Banana smell

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Metsbrew

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My stout was in the primary for 1 week and is now in the secondary for 1 week. I popped the lid to see how it was going. I smelled a little banana to it. Is this going to go away? The temperature was between 66 and 69. Was this too hot?
 
My stout was in the primary for 1 week and is now in the secondary for 1 week. I popped the lid to see how it was going. I smelled a little banana to it. Is this going to go away? The temperature was between 66 and 69. Was this too hot?

Were you using a Belgian yeast? That is the trademark of that particular strain.
 
From Wyeast's website:
Ester production is enhanced and rich with fermentation temperatures above 64 °F.

So, if the fermentation temperature got above 64 degrees, it does sound like fruity flavors would be a result.

Remember, that is the fermentation temperature, not room temperature. I'm not sure if you were talking about the actual beer temperature or the room temperature, that's why I mentioned it.
 
That was my room temp. How do I know what temp to keep the room at?
And will that go away at all?
 
During fermentation your beer is usually a couple degrees warmer then room temperature.
And it probably wont completely go away but it could go down quite a bit.
 
That was my room temp. How do I know what temp to keep the room at?
And will that go away at all?

I'd get a "stick on" thermometer for the fermenter, so you can get a better idea of the fermentation temperature. In the summer, I've had beers be up to 10 degrees higher inside the fermenter than the room temperature. In your case, if your room temperature was 69, the beer temperature could have easily been 75 or so. That's about 10 degrees too high, if you don't want a lot of esters.

The banana flavor might fade a bit, and you might find that a slightly estery profile goes well with your stout, so I wouldn't worry about it. Just keep it in mind for next time, especially if you want a "clean" yeast profile.
 
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