Cellaring techniques

[fretlessman71]

So, how do YOU do it?

-What temp. is best? What's too cold? What's too warm? What happens when you go too far either way?

-Lay them down, or stand them up? Does it make a difference if it's a cork instead of a cap?

-How much light are you willing to live with when it comes to your beer? What lengths do you go to in order to achieve maximum darkness?

-What sort of beer cellars well? What doesn't? What changes do you notice? If you're a hophead, does cellaring detract from the hop profile?

Just curious.... :D The best I can do is keeping them in a cooler in my parent's basement. Room temperature (about 68 deg.).

(Keeps me from drinking them before their time, too...)

[b3s]

well, lacking a temperature controlled room, i keep mine out of sunlight in the cooler portion of the condo in such a way as to keep the temp between 72F & 76F. not sure if that is right, but it works for me. if it gets too cold, the yeast goes dormant.

i believe with corks you want some of the beer touching the cork so the cork doesn't dry out (same rationale with wine). otherwise it doesn't make a difference (again, same with wine). every now and again i get a wine box from the paint store and use that...and label things (date cellared).

BCAs cellar the best...otherwise high ABV and/or extremely hoppy beers. the hops may mellow with time, but it will be a good thing. the longest i've actually gone so far is one year on cellaring...i'm hoping i can wait at least two more on the fullers, though :)

[newportstorm]

Give this a read: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/101/store.php

Plenty of reasons not to lay beer down. I stand all of mine upright and have never had a problem. The oldest I have in my cellar is some 1995 Thomas Hardy. Keep them out of the light - use old case boxes/wine boxes - label them so you know what's where and how long it's been there (some bottles have no vintages or dates on them) and keep them as cool as possible.

I have a cellar that stays fairly cool. Others have used a closet in the inner part of the house - not exposed to the outer walls and rapid temp. changes. Some people have talked about storing beer under their kitchen sink. However, I've noticed how hot it gets under there after I wash dishes and drain the hot water - your call.

Cellaring and your enjoyment of the beers you decide to age is purely experimental. Nobody can tell you exactly how long to age a beer and exactly when it is best to consume. Your tastebuds will tell you that, so buy at least two bottles of every beer you decide to cellar (if possible) and make note of the changes at different time intervals. Have fun.

Cheers!

[ray m]

I just cellar mine at room temp in my work area (laboratory) in the basement. I tried cellaring some of my homebrews before, but noticed after a year and a half, they started to get kind of blah.

[davesarman]

I have a basement that stays pretty cool and constant year round. Usually around 60 degrees, give or take no more than 5 degrees either way, depending on the time of year, and no more than a degree or 2 in a single day. I keep my beer out of any light at all by putting in a dark corner underneath the stairs and in closed beer cases. I have collected a few old wooden cases with the hinged tops and those work great. Otherwise I used regular cardboard cases and keep them closed. For the 22 oz or 750 ml bottles, I use cardboard wine cases. Your local liquor store should have no problem letting you have a few. I pretty much keep everything upright and haven't had any problems. Fret, you've seen my beer inventory that I keep in an Excel file, so you have an idea of how old some of them are. I think the oldest I have goes back to 1986. If the beer isn't vintage dated, I try to remember to put a little sticker on the bottom of the bottle with a date of when/where I acquired the beer. My biggest downfall is that I can never seem to bring myself to drink the LAST beer of a vintage I've been cellaring, therefore, my cellar inventory keeps growing, and growing...much to the consternation of my wife. Well, not really, she's pretty good about it. Every beer ages a bit differently, some good, some not so good. (I had a 1990 Lee's Harvest Ale last year that was stupendous and an Andeson Valley Winter Ale that was only one year old that was putrid.) You never quite know how it will turn out, but that's the fun of cellaring beer! As a general rule of thumb, the hops subside a bit and the complexity of flavors increase. A few months back I posted a vertical tasting I did of 4 vintages of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale. (It was either that or Bigfoot, I can't remember.) I thought that was a really excellent way to taste for yourself how beer changes over time. Vertical tastings are fun, especially if you can get a few people to do it with you. Anyway, that's my $0.02.

[chazwicke]

Mine are kept upright in my basement tucked away in the darkness. My oldest is from the 70s a commemorative brew from the UK. I have several from the 80s and more from the 90s.

[hopjack13]

i keep mine upright in a old fridge that never got cold enough, so i thought it'd be good for cellaring. it stays about 55 -58 degrees and keeps all light out. i read some where (probably ba) that it is a good idea to store beer at the temp you would drink it. anyways it's worked great over the years for me. i have the opposite problem as dave though. whats the point in cellaring if im not going to drink them? the longest i've cellard (been abel to hold out) a beer is four years, t'was a barly wine, and it was sublime!!!

[b3s]

what michael jackson (the beer hunter, not the child molester) has to say:

http://www.beerhunter.com/askmichael-200112.html

heh, wrong thread, but in a different thread the subject of microbrewers on AIM came up...now HERE is someone i'd like to see in a realbeer.com q&a session!

[wild]

I have a chest freezer that graduated from my fermenter to my cellar. All my beers are kept upright, out of the light and at 55°F. Still working on my patience.

Wild

[b3s]

Originally posted by wild
Still working on my patience.

that is the single biggest problem with cellaring!

[chazwicke]

Out of sight. Out of mind.


I know, I know.....I'm already out of my mind.

[b3s]

LOL chaz! heh, my cellar is a bunch of boxes that i trip over in my closet...so not quite out of sight...but i have resisted the temptation to peek inside for about a month :D

[chazwicke]

I have an unusual problem.....I have too much beer! My beer fridge is stuffed and I have several cases of beer sitting in cases. I keep buying new stuff. I don't drink vast quantities at one sitting ever. I don't even have one every night. Usually when I do I'll have one or two. Weekends at the beach are a slightly different story. I've had a lot of company down there so I go through a little more and I tend to buy sixers rather than singles when I'm down there. I would say I have 4 or 5 cases possibly more being cellared.

[fretlessman71]

So, what you're saying is that you need a few bottles of La Folie and you want to trade part of your cellar for them to make more room? I can dig that... :D

[davesarman]

I'm in the same boat as Chaz...my wife says I need to have an "inventory reduction sale". So yeah, I'll trade cellared beers for La Follie! (or something else worthwhile)

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
So, what you're saying is that you need a few bottles of La Folie and you want to trade part of your cellar for them to make more room? I can dig that... :D


Well It just so happens that I was at my paint store getting the Paulaner (1 hour off the truck) and I found six bottles of Gumballhead. I also have a very rare Old Dominion brew available. (see: http://www.realbeer.com/discussions/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4412 )

And I may be willing to trade something out of my cellar.