Does anyone do this on purpose, looking for certain flavor profiles. I once pitched a Bourbon Barrel Porter at 75F because my yeast was blowing off from my flask. I then cooled and fermented at 68F, and it was one of the best beers I have made. My dark and amber malty beers just seem to be lacking that big malty flavor I am looking for.
If you like it, then do it. Personally, I don’t care for it.
Your yeast is going to produce a lot of diacetyl when pitched that warm. You can do it that way, but make sure to raise the temp back up to the mid-70’s or so at around day 4-5 of fermentation, then leave it for another week so the yeast will stay active and break down the diacetyl.
I don’t think getting additional malt flavor is affected by your pitching temp, though I could be wrong. Yeast choice will definitely affect flavor though (ie a german bock yeast or alt yeast will bring out more malt complexity than Cal ale).
Your great beer could also have resulted from pitching your starter at high krausen. If you cooled to 68° slowly the yeast were most likely not stressed.
Thanks for the replies, it sounds like that may not be the route to take. :cheers:
