if you want to have a go there are suggested methods for dealing with stuck fermentations in here
https://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/...s-for-dealing-with-stuck-fermentations.74910/
Best of luck.

 

[DixeySJ]

Like others have said, leave it where it is until at least. 10 days, ideally two weeks. My only thought was that if the temperature is 23C after a week, it was probably a lot higher when the yeast was at its most active, so it may have been a bit racy. But if you leave it the yeast will continue doing its mopping up job. Better to have a slightly weaker beer that tastes good than a strong one with off flavours!