Janet's Brown ale Stuck fermentation

[ayla]

Hi all,
I have a 5 gallon batch of Janet's Brown ale that I brewed a month ago, can't get it to ferment lower than 1.034. I have kept it at around 68 degrees F and about a week ago I turned the temp up to70, hoping it would get things going again. I brewed it according to the recipe in Brewing Classic Styles, all grain version. The book says it should finish at 1.016. I would be happy just to get it down another 10 points. Does anyone have suggestions?

-Ayla

[JoeBeer100]

Can you tell some details of your process? For instance, are you doing extract or all grain? If all grain, are you confident in your temperature measurements for your mash and sparge water? Any other details on the brewing process may be useful. But it seems that usually stuck fermentations generally come from a low yeast pitch rate or other unfavorable fermentation conditions. Did you oxygenate or aerate your wort? How was fermentation temperature maintained? How much, and what kind of yeast did you pitch? Did you do a starter?

[brewinhard]

When was the last time you properly calibrated your brewing thermometer?

[BDawg]

Throw in a rehydrated pack of US-05.

[ayla]

Yes, it is all grain. My thermometer I use in the mash is the same as the one on my brewing pot, so I think they are accurate. The starting gravity was 1.066. I aerate with an aquarium pump. I did a 1l starter with US-05 yeast, I ferment in a mini-fridge with a heat pad and temp controller.

[brewinhard]

Has your fermentation dropped in gravity any more?

[ayla]

I picked up some new yeast on sat and was about to make a new starter to pitch in there yesterday then we lost power due to the snow storm. The temp is down in the forties now. Will this hurt the beer? Or can I just bring it back up to temp and pitch new yeast?

[ayla]

Also, is there a point where there is too much yeast?