fermented to hot.is it a right off?

[orlando]

Edit - maybe those Monks who didn't brew in summer knew what they were doing.

They may also of been wary of the amount of stuff in the atmosphere just waiting to take advantage of all that lovely wort you have made for them. That's just the stuff you can't see, you also have to take into account bloody flies. I brew in my cellar and I still get them in there. It's one reason why I wouldn't dream of brewing without a lid on the FV even when it's in the brew fridge. Believe it or not I have opened it up and seen them fly out, presumably getting in unseen in the first place.

It would be interesting to know how many infected beers there are each year and when they occurred. My money would be on Summer, like you say those monks knew what they were doing.

Not having their vast storage capacity, and the resources religion is able to access, I guess they didn't have to

[darkonnis]

Temp control is the daddy, I just to do it fast and loose in the airing cupboard and it worked reasonably well. Now I use a fridge... Its groovy, the best investment I made kit wise, being able to control the temp without wondering if its too cold or hot and constantly buggering about with heat belts and the like.
yeast is probably the single most important ingredient that you add to beer (obviously you need them all, but it is also the most overlooked) as each strain offers different flavours and at different temperatures and after different amounts of time. Look after it, and you should be well on the road to getting consistent brews.