Reaching out for some opinions...
My plan was a Mocktoberfest with California Lager yeast. The supply store was out of the Cali yeast so I moved to White Labs WLP029 German Ale/Kolsch yeast. I just purchased a "CoolBrewing" cooler to keep it into the low 60's while fermenting (I've since read that WLP029 does not do well below 65 degrees, great timing). So after 12 days in the primary I check gravity on a new refractometer, because I broke my hydrometer, and the new hydrometer I bought is apparently a dud (it floats way beyond all of the readings in water and in beer), and I'm at 1.035. OG was 1.056. I should be around 1.012. Temp for the first 12 days was averaging 61 degrees. It started bubbling on day two with the wort temp around 68, then I placed it in the cooler, the temp dropped to 61 and bubbling slowed to nothing after that.
Is there a way to drop my final gravity or am I toast?
EDIT: Here's the final answer to my problem above, if you don't want to read the rest of the thread. Being a new refractometer user I didn't know that you had to convert your readings after the wort turns to beer! And secondly, I learned there is a "clear alcohol" hydrometer sold that will NOT work with your beer, make sure you buy the right one.