Fermenting above 80F degrees

[coastalbrewer]

I know that fermenting at high tempertures probably won't produce award winning beers but how bad is it for beer? I live in the hottest place on earth and I've been brewing in hot conditions like 75 - 85F. I notice that some of my beer has some undesirable characteristics, like fusul alcohol, correct me if I'm wrong, I think this is the hot or warm alcohol mouthfeel. I'm having trouble picking out all of the unwanted characters caused by high temps. Is there something that normally stands out?

[spiderwrangler]

Yeah, hotter alcohols that may contribute to hangover feelings more than if you were making just ethanol. If a temp controller isn't in the budget, the wet towel/tshirt is usually good enough to drop it up to ten degrees below ambient, which would probably help you out a bit.

[growler]

You can also get banana flavors too... I learned this over the summer.

[growler]

You can also get banana flavors too... I learned this over the summer.

[Bugeater]

you can say that again!

[Whitebeard_Brewer]

Those temps are great if you are trying to brew a Hefe.....where you want the banana flavors to come through.

[coastalbrewer]

Man, maybe thats why my head hurts in the morning. I'll try the wet towel method. If high temps are appropriate for hefes, is this true for most wheat beers. I'm thinking about brewing a Little Sumpin style beer, which I believe is half wheat malt. Does anyone have experience with this style?

[spiderwrangler]

I don't recall much in teh way of banana in Lil Sumpin, the banana clove character is typically associated with German Hefes, and it is the yeast producing those flavors more than the wheat itself.