Whenever I see beer cave I always get excited until I walk in. Then I realize it’s packed full of macro 12, 24 and 30 pks. With a small shelf of super old IPAs.
The two closest beer stores to me both have the walk in fridges, and they call them “beer caves.”One has a lot of unique Sierra Nevada beers, but they seem to be old by the time they hit the shelf, One also has a huge selection of barrel aged beers that they store outside of the fridge. The store had no HVAC system of any sort, I went in there on a 100 degree day and it felt hotter in the store than outside. I asked the guy why they didn’t keep their most expensive product cold. He told me that “it will totally screw up a beer if you take it from hot to cold. I think he actually believed that, but I’m pretty sure they do that to prevent theft.
The beer caves in the grocery stores around here are where you'll find the macros (except when the distributors set up their stupid Super Bowl displays in the middle of the store). Some stores keep their imports, meads, ciders, and seltzers in them. Gas stations keep everything in their beer caves. About the only place I can think of with an unrefrigerated "beer cave" is John's Grocery in Iowa City. It's a big room in the back with shelves full of of stuff from all over the world. It's the sort of place where you could browse for hours without freezing your ass off. One word: RoadTrip.
Saint Paul, MN has the Wabasha Caves. Lots of history. Gangster hideout, a speakeasy, etc. It's been an event host for ages and I've played music in it going back to the 1990s. I'm sure at one point there was a lot of beer in it. https://www.wabashacaves.com/
Quite a few placed here have walk-in coolers. It's usually a good sign that the store will have an above-average selection. I'd say about 20% of the time you'll get in there and see something pretty good that you didn't see in the front-facing coolers
For 'real' caves (and it's been a while since I've heard/read anything about it so I don't know if this still happens), Founders does/did store their filled barrels for their BA beers in a former salt cave somewhere down under the Grand Rapids area.
In the past, Ommegang cave aged Hennepin beers: “Ommegang Tourism is also the major attraction of the Howe Caverns in upstate New York, where the Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown has been aging a portion of its brews for the past two years. According to Ommegang’s co-owner Don Feinberg, the idea for the project came from a small amount of the brewery’s bottle-conditioned Hennepin beer that was stored in a deep cellar on the grounds of the Farmer’s Museum in Cooperstown. The beer remained there from the spring of 1999 until the museum’s harvest festival in September. Feinberg and Ommegang brewer Randy Thiel were so pleased with the way the beer had aged that they began looking for a way to duplicate the experiment on a larger scale. They found an ideal location at Howe Caverns, a group of limestone caves in nearby Schoharie County. In February 2000, 280 cases of Hennepin (the brewery’s farmhouse or saison-style beer) were lowered 40 meters (156 feet) into the caves. The beer was released as the brewery’s Christmas beer nine months later. Feinberg believes that the cave atmosphere, similar to the caves of Champagne in France, is ideal for aging bottle-conditioned beers. “There’s a noticeable difference to the Cave Hennepin compared to the same bottled beer stored at 65 or 70 degrees,” he claims. “It’s less orangey-fruity and much drier.” Feinberg thinks that the beer normally goes through three stages of development in the bottle: a very fruity phase for the first six months, a “dormant” phase from six to 12 months, and a mature flavor stage from about 18 months onward. He believes that cave-aging Hennepin extends this process and the life of the beer. It should be mentioned that Feinberg and his wife, Wendy Littlefield, who have had a long career as Belgian beer importers Vanberg & DeWulf, are well aware of the marketing potential of their cave-aging experiments. Howe Caverns, with some 13 million visitors annually, is the second most visited natural attraction in New York state after Niagara Falls. According to Feinberg, the original batch of Cave Hennepin was placed in a highly visible location “right off the elevator” at the entrance to the caves. The second “vintage” of cave beer―300 cases of Hennepin and 180 of Ommegang (their eponymous abbey-style ale)―has been moved to another spot in what Feinberg describes as a “cul de sac.” While the Hennepin was again released for Christmas in 2001, the Ommegang will be kept an additional year in the caves. Howe Caverns have been something of a gold mine for the brewery. Cave Hennepin emerged in 2000 to rave reviews. The beer earned a Platinum Medal and a score of 96 points from the Beverage Testing Institute in Chicago. Ommegang brewer Randy Thiel thinks the cave is a definite improvement on cold room cellaring for the beer. “The cave is a more stable environment, with little or no fluctuation in temperature, light and humidity,” he says. Since Ommegang’s brews are all corked in the Belgian tradition, the humid atmosphere of the caves also keeps the corks from drying out and letting too much air into the bottles.” https://allaboutbeer.com/article/clan-of-the-cave-beer/ Cheers!
Hands down, the best beer cave, (large walk in cooler) I have visited is John's Grocery in Iowa City. There is so much quality beer to look at that you have to step out once or twice to warm up! I found a unique smoked/sour German beer, I which I assume was a bit unusual, since I've never seen it before or after, (I did save the bottle tho). If you're in the area, John's is well worth the stop! www.johnsgrocery.com
Seed to Table(upscale grocery store) in Naples, FL., has the best BEER CAVE i've ever been too. Great selection.. Schilling, Bottle Logic, Other Half, etc. Talked beer with the beer guy working that day and he shared/cracked open a new hazy(Other Half) and westie(Mikerphone x North Park) they had just gotten in.. all took place inside the beer cave!
People can argue which beer cave is best or even what a beer cave (dug cellar, true natural cave, walk-in cooler) is but this was the worst cave beer.
Like others’ experiences above, it’s rare that the beer caves I’ve seen have anything special not merchandised in the front doors (except bulk packs of macro lager). Won’t stop me from checking every time, though.
Feels like the "beer caves" here are where you go to find the big boxes of macros. Commonly associated with gas stations and the like, but big bottle shops may have them too. I don't even bother looking - there's nothing much to see. Although I have been to a place that had their entire (not large, but decent) selection in a walk-in.
