Yeah if the closet is at 80o the beer was probably fermenting at 85o or 90o at its peak, which is about 30o higher than I would want to do for a west coast IPA.
The terrible taste is likely fusel alcohols and other off flavors from the high fermentation.
I bottled and served my West Coast IPA this past weekend. A buddy of mine said he liked it, but I've always suspected he's had bad taste, I absolutely do not (although I drink it or else my fiancee would give me endless s*** for pouring out 5 gallons). It tastes like no IPA I have ever tasted before, although some people tasted the hops, I don't. The beer is also fairly cloudy, I would prefer it much clearer. I do not think it is infected, I definitely believe that you guys hit it on the head, the fermentation temperature was much too high.
I have looked into the fermentation bags where one places the frozen 2 liters in it to cool it. They are $62 on Amazon, do you guys have experience with these?
I have absolutely no control over it and live in sunny San Diego.
An inexpensive solution is to pick up a rubbermaid container for a few bucks at Target or whatever, fill it up about halfway with water, and keep your fermentor in there. Fill a couple of 2 liter bottles up with water, freeze them, and add them to the container. Swap them out a couple of times a day as you are able.
That should allow you to keep your fermentation temperatures down a bit. For most ales, try to keep the temperature of the fermenting beer below 70, especially for the first few days.
Try googling beer swamp cooler for further info.
Thanks, brother. I am pretty limited on space, I have a Man Cave where I ferment, but it's really just an outdoor closet where I keep my tools and stuff. I will look into options for a cooler because clearly I need one if I want to continue brewing.
Thanks all for the advice!