Fermentation has stopped!

Cypher

Hi
I am in the process of brewing some Muntons Conkerwood Black Ale & after 3 days of fermenting I syphoned it into a 2nd fermenter & allowed it to continue to ferment. However it seems to have stopped. The OG was 1050 when I first made the wort & I took it again when I transfered the beer into the 2nd 25L vessel & it was 1020. I kept the beer the same temperature as before & after 3 more days it was 1018.
2 days later it was still the same so I added another sachet of yeast, gave it a good stir & took the gravity again 2 days after that & it was still the same! What can I do? It says in the instructions that the FG has to be 1014. I have also checked for the temperature adjustments with the hydrometer instructions & it still makes it 1018! I think it was a bad idea to transfer the beer halfway through fermenting but it was suggested in the little manual that came with the kit as it helps the beer to clarify & prevents yeast bite. Hope someone can help as I don't want to lose my brew, it smells fantastic & I have been looking forward to tasting it.

HBO_Staff

This does sometimes happen, a brew for whatever reason will not quite go as low as the hydro reading the instructions recommend. It can be due to a few things, the volume of water can make a difference, and the temperature you brew at, you need a good warm temperature to ensure a good fermentation (ideally 20 degrees or so unless the instructions say otherwise). Because your reading is close to the recommended, and you have done everything you could to try and make it go lower such as adding yeast and stirring, and leaving somewhere warm to help it ferment, as long as all signs of any small bubbles rising to the surface of the brew have completely stopped it would suggest this is as close as this batch will go, so it will be OK in this instance to transfer on to the next stage. If barrelling this can help, as if there was any excess pressure caused by any further fermentation a pressure barrel can release it through the safety valve if needed, bottles do not have that ability with them being sealed. The fact it is smelling right is a good sign, and there is no reason to think you will end up with anything but a great tasting brew!

Cypher

Thanks very much got to bottle it as I don't have a barrel but I fell sure it's stopped & I use plastic bottles anyway so no danger of them shattering with pressure.