I tried to create the recipe from Gavin websters you tube channel and went above the cook temp for his marbled cheddar by 2 degrees, when I went to cheddar it, everything was fine, but when I pressed it it did not mat or come together as it should have. would 2 degrees difference make that much of a difference.
Not usually (if in F) maybe in C. Were the curds still warm when you put them in the press?
A common trick if they won't mat is to warm them up to the target temp and try again.
Also cheddar requires quite high press weight, did you have enough?
I did that this weekend with the Queso Chihuahua cheddar recipe and it worked great.
I cannot imagine that your 2 degree change resulted in a cheese that would not press. Were the curds knitted together in the cheddaring process?
I did press differently than Gavin did.
I pressed twice at 15# - turning between - then 16 hours at 50#. Meant to be 12 but I slept in.