Cellaring Beer

[Beaver]

Here's an interesting article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-0402180126feb18,1,5365715.story?coll=chi-leisuregoodeating-hed) about cellaring beer. Registration is required.

[Beaver]

Who here cellars beer? What do you have cellared and how do you store it?

I just started setting aside some beers in a closet in my basement. So far, I've got:

2 Anchor OSA 2003
3 SN Bigfoot 2003
3 SN Celebration 2003
2 Great Divide Hibernation Ale 2003

[ray m]

I have a bunch stored away in my "laboratory", they are:
---1 Stone Old Guardian Barleywine (2003)
---1 Stone 7th Anniversary Ale
---2 Bell's Cherry Stout
---3 Bell's Java Stout
---1 Sam Adams Triple Bock (1995)
---1 JW Lees Harvest Ale (2001?)
---1 Sisyphus Barleywine (2003)
---2 of Beerconnosieur's barleywines (2003)
---14 of my Scotch Ales (2003)

Not really an impressive list, but it's a start

[Tweek]

I have a few cases of beers that I "cellar" all big beers from Rogue, Stone, SN, myslef, Moylans, dogfish and few other more obscure ones. I dont take nearly as good of care of them as I should but they are out of the light and not subjected to any dramatic temperature fluctuations.

[Stodbrew]

My downstairs area stays relatively cool all year long. I keep all of my wine down there as well as most of my beer. Its been so long since I've looked at my cellar, I don't remember what's down there anymore.

[quantum24]

i "try" to cellar as much beer as i can afford. i have a big chest freezer that allows me to cellar about 2 1/2 cases and a wine fridge that holds all my big bottles. i cellar beers that i know will get better and beers that i didnt like at the time (brooklyn monster, sam triple bock, etc..) i just think its fun to see how beer changes over time.

beers that i recommend for cellaring (from personal experience)
SN bigfoot
allagash dubbel and triple
victory storm king
sam triple bock
and lots of others i cant think of now

[Beaver]

Originally posted by quantum24
i cellar beers that i know will get better and beers that i didnt like at the time (brooklyn monster, sam triple bock, etc..)

I'm doing that as well. I thought the Bigfoot and Celebration were a little harsh on the hops for me. I'm interested to see how they mellow out in the future. As for the Anchor and Hibernation...I liked both of those a lot and am excited to see how they will evolve.

[fretlessman71]

I have a sixer of BG 2003 and a single bottle of a really alcoholic Brooklyn Monster Barleywine saved back in CO, and I also have several really nice beers from several of YOU saved for a really nice occasion in the back of the fridge. ONE of these days I'll have a nice place to cellar beer....

[studentofbeer]

in my "cellar" (mini fridge in my gf's apartment with the dial turned as warm as it will go) I have a westy 12, westy 8, achel, bell's expedition stout and bell's 3rd coast old ale.

it aint much, but it's a start.

someday i want to get a couple of bottles from each of the trappist breweries and cellar them all. ill be sticking 1 or 2 '04 bigfoots in there too when i pick up a pack. it's hard for me to cellar b/c i dont have much room and i just want to drink the tasty beer!

[davesarman]

I've been cellaring beer for probably 6 or 7 years now, I think it's quite fun to keep notes and see how they age over time. I keep them in my basement in old wooden cases that I collect which keeps them out of the light. The temp stays pretty constant at about 55-65 all year long. Here's my current list, it's gotten quite large, so I'm in an "inventory reduction" stage right now! :p I'm open to trades, if anyone's interested. I pasted this from an excel spreadsheet I keep, so the formatting may not be pretty. Basically it's the beer followed by the vintage, followed by my quantity on hand. Those that are followed by an X are ones that I'm willing to trade.


Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 1997 2
Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 2002 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 1996 1
Anchor Our Special Ale 1997 2
Anchor Our Special Ale 1998 3
Anchor Our Special Ale 2000 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2001 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2002 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 1998 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 2003 5 X
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 1998 1
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 2003 5 X
Brimstone Big Ale 1999 1
Capital Brewing Autumnal Fire 2001 3
Cooper's Vintage Ale 2000 1
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 1
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1998 2
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1999 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2000 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2001 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1995 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1996 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1997 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1998 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1999 2
Hair Of The Dog Adam Batch #52 2002 1
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #32 2002 2
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #34 2002 1
Hale's Wee Heavy 2002 2
La Trappe Quadrupel 1998 1
La Trappe Quadrupel 2001 2
Lake Superior Old Man Winter Barleywine 2002 4 X
Lee's Harvest Ale 1986 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1987 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1988 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1989 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1991 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1992 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1993 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1994 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1996 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1997 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1998 2
Orkney Dark Island 2001 9 X
Orkney Skull Splitter 2001 8 X
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1994 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1997 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 2002 2
Samichlaus 1995 1
Samichlaus 1996 1
Samichlaus 1997 2
Samichlaus 2002 15 X
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1994 2
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1995 28 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1996 1
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1999 2
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2001 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2002 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2000 3
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2002 2
Scaldis Noel 2002 1
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1998 3
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1999 15 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2002 6 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2003 5 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1996 1
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1997 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1998 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1999 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2000 6 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2001 7 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2002 2
Sprecher Barleywine 1999 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1995 6 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1996 4 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1997 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1999 3
Traquair House Ale 1996 1
Traquair House Ale 2001 10 X
Traquair Jacobite Ale 2001 11 X
Truman's Royal Ale 1982 1
Victory Hop Devil IPA 2003 3 X
Victory Storm King Imperial Stout 2003 3 X
Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine 2002 4 X

[Tweek]

davesarman, you are my new idol! I worship you.

[barley ben]

Hey that looks like my list minus the...

Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 1997 2
Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 2002 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 1996 1
Anchor Our Special Ale 1997 2
Anchor Our Special Ale 1998 3
Anchor Our Special Ale 2000 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2001 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2002 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 1998 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 2003 5 X
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 1998 1
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 2003 5 X
Brimstone Big Ale 1999 1
Capital Brewing Autumnal Fire 2001 3
Cooper's Vintage Ale 2000 1
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 1
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1998 2
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1999 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2000 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2001 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1995 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1996 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1997 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1998 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1999 2
Hair Of The Dog Adam Batch #52 2002 1
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #32 2002 2
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #34 2002 1
Hale's Wee Heavy 2002 2
La Trappe Quadrupel 1998 1
La Trappe Quadrupel 2001 2
Lake Superior Old Man Winter Barleywine 2002 4 X
Lee's Harvest Ale 1986 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1987 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1988 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1989 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1991 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1992 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1993 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1994 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1996 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1997 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1998 2
Orkney Dark Island 2001 9 X
Orkney Skull Splitter 2001 8 X
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1994 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1997 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 2002 2
Samichlaus 1995 1
Samichlaus 1996 1
Samichlaus 1997 2
Samichlaus 2002 15 X
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1994 2
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1995 28 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1996 1
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1999 2
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2001 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2002 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2000 3
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2002 2
Scaldis Noel 2002 1
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1998 3
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1999 15 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2002 6 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2003 5 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1996 1
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1997 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1998 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1999 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2000 6 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2001 7 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2002 2
Sprecher Barleywine 1999 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1995 6 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1996 4 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1997 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1999 3
Traquair House Ale 1996 1
Traquair House Ale 2001 10 X
Traquair Jacobite Ale 2001 11 X
Truman's Royal Ale 1982 1
Victory Hop Devil IPA 2003 3 X
Victory Storm King Imperial Stout 2003 3 X
Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine 2002 4 X

[davesarman]

My problem is that I can never seem to bring myself to have the last beer of a variety that I have. I suspect that's a major contributing factor to how my list got so long over the years...:)

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by davesarman
I've been cellaring beer for probably 6 or 7 years now, I think it's quite fun to keep notes and see how they age over time. I keep them in my basement in old wooden cases that I collect which keeps them out of the light. The temp stays pretty constant at about 55-65 all year long. Here's my current list, it's gotten quite large, so I'm in an "inventory reduction" stage right now! :p I'm open to trades, if anyone's interested. I pasted this from an excel spreadsheet I keep, so the formatting may not be pretty. Basically it's the beer followed by the vintage, followed by my quantity on hand. Those that are followed by an X are ones that I'm willing to trade.


Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 1997 2
Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine 2002 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 1996 1
Anchor Our Special Ale 1997 2
Anchor Our Special Ale 1998 3
Anchor Our Special Ale 2000 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2001 5 X
Anchor Our Special Ale 2002 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 1998 2
Bell's Expedition Stout 2003 5 X
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 1998 1
Bell's Third Coast Old Ale 2003 5 X
Brimstone Big Ale 1999 1
Capital Brewing Autumnal Fire 2001 3
Cooper's Vintage Ale 2000 1
Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2002 1
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1998 2
Fuller's Vintage Ale 1999 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2000 3
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2001 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1995 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1996 1
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1997 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1998 2
Gale's Prize Old Ale 1999 2
Hair Of The Dog Adam Batch #52 2002 1
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #32 2002 2
Hair Of The Dog Golden Rose Batch #34 2002 1
Hale's Wee Heavy 2002 2
La Trappe Quadrupel 1998 1
La Trappe Quadrupel 2001 2
Lake Superior Old Man Winter Barleywine 2002 4 X
Lee's Harvest Ale 1986 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1987 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1988 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1989 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1991 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1992 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1993 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1994 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1996 1
Lee's Harvest Ale 1997 2
Lee's Harvest Ale 1998 2
Orkney Dark Island 2001 9 X
Orkney Skull Splitter 2001 8 X
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1994 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 1997 2
Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine 2002 2
Samichlaus 1995 1
Samichlaus 1996 1
Samichlaus 1997 2
Samichlaus 2002 15 X
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1994 2
Samuel Adams Triple Bock 1995 28 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1996 1
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 1999 2
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2001 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (12 oz.) 2002 6 X
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2000 3
Samuel Smith Winter Welcome (pint) 2002 2
Scaldis Noel 2002 1
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1998 3
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 1999 15 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2002 6 X
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine 2003 5 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1996 1
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1997 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1998 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 1999 2
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2000 6 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2001 7 X
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2002 2
Sprecher Barleywine 1999 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1995 6 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1996 4 X
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1997 1
Thomas Hardy's Ale 1999 3
Traquair House Ale 1996 1
Traquair House Ale 2001 10 X
Traquair Jacobite Ale 2001 11 X
Truman's Royal Ale 1982 1
Victory Hop Devil IPA 2003 3 X
Victory Storm King Imperial Stout 2003 3 X
Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine 2002 4 X



IMPRESSIVE!!!
I have had some pretty limited bottles of the Traquier in the past and even visited the brewery in 1989.

Damn! Now I'm feeling compelled to catalog my cellar.

[davesarman]

Originally posted by chazwicke
IMPRESSIVE!!!
I have had some pretty limited bottles of the Traquier in the past and even visited the brewery in 1989.

Damn! Now I'm feeling compelled to catalog my cellar.

My wife and I spent 3 days at Traquair in 2001. Probably my favorite part of our 3 week trip to Scotland. Loved seeing the tiny little brewery with the big wooden vats. Just beautiful!

[chazwicke]

I had a bottle of beer from there that the old Laird had brewed to commerorate his daughters 17th birthday or something like that. He is long dead and she is the current brewer I believe. I drank the beer about 1986. A friend had brought it back for me from a trip he made there. I wish I had kept it longer than I did. It still needed time. :(

[davesarman]

Originally posted by chazwicke
I had a bottle of beer from there that the old Laird had brewed to commerorate his daughters 17th birthday or something like that. He is long dead and she is the current brewer I believe. I drank the beer about 1986. A friend had brought it back for me from a trip he made there. I wish I had kept it longer than I did. It still needed time. :(

When we were there, a gentleman named Ian was doing the brewing. I think the Lairds daughter was running the rest of the place tho. I could be mistaken, but that's how I remember it going...

[chazwicke]

Scotland was beautiful and I have only been there one time. I gotta get back there. Went up as far as Inverness. visited Glenfiddich distillery too.

[Tweek]

Originally posted by chazwicke
IMPRESSIVE!!!

Damn! Now I'm feeling compelled to catalog my cellar.

Please! Give us a peek into your cellar. That way we can live vicariously through you and Dave.

[davesarman]

I keep mine in an Excel spreadsheet. Since I haven't found a way to attach files other than pictures here, let me know and I can send you my excel file via email. I keep two tabs, an alphabetical listing and a listing by which case I'm storing it in so I can locate the beer when I want it. For example, tonight I did a 4 year vertical tasting of SN Bigfoot.

[Beaver]

Wow! I'm drooling!

[wild]

I've just recently started cellaring with a chest freezer that allows enough clearence for 25 gallons. So far my list is:
Belgian Style Strong Dark Ale - 5gal.
American Black Chocolate Imperial Stout - 5 gal.
German Lager - 2 gal.
Right now my temp is set at 52 degrees. But being from the southwest, I have no idea what "cellar" temperature really is. Does anybody know?