ferm temp too high will esters fade?

[Sepanik1986]

After a day of fermentation I looked at the fermenter and saw on the fermometer it said 79/81 with the ambient temp in my basement being 68. I opened the fermenter and it smelled like banana and I'm hoping I didn't ruin my beer. It's a pumpkin ale og 1.077 @ pitching temp of 70 and I used us-04 thanks for your input

 

[porterpounder]

The esters and high alcohols are not likely to fade. Creation of either depends somewhat on the yeast strain.

 

[Sepanik1986]

The esters and high alcohols are not likely to fade. Creation of either depends somewhat on the yeast strain.

thanks for the reply. after checking a couple hours ago the temp went down to the low 70's (after roughly 36 hours) and it seems to have a steady fermentation going on. the krausen has already gone down a bit too.

 

[RedstoneBrewing]

In my experience, they may fade slightly over long periods of time, but not much. S-04 is a great yeast when you can keep the fermentation temp in check (mid 60s have been great for me). 36 hours in and if fermentation is already slowing with S-04, then your esters might be here to stay, but it's worth riding out and seeing if things change over the next few months.

That being said, some banana esters might work ok in a pumpkin ale, you never know!

 

[Sepanik1986]

Took a gravity reading and it's already down to roughly 1.015 from 1.077. The banana smell was definitely there but not overwhelming like I initially thought. Because I was curious I had to taste before dumping the sample and there was a slight banana taste along with the pumpkin spiced flavor which I think will probably meld nicely but there was a strong alcohol bite. I'm going to be testing the gravity again in a couple days and if it's the same I'll be racking into the secondary for a month or so. Hoping the bite will mellow out as it ages

 

[SubjectB]

I'm also fermenting a pumpkin ale that snuck up to 77F or so and is throwing off strong banana aroma.

Although, mine is only 1.050 and I made a 1L starter of the S-05 harvested from a previous batch and pitched that at 62F. I'm going to leave it in primary for 2 more weeks in the hope that most of the esters will get reabsorbed.

I'm curious as to how yours turn out. Keep us posted.

 

[Sepanik1986]

I'm also fermenting a pumpkin ale that snuck up to 77F or so and is throwing off strong banana aroma.

Although, mine is only 1.050 and I made a 1L starter of the S-05 harvested from a previous batch and pitched that at 62F. I'm going to leave it in primary for 2 more weeks in the hope that most of the esters will get reabsorbed.

I'm curious as to how yours turn out. Keep us posted.

After a month in the bottles it's starting to calm down on the heat of the alcohol and the yeast esters are fading. Only thing is that the cloves really jump in your face so next time I would dial them back a bit

 

[Sepanik1986]

After a month in the bottles it's starting to calm down on the heat of the alcohol and the yeast esters are fading. Only thing is that the cloves really jump in your face so next time I would dial them back a bit

 

[Barny]

Thanks for the update, good information just in general.


- My name is Barny, and I'm an alcoholic.
- Mr. Gumbel, this is a Girl Scout meeting.
- Is it? Or is it that you girls can't admit you have a problem? (The Simpsons)

 

[Sepanik1986]

Thanks for the reply barny.

 

[yeastofhere]

I'm familiar with the banana-beer due to high fermentation temps. I have had this problem fairly often, and I am here to tell you they will not fade. While isoamly acetate and other related esters are volatile enough for you to smell, they are not driven out of solution below temps of about 140C, so youre kinda stuck with them.

In a pumpkin beer they might be alright, but I may have to dump this IPA- banana IPA- yuk.

 

[Sepanik1986]

Imperial pumpkin ale ( I abbreviated to ipa out of laziness) but it turned out alright

 

[Sepanik1986]

I'm also fermenting a pumpkin ale that snuck up to 77F or so and is throwing off strong banana aroma.

Although, mine is only 1.050 and I made a 1L starter of the S-05 harvested from a previous batch and pitched that at 62F. I'm going to leave it in primary for 2 more weeks in the hope that most of the esters will get reabsorbed.

I'm curious as to how yours turn out. Keep us posted.

Just cracked one open @ 64 degrees Fahrenheit and holy cow. Another one was brought upstairs. Delicious. Strong flavors, mostly cloves and there is still ester presence but at near room temp it is quite the delicious beer