Bacterial succession-guided three-stage temperature control stabilizes Huangjiu fermentation and shapes fatty acid ethyl ester profiles.

Temperature is a central lever linking microbial succession, fermentation stability, and aroma formation in mixed-culture cereal fermentations. This study investigated whether temperature control aligned with bacterial succession could stabilize Huangjiu fermentation and shape fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) profiles. Sequential screening identified 28 °C in stage I, 28 °C in stage II, and 20 °C in stage III as the benchmark schedule for robust fermentation, yielding the highest ethanol retention, balanced physicochemical traits, and the best terminal sensory quality. Further refinement showed that additional cooling did not further improve overall fermentation stability, as reflected by ethanol retention, acidification control, and terminal sensory balance, but selectively redirected terminal aroma formation. In S3-15, additional stage III cooling increased long-chain FAEEs by 112.7%. Stage II cooling in S2-24 increased medium-chain FAEEs by 80.0%, whereas combined cooling in S2-20/S3-15 produced the strongest medium-chain FAEE enrichment. Combined cooling in stages II and III produced the strongest terminal ester retention, increased medium-chain FAEEs by 2.81-fold, and enhanced selected aroma-active esters at the end of fermentation. Among the sequenced schedules, bacterial community analysis showed that stage-resolved cooling altered the timing of lactic acid bacteria (LAB)-dominated succession, and S2-20/S3-15 showed the strongest bacterial community-volatile organic compound (VOC) association. These findings support biologically aligned temperature control as an evidence-based strategy for stabilizing Huangjiu fermentation and provide broader insight into temperature-microbiota coordination in mixed-culture cereal fermentations.