Cidery Beer/stuck sparge

Ok, Mr. new guy (me), has had two consecutive batches turn out a bit cindery. Or as my father-in-law (not an avid beer drinker) puts it, “It reminds me of cherries or strawberries. This is the opposite of what I was shooing for. Any thoughts?
Also, any tips for not having a stuck sparge?

What kind of beer?  What yeast? What fermentation temperature? Fuity esters usually come from yeast and high fermentation temperature. 

I think it might have been a high temp fermentation. We don't have air conditioning in our house and the room the beer was fermenting in hit 100F for a couple of day. Could a lack of good sanitation contribute to a cidery note?;

Whoa! 100f?  Definitely your problem.  Poor sanitation can result in off flavors, but theddescription is usually different.... Sour being most typical.  Also, sanitation usually takes a longer time to rear it's head.... A couple of months to be detected. 

As for stuck sparge.  Slow down your flow rate. Use 1/2 lb of rice hulls. 

Thanks Tom

Keep your beer cool by putting it in a water bath with a wet the shirt wrapped around it. Blow a fan on the wet shirt. You are looking for a temperature in the mid 60s to low 70s. Even high 70s will make funkyflavors. LEt alone 80s,90s,pr 100s. Anything higher than that 100 would start killing the yeast.

Temp control is key to beer flavor.

Adding refined sugar can result in cider-like flavors, but in this case I think it was the temperature. Highest I ever let an ale get was the high 70s, and the result had an unpleasant banana-like flavor and aroma. 

On the stuck sparge issue, go slow. Takes me most of an hour to wash my grain (8-12lbs) for a five gallon batch. I can blame most (all?) of my stuck sparges on drawing out too fast (impatience), forgetting the rice hulls when using a lot wheat, or a grinder that's set to tight not leaving the barley hulls intact.

Maine Homebrewer said:

Adding refined sugar can result in cider-like flavors...

Click to expand...

Disagree.  I've used up to 20% table sugar with no cider flavor.  True cider flavor (green apple) comes from acetaldehyde, an intermediate product from fermentation.  Cider flavor comes from fermentation stopping early before the yeast can finish converting the acetaldehyde to alcohol. 

High sugar use is frequently associated with new Brewers who do not understand the importance of proper yeast management.  They ferment too hot, they don't pitch enough yeast, they don't oxygenate their wort. All these things cause the yeast to produce excess acetaldehyde or die before re absorbing it and converting it to alcohol. 

But, under proper fermentation conditions, sugar doesn't result in any more acetaldehyde production than maltose. Try it. Make a beer with 20% sucrose and calale, fermented at 68f. You won't tasted any cider.

Thanks for all your advice gentlemen.