Beer Fridge Advice

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by apatrick17, Apr 24, 2014.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. apatrick17

    apatrick17 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2011 Connecticut

    My condo doesn't have a basement, which makes it pretty hard to cellar beer. I've accumulated a bunch of bottles over the last few months and they've just been sitting in boxes in my living room, but now that the warm weather is coming I need to be able to control the temperatures.

    Ideally I'd like a beer fridge or wine humidor that allows me to store bottles upright. I'd also like one with a clear glass door, but I know excessive light is an issue. I think I remember reading about blackout tape somewhere, could anyone educate me on that? Does it completely defeat the purpose of having a glass door?

    I've been checking craigslist regularly over the past month but haven't come across anything that really fits my needs. I've also looked online at Home Depot/Lowes but still haven't seen anything I love.

    Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks in advance.
     
    #1 apatrick17, Apr 24, 2014
  2. tommyguz

    tommyguz Pooh-Bah (2,534) May 14, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    #2 tommyguz, Apr 24, 2014
  3. Mikexw

    Mikexw Pooh-Bah (2,314) Mar 3, 2014 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'm pretty happy with this one. http://www.lowes.com/pd_326324-47224-LFBC46F5LS_4294857985+4294965783__?productId=3262661 The shelves are adjustable, so right now I have bottles (including bombers) standing on the bottom, then bottles on the first shelf above it, and if you have anything you are willing to lay down there's a little bit of room on the other shelf up top (I took one shelf out) . I'm pretty sure that if you aren't worried about bombers, you could fill two shelves with bottles and the third shelf with cans.

    I've got about 50 bottles/cans in there now just using the two shelves, and could probably squeeze in another 10. FWIW, there is about a 5 degree swing between the colder and warmer parts of the fridge, which actually works kind of nicely if you want to separate your stouts from your IPA's.

    I bought this one after seeing it at Lowe's (and measuring shelf heights), I was reluctant to buy a fridge online without seeing exact dimensions.
     
    #3 Mikexw, Apr 24, 2014
  4. apatrick17

    apatrick17 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2011 Connecticut

    Thanks for the advice, much appreciated!
     
    #4 apatrick17, Apr 25, 2014
  5. HighWine

    HighWine Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 Illinois

    I bought a wine fridge and just took out the curved, horizontal aging racks so that I had one flat shelf in the middle. That allowed me to store both tall and short bottles on the shelf and bottom of the fridge. I probably had 55 bottles in it at one point. Careful,because I outgrew it and now have a stand up freezer with a temp controller!
     
    #5 HighWine, Apr 26, 2014
  6. hooliganlife

    hooliganlife Pooh-Bah (1,759) Apr 12, 2007 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah

    i bought a wine fridge on craigslist for $40, holds like 35 bottles. i also use a stand up freezer with temp controller. its nice but you need to watch humidity levels with those.
     
    #6 hooliganlife, Apr 26, 2014
  7. apatrick17

    apatrick17 Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2011 Connecticut

    I like the idea of buying a wine fridge and removing the curved shelves. Did you have to install the flat shelf in the middle, or was it already there?
     
    #7 apatrick17, Apr 26, 2014
  8. hooliganlife

    hooliganlife Pooh-Bah (1,759) Apr 12, 2007 Missouri
    Pooh-Bah

    some wine fridges have flat shelves. i got lucky.
     
    #8 hooliganlife, Apr 26, 2014
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.