Aging/Cellar Temp and Firestone Walker

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Bartos, Feb 25, 2014.

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  1. Bartos

    Bartos Initiate (0) Mar 8, 2013 Florida

    When I was looking to set up my "cellar" (converted freezer with temperature controller since I live in FL) I checked the forums here and saw that most people recommended a "cellar" temperature of between 45-55 degrees depending on the beer. The consensus was that a standard fridge, set to the temperature to prevent food from spoiling, would be too cold for aging beer. At that temperature, you're just storing the beer.

    However, just yesterday I received some Firestone Walker Sucaba and Seventeen in a trade and when looking over the bottles I noticed the brewers notes on the back included recommendation on aging the beer: "Our Proprietor's Reserve Series, Barrel-aged beers are built to aged carefully. Storing in a dark place at or below 40F will allow them to best age for several years."

    This seems to be counter to everything that I've read here. It seems that Firestone Walker is recommending storing their beers a temperature similar to most household refrigerators. So, I guess the question is...did I just waste my money on buying a temperature controller when I could have been getting similar results by just my garage fridge?
     
    #1 Bartos, Feb 25, 2014
  2. crowellbw

    crowellbw Initiate (0) Dec 1, 2010 Washington

    The garage fridge will probably fluctuate temperatures a bit due to the compressor turning on and off, which is really what you want to reduce in aging. The absolute temperature is of lesser importance, but I bet FSW doesn't want to hear complaining when someone ages a beer at too high a temp and ruins it. If I was keeping a temperature controlled cellar, I would put it at 45-47.
     
    #2 crowellbw, Feb 25, 2014
    Jesus_Drank_Wine likes this.
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