Starting a cellar...

Well any beer with which abv is ok for the cellar. Typical above 8% or so minimum. IPA's and fruit beers don't generally cellar well. Barrel aged do well in the cellar. So strong ales, BA stouts and porter as well as most beers with brett or sours age well also . Just make sure there is little to no light in your cellar as well as a steady temp preferably around 55-60 degrees. Enjoy and have fun!!

 

Any of the goose BCBS variants or regular. Black Tuesday, Choco rain, dark lords, black note, cantillons, etc.

 

Expedition Stout -.just go buy a case

 

Kurt, I'm going to disagree with you slightly, my man. Just because beers have a high ABV, or just because they have bacteria doesn't necessarily mean that they age well. OP, if you're simply looking for the beer to change, you can age just about anything, and it will change with time. If you're looking for improvements with time, there really are few beers that will stand-up to 5+ years in the proper cellar (and that's a whole other can of worms).

OP, as you read more on BA, you'll find that many people agree - there are few beers that actually improve with age. Some of the most-popular candidates for aging that actually turn out nice are:

-Sierra Nevada Bigfoot (an easy one to start a veritcal of)
-Bell's Expedition Stout (an easy one to start a vertical of)
-Bourbon County Stout (an easy one to start a vertical of) - although generally speaking, this one typically peaks around 4-5 years of age. It's really not meant to be a 20-year beer. How will it be in 20 years? You can certainly find out!

As for sour beers, there's a misconception that anything wild/sour will improve with time. Would I age a Brux for 20 years? No. Would I age any fruited sour beer? No, because the fruit will fade and typically that's the aspect that is showcased in the beer. However, lambics are one of the few styles of beer that can be aged successfully for decades. Maybe set-up a trade for some Cantillon gueuze. The Chicago area recently saw distro of a bunch of 3F gueuze - that would be a fantastic beer to buy a few of for long-term aging. If you're looking for a shelf lambic, take a look at Tilquin or Cuvee Rene. Both are great lambics, and should stand-up to some age.

A few obvious "no's" when it comes to cellaring:

IPAs and pale ales - NO!
Most holiday/spiced beers - NO!
Anything fruited - NO! (unless you're cool with the fruit fading away)

Finally, like Kurt said, you want to keep your beers out of UV light. Cool temps around 50-60 degrees is ideal. Cooler and consistent is good. Don't age corked beers on their sides (there's a lot of debate around this one). And one thing I'd highly suggest: don't cellar a beer you've never tried fresh. Because if you don't have anything to base the aging results on, what's the point? And remember, 99% of beer is meant to be enjoyed fresh. That's something you'll discover on your own with time.

Have fun, OP!

 

Don't start a cellar, I implore you...especially if you buy way more than you drink. Mine is out of hand and needs to be cut down. I'm working on a plan for that, hand-in-hand with a local craft beer restaurant/bar, that does craft bottle shares - and $ raised will be going to charity. Score for everyone!

 

An easy and cheap vertical to start that has not been mentioned yet would be Stone's IRS.

 

Go grab a Rochefort 10 or a Chimay Blue. Easy.

 

One thing I would suggest is not aging something you only have 1 bottle of. That is a waste because you can't experience how it develops. You also won't be able to enjoy it at all if something goes wrong (maybe your cellar is too warm, or the beer was infected, or the beer just didn't age well, etc.). Cellaring is not an exact science and not guaranteed to produce great results every time. It is best to age only if you have multiples.

You don't need anything too crazy to start aging and enjoying. Here are some easy to get off the shelf beers that, in my experience, age well. The first group are in packs so you will get multiple to drink one fresh then age the rest and drink occasionally over a few years. The second group are sold as singles and a bit pricey around $10 for a 12oz, but they can all hold up for extremely long aging. Which of course makes for really big verticals.

Rochefort 10
St. Bernardus 12
Expedition Stout
Old Rasputin
TEN Fidy
Bigfoot
Old Stock Ale
Hibernation Ale

World Wide Stout
120 Minute IPA
Olde School Barleywine
Mephistopheles Stout

Also, based on your location I am assuming you have easier access to Bourbon County than I do. Those also age very well.