Stout/Porter hybrid fermented with Windsor hit 75 F by accident. Would this strip it if mouthfeel?

[Christoff]

I made a 1 gal Stout/Porter hybrid a couple months ago and absolutely loved it. I was sad to only have a few bottles of it so I made a 5 gal batch recently. 1 gal was done on the stove and 5 gal in spike solo. All Temps were pretty similar but I recently noticed my kitchen thermometer may read a few degrees cooler than it is. Only change to the recipe was adding some carapils as I felt the head retention could have been better. I fermented it with Windsor but unfortunately I forgot to turn down the temp in the room and it hit 75 F for a few hours by accident. Would this strip it of mouthfeel?

Forgot to right gravity of first batch
Second was OG: 1.061 FG: 1.020

1:45pm that afternoon it was at 67 F and ~50 burps per minute. I went out that night and forgot to check on it. By morning (7:50am) fermentations was ferocious and had hit 75 F. By 8:45am I had cooled the room down a bit and it was at 72 F and only 9 burps per minute. By 11:25am it was at 69F 4/min and 3:15 67 F 1/min.

I just put this in the keg and I tried a bit before carbonating. I was disappointed. It didn’t seem to have the Malt character I remember or the mouthfeel. Going over my info not much was different during mash/lauter etc. could the vigorous fermentation have stripped it of some character? I have two bottles from my 1 gal batch to compare but want to make sure I crack it at the right time. I have to save the second for my third attempt.

I’m pretty new (30 batches or so at this point) so trying to figure out the nuances of the process not to mention the individual ingredients is tough without help. I’ll take any suggestions.

Also, for anyone on here who does judging, or can do judging, my smell and taste haven’t fully recovered after a bout of Covid. Could this be part of the problem. I get the muted taste part being affected but could it anlso affect my ability to sense mouthfeel properties? My recent Baltic Porter has a similar issue with feeling a bit thin but my recently kegged smoked Porter I tried last night was amazing. No issue with mouthfeel, malt, the smoke, or the residual bitterness at the backend.

Thanks again for any suggestions.

 

[dmtaylor]

I'll bet it's just fine. You could still be suffering COVID after-effects. Since you enjoy the smoked porter more than other beers, this could be another indicator that you are still tasting only the stronger flavors, and not so many subtle flavors.

Mouthfeel shouldn't be impacted in a detectable way by a warm fermentation, especially not with Windsor. What you could get is more esters (more fruity), or more fusels (harsh alcohol), also possibly headaches & hangovers from the fusels. Warm temperatures could also blow more of your hop character out, IF you were expecting hoppiness (less likely with a stout).

I'm not saying with certainty that there isn't a mouthfeel effect... but it doesn't seem to be closely related to fermentation temperature. I think this might just be a COVID thing.

Yes, I'm a Certified judge, #A0511. Not that I think it matters much.

 

[Christoff]

Understanding how to perceive flavours is probably relevant so I appreciate it! Thanks for the info. Hopefully the sniffer starts to work so I can enjoy this beer

 

[jerrylotto]

A tilt would be a good investment. It not only monitors gravity, but it'll give you a graph of temperature and you can keep it from swinging so wildly. Fermenting at 5 gallons or more is pretty exothermic and you need more cooling early in the fermentation (first 2/3). Most brewers eventually build a fermentation chamber, mine is a chest freezer with an oil pan heater both plugged into an Inkbird controller to maintain an even fermentation temperature. Now I can't imagine trying to brew without active temperature control.

 

[Christoff]

A tilt would be a good investment. It not only monitors gravity, but it'll give you a graph of temperature and you can keep it from swinging so wildly. Fermenting at 5 gallons or more is pretty exothermic and you need more cooling early in the fermentation (first 2/3). Most brewers eventually build a fermentation chamber, mine is a chest freezer with an oil pan heater both plugged into an Inkbird controller to maintain an even fermentation temperature. Now I can't imagine trying to brew without active temperature control.

My chest freezer turned into my Keezer There’s a good chance I’ll do that down the road. I much prefer control. I have a spike conical but it’s got a lager in there. I’m usually pretty good about monitoring it but I forgot to adjust the temp in the room the day I pitched. Left the house and it went crazy while I was out. I actually just bought a tilt last week. Everyone says the same thing. I’m looking forward to using it.

The Porter/hybrid turned out ok. It was no where near as good as the 1 gallon batch I brewed. Very disappointing unfortunately. The only thing I can think of was that it was the electric kettle or the yeast temp that muted the flavour. Those were really the only differences in the process

 

[thunderaxe]

nah, i've fermented plenty of english-style beers with windsor between 22-24°C (71.5-75°F), they're great in that range. maximum fruity english esters and it's done 3 days. you'll never get a thin mouthfeel with windsor because it can't ferment maltotriose. whatever you're experiencing is probably to do with your own perceptions and not the beer itself. or if it is the beer, the fermentation temperature wasn't the problem. it's fine at that temperature.