Finished gravity too high for my belgian

i have a belgian golden strong ale in primary for 6 days now. OG was 1.077. current SG has been 1.016 for 2 days now. 16 is the top of the range for BJCP style guidelines. i'm concerned only because this is a contest beer. i think this is too high given that my OG was on the low end of the range. any suggestions? i've read about some brewers adding a lit bit of candi sugar throughout the fermentation to boost the ABV, will this also lower my FG? how about rousing? the krausen has already fallen and the beer is starting to clear up nicely but i do have some time to let it settle out again before i need to move on to 2ndary and bottling. what about a half gallon of cheap vodka! J/K! if i do add some more candi sugar, how should i account for this addition in the OG????? thanks for the suggestions.

What yeast did you use, what type of brewing do you do AG or extract?
Recipe?

Stir up that yeast and see if it will take off again.

yeast was wyeast bel abby II (1762?), AG

6lbs belgian pils
1lbs belgian pale
4oz carapils
2oz aromatic
1oz biscuit
1lb clear candi sugar at knock out

yeah, i know what you're gonna say, i already have 79% attenuation, what am i complaining about. maybe i'm being too picky, a little OCD perhaps. the hydro sample i took tonight tastes delicious, all the right tastes that i wanted. maybe a little too phenolic, be were splitting hairs here. i'd really like to avoid rousing. i started the fermentation at a very low temp and it hasn't risen to where i want it to yet so i'm going to give it another few days, and we'll see where it's at then. the other thing is that i've never racked a beer to 2ndary that hasn't dropped at least another point or 2. ok, yeah, i'm probably over reacting, but for the sake of discussion and knowledge, lets still hear your thoughts about adding a little more candi sugar. dry it out or not?

dude...your beer is done fermenting. especially at 79% attenuation, there's no way i'd add put more sugar in there.

I'd take that and run with it.

Adding sugar was an option when it was at high krausen, but now you are too late. It probably wouldn't give you the best results anyways.

It sounds to me like you have a good beer on your hands... depending on what kind of "too phenolic" you mean; a lot of the banana will mellow out and some more of the raisin/ plum will come out in time. I would recomend leaving it on the yeast cake for another two weeks and then bottling or kegging it. (but I'm anti-secondary) If it is still too thick or sweet once it is carbonated I would look to your pitching rate and yeast health the next time you brew this beer. If those are fine perhaps replace some of the base malt with sugar.

Tell us how it comes out and how it does in competition.

SenorWanderer said:

...but for the sake of discussion and knowledge, lets still hear your thoughts about adding a little more candi sugar. dry it out or not?

Click to expand...

Question:
Will adding sugar to an already fermenting beer give you a lower finishing gravity than you would had without the extra sugar?

Yes. The sugar will be converted into alcohol and the alcohol has a gravity lower than 1.016 therefore it will lower the final gravity of the beer. If you boil the sugar in some water first, then add that cooled mixture to the beer it will lower the gravity even more (since you are adding a greater volume of low gravity stuff). But it would be even easier to just add some boiled water to the beer, it will lower the gravity, too.

All of these options will just thin your beer out. You would dillute the esters, aromas and flavors of your delicious beer in extra alcohol and water merely to lower the final gravity.

You can increase the dryness and lighten the beer with higher carbonation.

BJCP types can correct me, but I doubt the final gravity is a consideration. Unless it is making the brew too sweet, I'd rack it.

[I don't see anything about FG on this BJCP scoresheet]

Sounds to me like you have a winner my friend. If it tastes delicious now, imagine how good it'll be when it's carbed and conditioned for a bit. Thank God for a good batch and enjoy and good luck.