TLDR: My fermented beer (Single hopped Centennial APA, dry hopped with simcoe) got up to 89* for probably about 12 hours. Fermentation (and dry hopping) were already completed and the beer tasted pretty darned good.
Details: In switching the jumpers on my temp controller from heat to cool, I forgot to switch out the plugs from my space heater to my chest freezer. Hence the controller kept kicking on to try to cool the beer down to 32* to cold crash, but that just kept heating the beer. I set it (incorrectly) at about 2-3pm one day, then realized my mistake and started cold crashing about 11am the next day.
I haven’t tasted it yet, and I know that’s the only real way to tell if its ruined. But I realized its a subject I don’t really know anything about. I know at a certain temperature, the yeast will autolyze and make meat juice out of beer, but 1) I’m hoping it wasn’t up there long enough to happen and 2) I want to know what else would have/could have happened to it chemically. I know this happens to commercial beer from time to time when its not shipped or stored with refrigeration, but am hoping this didn’t ruin my unfiltered, non-commercial beer.
