can't reach the desired fg.

hi,
i'm quite new here, and at this hobby in particular. i really love it though i'm having a little trouble reaching the desired fg. in my last 2 batch (out of 5, 1 went sour) on which i kept tracking more closely, i had that problem i mentioned above. my last batch :

0.25 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 80L
0.09 kg Special B Malt
3.00 kg Pale Liquid Extract [Boil for 60 min]
30.00 g Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [4.00 %] - Boil Hop
16.00 g Coriander Seed (Boil 7.0 mins) Spice
30.00 g Fuggles [4.50 %] - Aroma Steep 2.0 min Hop
1.0 pkg Windsor Yeast (Lallemand #-) [23.66 ml] Yeast 7 -

is currently fermenting for a week, and still hasn't reach the desired fg of 1.011, but only 1.018.
my og (corrected) was 1.043, recipe og was 1.045
i added yeast at 33c temp, but during all fermentation process temp was 18-19c. the airlock keep on bubbling once every 1-2 minutes maybe little less.
has anyone got an idea how do i keep on from here? is there something that can be done to make things better?
i would also mention i'm using a plastic bucket, and all measurements were taken using its tap, means foggy cloudy beer.
and one more question, what do you refer as your gravity measure, the one you take from the wort or do you make a correction according to the temp, using one of those calculators?
please your opinion, all comments will be welcome.
thanks,

Ok,well,to start with,boiling all the extract at the begining will darken it. Possibly creating long chain sugars that yeast can't matabolize. A higher FG is the result. Try doing late extract additions to keep the color lighter & flavor cleaner. Try one kilo in the partial boil for hop additions,the rest at flame out. Since the wort is still boiling hot,& pasteurization happens about 162F,it'll be safe & effective.
This should help get the FG's lower. And 33C equalling 91.4F,is def too high of a pitch temp. Could shock the yeast into not doing as good a job as they would at a lower initial temp (pitch temp). Put the brew kettle in an ice bath till you get the temp down to 70F (about 21C),then strain into fermenter & top off to recipe volume. Stir roughly for 5 minutes to mix top of & wort well. Take hydrometer sample & then pitch yeast & seal'er up.
Keeping ferment temps down between 18-20C (64.4-68F) will give better results,IE cleaner flavor & lower FG's. I have spigots on my fermenters to make life easier. The yeast/trub cake always settle lower than spigot level on mine. I do the gravity test in the plastic cylinder the hydrometer comes in. Just enough to float it. You read through the meniscus (where the liquid curves up the side of the hydrometer) to take the reading. Before pitching yeast is your OG. After that,you're testing for FG.

Let it ferment longer, lots of debate on this but 3 weeks is what I do, 2 maybe for a small beer like this one.

Also Windsor does not attenuate terribly well so 1.018 may be as good as it gets for this one. You might want to try Nottingham next time.

Leave it alone for another week ir two then take a reading. I have haf beers take three weeks to fimish. I use a botling bucket for my primary and get my samples from the spigot. I run a lttle beer then fill my sample tube no problems yet. I use a calculator to adjust my sample reading.

Well, you pitched way to hot at 33c. You really want to wait for the wort to get down to fermenting temps before pitching.

Your beer may be done fermenting, but it is too soon to tell. Gently swirl the fermenter to make sure you've got enough yeast in suspension and put it in a slightly warmer room. eg 22c. Give it at least another 3 days, but a week would be better. Check the gravity again. If it is stable at 1.018, your beer is done.

For future batches, you can help avoid this high FG issue by
1) adding most of your extract near the end of the boil
2) Aerating your wort well
3) Pitching the proper amount of yeast at the proper temp

thank you very much everybody!
no doubt learned a lot, even though i read all the time about home brewing!
my yeast pitching temp was definatly too high which i already know but doing late extract additions is new to me and i will let it ferment longer, since it is still bubbles. as for next time' got lots to improve at...
thanks!

33C (91F) is not fatal to yeast, actually they prefer that temp. We as brewers don't because it increases the off flavors. I'm not saying that the temp is right (it isn't), but rather that it shouldn't have a fatal affect on the yeast, quite the reverse.

Anyhow as others have said, give it more time. How long has it been? Also if the beer is getting clear, you can try a gentle swirl to help it out. Some say that can help.

That 91F temp is good for a rehydrating temp,but not for the fermenter,as you said. In there you generally can't go wrong with 65-69F or therabouts.

A 1.043 beer with a healthy fermentation should not take weeks to reach final gravity, it is likely done at a week. I don't disagree with leaving it longer, I just wouldn't get your hopes up too much. One factor besides an individual yeast's attenuation is the fermentabilty of the wort itself - with extract you don't have control of that. So following good practices for healthy yeast will only get you so far. This is one of the advantages of all grain, you control the mash temp and can have more effect on final gravity.

The one way to control extract is not to add it all at the begining of the boil. Maiard reactions & the like can make for more unfermentable (long chain) sugars,thus raising FG. Late extract additions negate much of that. I think that's one of his problems. That & ferment temps.

unionrdr said:

The one way to control extract is not to add it all at the begining of the boil. Maiard reactions & the like can make for more unfermentable (long chain) sugars,thus raising FG

Click to expand...

I don't think that's correct - pretty sure you don't get long chain sugars back from heating the wort.

Here's another thread talking about carmelization and maillard reactions. I don't know enough about it to say how accurate the info is, and I'm not disputing that these reactions can alter the fermentability and that late addition can help. My point is that even with late additions you can have issues with reaching final gravity with some extracts, i.e. you are still at the mercy of the maltster.

Well,it looks like caramelization & maiard reactions aren't completely different. The way it's explained anyway. They say that darker malts have less fermentables,that's true. but darkening extract in the boil seems to me to be about the same the way they describe it. So it's possible that the two reaction types overlap somewhat. It does depend on extract freshness,type,& who made it with what grains that also comes into question. The home brewer has to pretty much learn from experiences what works & what doesn't. I find that getting color with my partial mashes is def better fermentabilty-wise. That,& mashing @ 152-153F. That way,even the darker grains & whatnot get decent fermentability.

thank you all!! you all helped me very much!
i'm sure my next batch would be much better!
it has been exactly a week since i put the wort in the fermentor, first 3 days high activity, later on constant but low bubbling. bubble every 1-2 minutes(and still going on). i'll give it another 7-10 days at 22c temp and than bottle.
accept abv, should the gravity effect tasts? (accept sweetness)

Yes,gravity can effect taste. Let it get down into the projected FG range,& be sure that number is stable before proceeding. A higher FG can leave some extra sweetness.