[rbowers]

I just sampled the finished product from my first attempted partial mash recipe- overall tastes pretty good but it left me a bad headache the next day (after drinking only 2) and the phenomena repeated itself the following day after just one.  It was an IPA recipe, alcohol content ~5.5%.  Any ideas what could be causing this?  Tannins?

[maxieboy]

What temp did you ferment at?

[rbowers]

What temp did you ferment at?

68-70.  Pitched at 68.

[denny]

What temp did you ferment at?

68-70.  Pitched at 68.

Was 68-70 the beer temp or the room temp?

Tannins don't cause headaches.  It might be fusels from fermenting too warm.

[rbowers]

68 was the reading on the fermometer (my best estimate of whats actually going on inside).  Any hope of this tempering with time?

[tumarkin]

that's a bit high but not too bad, so if it's fusels they may subside a bit with aging.

[denny]

that's a bit high but not too bad, so if it's fusels they may subside a bit with aging.

Yeah, I've read a paper that says fusels will eventually age out into esters.  Assuming that the problem is fusels.

[maxieboy]

What they ^ said.  
That's pretty darn good temp control. Beer temps 6-8 degrees above ambient(during early stages of fermentation) are not uncommon. Shoot for controlled temps in the low to mid 60's for most ale yeasts(there are exceptions) and you'll be golden. Good luck.

edit: for more info

[rbowers]

What they ^ said. 
That's pretty darn good temp control. Beer temps 6-8 degrees above ambient are not uncommon. Shoot for controlled temps in the low to mid 60's for most ale yeasts(there are exceptions) and you'll be golden. Good luck.

Thanks for all the pointers. Is that advice meant to disregard "ideal temps" posted on yeast packages?  The last time I had temps go a little low (unintentional) down to the low 60s I ended up with banana beer (damn near undrinkable).  Not sure if that relates to the low temp or not but some said it could have been.  My brief research has suggested otherwise, in that more banana-like tones will be more common at HIGHER temps.

[maxieboy]

Opinions will vary but my ROT is to ferment ales at or a little below recommended minimums to give myself a little margin for error and a cleaner tasting end result. YMMV. Happy brewing!