Can esters form towards the end of fermentation?

[dougdecinces]

I just got done bottling a sweet stout that I fermented with Wyeast American Ale yeast. It spent 18 days in primary. After seven days fermenting, I thought I had a stuck fermentation. Consequently, I took a hydrometer reading and found that it had in fact completed primary fermentation. I hit my target FG on the head in fact. I snuck myself a taste and it the beer tasted very clean and sweet. I was happy.

Some time around day 13 to day 15 we had a short heatwave. For the first 12 days the temperature inside the house was a constant 62 degrees, but during those three days temperatures in the house fluctuated anywhere from 65-72 degrees. When I snuck a taste tonight, the aftertaste was kind of fruity or tangy. From what I have read, it appears that it has the qualities of a yeast that ferments at higher temperatures (though I have never personally experienced it during my short time brewing).

I guess what I'm getting around to asking is could the beer have formed enough esters to make a marked difference in taste during that short period of time, or are my taste buds deceiving me?

 

[GuldTuborg]

I guess what I'm getting around to asking is could the beer have formed enough esters to make a marked difference in taste during that short period of time, or are my taste buds deceiving me?

I'm sure all kinds of changes were going on in your beer from the first taste to the second, but ester formation in large quantity was unlikely to be one of them. From my own experience, and from what some pretty knowledgeable brewers have stated, the majority of ester formation takes place during the reproductive phase and extremely early phases of fermentation.