Fermenting high for 8 hours with WLP550 & 570

I'm brewing a belgian strong pale ale with WLP550 & 570, airlock activity started really getting underway yesterday morning, the temp was hovering around 66-68. When I went to bed last night the temp was at 72 and I didn't think about it much. When I got up this morning the temp read 78 (which is the max on the fermometer) and I could smell a lot of banana-y esters. I immediately put it in a big bucket of ~65F water.

This happened before when I brewed a porter w/ London Ale yeast, I didn't monitor the temp and it probably fermented in the 80's *the entire time*. Basically it turned out to be a chocolate banana porter is what we called it.

Does anyone think 8 hours of unregulated temperature will make this thing a banana bomb where that flavor overpowers the spiciness and subtle fruitiness we'd be getting from the Belgian ale yeast if it were kept at proper temps the entire time? I was planning on letting this ferment at around 80 at the very very end of the fermentation, but not within the first 24 hours, for sure.

Thanks for any opinions.

Smells like a banana, will probably taste like one. But, if the gravity hasn't gone down too much, the yeast could clean up some of the esters.

Aren't most Belgian styles fermented at abnormaly high temperatures anyway?

Forgive my ignorance.

Well, this was my first Belgian, and the recommended temps for this thing were like 68-78. The temp in my fermenter when i woke up this morning had to be 80+.... like probably mid 80's or who even knows. I know for saisons they generally crank up the heat to around 80's or sometimes even 90's towards the end but I haven't heard of people fermenting at that high of temps the entire time in any style of Belgian.

you do not want to START the beer at high temperatures, not even in the 70s. You want it to slowly rise so that you get pleasant ester production without the hot alcohol becoming overpowering.

You probably caught it in time, tho. I wouldn't worry about it.

If it did ferment out primarily at a high temperature, it will probably give you a hangover. In that case I'd simply drink it in small quantities. put it in small bottles and have it with dinner. Give it to friends, only one bottle at a time. stuff like that where you only enjoy a small amount and supplement with other good beers.