Poll: Should i drink down my cellar?

I've found myself in the same dilemma. Also in a small apartment, have just a beer fridge as far as room goes. the back rows in the fridge are things aging. Obviously, the back rows are starting to take up a lot of space, leaving me with less space for when I get IPAs from a can release or something.

I have a roommate who likes beer, but nobody that really would appreciate the fact that i'm sharing a BA stout that i've been aging for 3 years. I say don't hesitate to drink some of them on your own, and for verticals, find a friend that will appreciate them, and have at it

 

Drink. I have found that it's cool to cellar but 9/10 beer isn't worth sitting on unless the brewer gives directions to. Many times I have had a cellared beer and thought damn this was better fresher. Plus the brewer normally sends it out how they want you to experience it. Beer is for drinking.

 

Great question. Not sure I have a definitive answer for you, but in regards to holding onto beers for special occasions and then never having the right moment: I say start cracking. Yes, of course you want to save some beers for special moments - I have one or two bottles I'm holding onto - but for the most part those special moments never really present themselves, or if they do, you pick-up a bottle of something else that seems more appropriate for the moment, etc. For me, just opening a rare bottle of something on a Friday night with a SO or a few friends is special enough, you know? You make it a special occasion by sharing an awesome beer with awesome people.

Doesn't really address what you're after with this thread, but I say for the most part start opening - especially to enjoy these beers before they peak and head south, which would really ruin opening them for a special occasion.

 

Most beers are better fresh. Many change with age and a few may improve but that window of improvement is not indefinite. I'd say drink them down over time, keep a few you'd like to see a difference in and do not keep them for a pretty cellar picture or just to impress friends.

 

Tried four imperial stouts at 3 years with friends this weekend. All were good but probably at our just past peak. Going to start drinking my cellar down more.

 

Can't say what you ought to do with your beers, but I can tell you what I would do. I always drink whatever I am in the mood for. Better to drink them rather than to sit on it for too long. Once it is aged and oxidized to the point of no return, you really have not many options left...

 

Rethink what you consider to be a special occasion and it could be a self-correcting problem. Yesterday in Delaware it was 80 and sunny with no afternoon family obligations/activities. I considered it a special occasion.

 

Agree with the consensus (thus far): start cracking.

Space isn't an issue for me, and my cellar is probably pretty modest by BA standards, but prefer to keep healthy rotation so most beer is consumed fresh. What historically was 70-100 aging bottles is now 30ish. Used to hold on to beers for special occasions, which led to crazy internal mobius strip arguments, over the degree of specialness for each occasion. Found it infinitely more enjoyable to find a couple of friends and start cracking/sharing.

Make a Tuesday night a special occasion.

 

I've done this recently due to economic reasons. While i did have fun, i now find myself with few beers and still in a cash crunch lol so up to you!

 

Drink it down, you can always rebuild the cellar but beer is meant for drinking.

 

What do you like aged?

I found myself in a similar situation 3-4 years back, where I'd built up a good-sized cellar without a lot of drinking. What I found was there are some beers I loved aged (Abyss, Central Waters BA Barleywine, Mother of All Storms, etc.) & some that I liked much more fresh (Expedition Stout, Backwoods Bastard, Eclipse stouts, etc.).

I've found that how people react to cellared beers is very personal. I know most people love Expy Stout aged - I found that it got fruity & weird & repulsive to my palate. My cellar is now mostly full of stuff I know that I'll love with age on it, with a smaller percentage (probably 20% or so) of things I'm experimenting with. I intend to keep that ratio constant for the foreseeable future.

So my advice: find out what agrees with your palate & age those beers. Drink everything else fresh.

 

I would start with the verticals you have. This will allow you to really determine why your aging, what flavors you intend the beers to develop, how long do these flavors take to develop.

In the last year or so I have done blind taste tests with many of the verticals I have been building over the years. In my case, I prefer American Wilds fresh or within 2 years and Stouts with 2-3. I'm still holding on to some lambic verticals as it sounds like very long term age can produce some great flavors.

 

only just started cellaring in a closet in my apartment recently but really just a place to store beers, till I drink them.
I think you should look at every Shabbos and YT(obviously not Pesach) as special occasion and drink em down
Lchaim

 

So what's consensus on how long is a beer considered aged? Drink within a year? 6 months?

 

Cull it down. Don't clean it out or anything rash but be selective and your beer expenditures will drop for a bit!