Cellaring Beer. Just Say No?

To each his own

 

It is my opinion that the overwhelming majority of beers, even cellarable styles, do not improve with age. I wholeheartedly agree cellaring is generally a waste of time, money and beer. There is value to learning through trial and error, I have been there. Stick with a small amount of proven beers if you are going to cellar beer. I would rather have a several cases of Expedition Stout and Third Coast Old Ale than a cellar full of a wide variety wait and see beers.

 

To say that cellaring is a waste of time and pointless is the same as saying that all RIS', barleywines, etc should always be cellared. Both statements are dumb on account of being too black and white.

I would wholeheartedly support the notion that cellaring beer is unnecessary. A beer should be ready to drink upon its release. If it's not, it's not a good beer. That being said, a beer will continue to develop, and depending on the style this could provide a different drinking experience that some will consider better. But if the beer is unsuitable to cellar, its 'developing' will be simply degradation.

 

Here's the thing, there are so many one off beers that a person may want to save for a special occasion I feel that a person needs to have an idea on how to preserve these beers. Sometimes aging the beer to see how it changes is the last reason to keep a cellar.

 

Yeah good point, I'd say at least half of my cellar is just beers I couldn't resist buying that I haven't had the chance to drink yet. I prioritize by the 'cellarability' of the beer, ie IPA's always get drank first and low ABV beers will generally get pulled out while the bigger stouts and ales will wait.

 

I "cellar" because I want to enjoy a particular beer later when it won't be available for purchase.

Or is that hoarding?

 

"Generally speaking, cellaring beer is a waste of time, money, and beer. There. We said it. Someone had to."

As someone with over five hundred beers in my cellar and years of cellaring under my belt, I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. In general, cellaring beer does little good. That said, certain styles and certain brewers have demonstrated that their offerings can benefit from time in a proper cellar. Lambics from the top producers, for example, change over time and can show remarkable development. Cellaring of many other beer styles, however, does little good (in my opinion). This concept isn't unique to the beer world. In the wine world, people don't bother cellaring certain styles for any extended periods of time (e.g., Pinot Grigio) while others evolve gracefully (e.g., Bordeaux, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, etc).

 

Buy doubles of everything, drink one and store one -- you're welcome. OK, don't store most of them. But the point is that unlike wine, I wouldn't buy anything I wouldn't want to drink right away. The lambics and a few others, I feel do get better, and they're all great brewery fresh. What a world...

 

I do the same damn thing. I need to become more of a beer drinker and less of a beer hoarder. I knew I had a problem when I noticed I had six bottles of parabola, two from the last three years and I had only had the beer on tap four years ago.

 

Quickly learning this too. Bummer, man.

 

Just read your post. I have IV and three years of parabola I would gladly trade away. Its just laying around collecting dust anyway.

 

Well Black Butte has a BEST AFTER date so hell yeah I am cellaring it. Even though it sits there in the basement begging me to drink it...

 

If you like oxidized attributes in your beer then cellar away. I always like to drink it how the brewer intended it to be- fresh. Certain bottles will KEEP well, but I typically dont find that they AGE well. Oxidized malt and hop aromas are inevitable and not my favorite. For me, cellaring can be a fruitless endeavour. Having said that, to each his own and if your taste buds dig those attributes then keep on rocking in the free world. I believe that beer is for drinking- not for looking at!

 

This debate has been going on forever. There are really two answers.

If you want to age stuff, & enjoy it, then age away. There are certainly beers that get better with age, & there are certainly those that fade, even quickly.

Second is don't trust over-generalizations. Those claiming that most beers should/should not be aged may have that experience with their own palate, but there are plenty of people who'll swear up-and-down on the other side of the fence.

If you have the money, space, & inclination, do it. If you don't have all three of these things, don't.

 

It absolutely makes no sense without a proper temperature controlled storage area. For a while I was one of those justifying my sub-par storage and going about oxidizing and cooking good beer. FWIW, when I do it now, it's in a dedicated secondary refrigerator at 52F.