Beginning to Cellar?

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Wiffler27, Aug 30, 2015.

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  1. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    at first i found craft beer overwhelming, it's still a lot to take in but after a year it's more manageable. i have a long way to go, i can't wait!

    currently i only have 2 bottles of Stone Enjoy After and 3 bottles of Dogfish Head 120 minute cellaring.

    i don't even know where to start, is there a quick intro to cellaring? what styles do you usually cellar?
    i assume stouts, porters, imperial stouts/porters, barrel aged, barley wine, etc.

    how long do you age them for? how many of each do you buy to age? any particular beers you recommend aging? especially ones I can buy in NJ/PA.

    any helpful tips would be appreciated, i'd like to start cellaring and having aged beers available to me.
    Cheers! thanks
     
    #1 Wiffler27, Aug 30, 2015
  2. Yargamo

    Yargamo Initiate (0) Jun 9, 2015 New York

    Drink don't cellar. Save money. Or cellar what you buy and don't enjoy and see what happens.

    I think beer is something to experience and enjoy and not learn....but that's just me
     
    #2 Yargamo, Aug 30, 2015
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  3. DaverCS

    DaverCS Savant (1,212) Dec 9, 2014 Arizona

    An entire section of BA is dedicated to this! I cellar a lot of beers. It is really fun to watch a favorite beer change over the years! Plus its fun to whip out a vintage bottle of beer at a party, assuming they will enjoy it as much as you do! Time is dependent on the style and even the beer itself. This link should help you get started:

    http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/forums/cellaring-aging-beer.41/
     
    #3 DaverCS, Aug 30, 2015
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  4. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Pooh-Bah (2,303) Sep 4, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    That's a fair point of view. Seems like the OP has decided they do want to learn and might consider cellaring, so what's the point of telling them not to?
     
    #4 Eriktheipaman, Aug 30, 2015
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  5. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    i like to learn about beer, drinking it is fun but learning more about beer is just as fun to me. saving money won't happen. i'll still buy beer regardless of if i'm cellaring or not.

    i like to experiment and i like variety
     
    #5 Wiffler27, Aug 30, 2015
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  6. halo3one

    halo3one Initiate (0) Jun 6, 2014 Georgia

    Save cellaring for lambics, old ales, and non adjunct stouts.
     
    #6 halo3one, Aug 31, 2015
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  7. JimBrody

    JimBrody Initiate (0) Apr 12, 2015 Maryland

    Keep an eye on this thread. Good luck!
     
    #7 JimBrody, Aug 31, 2015
  8. Borbly

    Borbly Initiate (0) Aug 5, 2014 Canada ()

    Many craft breweries actually have information on their websites on how to cellar certain beers, for example, this page from Unibroue: http://www.unibroue.com/en/beers/15/aging

    I'm currently aging some La Fin du Monde for 3 and 5 years from now respectively!! I will say however that I am quite new to it as well.
     
    #8 Borbly, Aug 31, 2015
  9. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I started cellaring, and it can be done at reasonable price.

    Recommend trying the beer fresh first, then if you like them go with repeat visits, age 'em 6-12mo. and try again. Or buy 2 and go 1 year and 2 years.

    Tip: Keep a sharpie in your cellar. If you can't find a brewed on date, use sharpie to note on the label the month/year you bought the beer. Better than relying on memory and easiest method I could think of.
     
    #9 bubseymour, Aug 31, 2015
    DaverCS, StartedwithSAM, Wiffler27 and 1 other person like this.
  10. Brolo75

    Brolo75 Grand Pooh-Bah (3,134) Aug 10, 2013 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm new to cellaring as well, the oldest beer I have in my cellar is three years old. I'm looking forward to trying some of my cellared beers pretty soon.

    My cellar has high ABV beers, imperial stouts, barley wines, and some sour beers. I've noticed that cellared beers tend to "mellow" out. I'm actually undecided as to whether continue cellaring beer.
     
    #10 Brolo75, Aug 31, 2015
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  11. Scott17Taylor

    Scott17Taylor Initiate (0) Oct 28, 2013 Iowa
    Trader

    Go over to the cellaring forum. Also buy the book vintage beer, it's about $4 on amazon and definitely worth the read if you want to get into aging beers. It's a fun hobby hope you enjoy it.
     
    #11 Scott17Taylor, Aug 31, 2015
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  12. Treyliff

    Treyliff Grand Pooh-Bah (5,025) Aug 10, 2010 West Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Sierra Nevada Bigfoot is cheap, easy to obtain & ages brilliantly.
     
    #12 Treyliff, Aug 31, 2015
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  13. GetTheYayo

    GetTheYayo Initiate (0) Aug 26, 2012 Pennsylvania

    The hardest thing about cellaring is having "cellar discipline." By that I mean, don't get drunk and then be like "I have a 'so-and-so beer' in my cardboard box cellar downstairs, fuck it i'm gonna drink it now." I've had many beers I intended to cellar that ended up being drank pre-maturely. If you can get past that, you can have a master cellar, and that's the truth.
     
    #13 GetTheYayo, Aug 31, 2015
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  14. Scott17Taylor

    Scott17Taylor Initiate (0) Oct 28, 2013 Iowa
    Trader

    I'd have to add narwhal to this list as well. I like to age anything that is in the $10 four pack range that way I can check up on a beer often without a big investment.
     
    #14 Scott17Taylor, Aug 31, 2015
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  15. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    One of the myth's of cellaring beer I believe is that if you don't like it fresh, you probably still won't like it with age. Age just does very subtle adjustments to the beer. Reduces hop bitterness a tad in an American Barleywine, makes alcohol burn smooth out in barrell aged stout, add a little more horseblanket funk to a wild ale. All subtle. Just keep that in mind as to whether its worthwhile or not to you.
     
    #15 bubseymour, Aug 31, 2015
  16. Yargamo

    Yargamo Initiate (0) Jun 9, 2015 New York

    reckless posting I guess.
     
    #16 Yargamo, Aug 31, 2015
  17. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Pooh-Bah (2,303) Sep 4, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Cheers to livin life on the edge :slight_smile:
     
    #17 Eriktheipaman, Sep 1, 2015
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  18. Eriktheipaman

    Eriktheipaman Pooh-Bah (2,303) Sep 4, 2010 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Lol that's the best part for me! I'm only like that when friends are over, but it happens more often than not.
     
    #18 Eriktheipaman, Sep 1, 2015
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  19. stakem

    stakem Grand Pooh-Bah (4,070) Feb 20, 2009 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I wish I could go back in time...say 6 or so years and have a talk with myself about cellaring beer.

    Some items we would discuss would be how amazing the following are with age:
    north coast old stock
    world wide stout
    lambic
    sammiclaus
    tomas hardy
    hotd adam
    fantome

    I would then strongly urge myself to give up the mentality of buying 2-3 of everything just to have some in the cellar. Having a variety is nice but its easy to get carried away.

    If your gonna start cellaring, give yourself some limits/boundaries and stick to it. For example, make a promise to yourself that you will not exceed XXX amount of bottles or shelf/closet/fridge space.

    Also, immediately start documenting what you have and keep it accurate with what goes in/out.
     
    #19 stakem, Sep 1, 2015
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  20. Wiffler27

    Wiffler27 Pooh-Bah (2,092) Aug 16, 2009 South Carolina
    Pooh-Bah

    i'm starting a spreadsheet with all the beers i have! each beer, brewery, abv, style, date of bottling/canning, date of purchase.

    all of a sudden i have a bunch of shit waiting to age.

    -3 12oz bottles Dogfish Head 120 minute
    -3 12oz bottles of North Coast Old Stock Ale 2015
    -2 12oz bottles of Weyerbacher TINY
    -1 22oz bottle of Stone Russian Imperial Stout (i've heard great things about this aged, my go-to store has cases of this available so i grab a bottle each visit)
    -4 12oz cans of Ten Fidy, with 2 different canning dates (september 2014 and november 2014)
    -2 12oz bottles of Left Hand Wake Up Dead Nitro
    -4 12oz cans of Sixpoint 4Beans
    -2 12oz bottles of Victory Storm King Stout
    -2 12oz bottles of North Coast Old Rasputin
    -1 12oz bottle of Great Lakes Alberta Clipper (waiting for blackout stout and nosferatu to come out)
    -2 22oz bottles of Stone Enjoy After 7/4/16 (gonna crack one in late August/2016 and one in late 2016)

    i've heard good things about some of these and i haven't heard anything about some of these. 4Beans won't be a long age, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Eve of this year. i'll save at least 1 for an extended period. Alberta Clipper is pure experiment, it has raspberry and chocolate in it i think, so that's curiosity. i also used electrical tape to "seal" the caps, in case that could help. i also bought a 2.6 cubic foot mini fridge at work for $50, gotta love employee discount!! i have a taylor thermostat coming in the mail tomorrow because i wanna check my basement temp.

    if my basement temp is too warm i'm using 1 fridge at around 52 degrees to "cellar" what i have. the thought of having beer aging and waiting for me is too exciting, i'm a beer nerd. especially with winter coming, the thought of having a fridge full of stouts is just great.
     
    #20 Wiffler27, Sep 2, 2015
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