Beer Fridge

I used a wine fridge and had horrible look (you probably noticed the sub par reviews on Amazon). Went through two in about 3 years with the motor burning out. Ended up getting a mini fridge like you see in dorm rooms problem is you store them sideways and the longer you store them it seems like the more likely they are to foam over when you open them. I am going to bite the bullet and buy a regular fridge for my beer. Realize I did not answer your question but just letting you know what has not worked in the past for me.

 

Ok well I'm probably wrong because I'm a noob, but I have a friend who brews and he told me that if you refrigerate the beer that it pretty much kills the yeast and you don't really get much of an effect from aging.

 

True but I think if you lower temp to lowest setting it may be ok. My wine fridge is at 55. Not sure how low a fridge will go.

 

Yeah, that sounds like it would work. I've since checked a number of brewers websites and the consensus seems to be between 50 and 60 degrees fahrenheit. Just as log as you're not cranking them way down to like 40 or something.

 

ha, no.

beer is perishable. refrigeration is best. "Cellar" temperature usually means around 50-60 degrees.

I use a full-size refrigerator at 38 degrees to cellar my beer.

You can buy a temperature regulator for a full size refrigerator if you want to keep it closer to cellar temp.

 

Straight off dogfish head's website:
Beer won't spoil.
You might not prefer what age does to certain beers, but you don't have to worry about beer going bad.

"If someone grabs a bottle of Black & Blue off the shelf and it says 2009 on it, they shouldn't be afraid to open it," Ryan says. "There's no expiration date. It's just going to be different."

Rebecca agrees.

"It's not milk," she says. "It doesn't go bad on the shelf. It'll never make you sick. It might not be the flavor that you remember, but it might be a flavor that you like even more."

Now, I'm not saying you're wrong about being able to store at 38 degrees, but unless dogfish head is wrong then technically beer isn't "perishable."

If this isn't right though then educate me.

 

I just came across Sucaba. So excited! This is what is suggested by Firestone Walker.
-"Our Proprietor's Reserve Series, Barrel-aged beers are built to be aged carefully. Storing in a dark place at or below 40F will allow them to best age for several years."

 

I use refrigerators with external temperature control units set between 50 and 55 F., which is about perfect for cellaring temperature. Couldn't be happier!

 

I should also mention my method is pricey, but when you're a beer hoarder and vertical taster like me, you pay for quality storage conditions.

 

Is it true laying beer flat is a bad thing to do?

 

I would stand it up-right, there would be less exposure to air and any sediment would settle at the bottom of the bottle.

I recently set up an amazing beer cellaring fridge for under $300. I bought a used stand up freezer and converted it to a fridge using a Johnson Controls A419 thermostat. Keeps it a constant 53-55F. I just need to regulate the humidity now which shouldn't be very difficult.

 

It's not really the yeast that contributes to "aging", but rather the chemical reactions in the beer/wine itself. That's not to say that the yeast don't have an impact, but they aren't the main driver. Plus, most commercial beers are filtered anyway!

The effect is slowed down with low temperatures, but that's a good thing (usually) as it slows down oxidisation and other undesirable chemical reactions also.

 

Anyone have a problem with the external temp controller with the freezer? Does the constant shutting on and off of the freezer damage the appliance? It used to cut on for a few minutes every hour or so, but now it is running constantly, and the temp seems to be rising. I think the freezer has died, and before I get a new one, I was hoping it would not be a recurrent problem.

 

I'd like to hear some input on this. I'm picking up an upright freezer and controller this weekend and want to make sure the thing doesn't die on me in a year after constant cycling.

 

If you think about it, even though a normal fridge might be plugged in all the time, it's not running all that much as long as it's not in a high temp exterior environment, so I don't see how it'd be that much harder on it. If anything, it might extend the life of the appliance. Having said that, I'm not an expert and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. I've got a Johnson Controls temp control on a used fridge I bought and it seems to be working great so far.

My advice is if you have the space, don't go with the mini fridge. I tried that first myself, and then quickly outgrew it. For roughly the same price I bought a used fridge from a local appliance dealer that takes trade-ins and added the temp control. Now I've outgrown that and I'm sectioning off a room in my garage and creating a cold room with a coolbot & window unit.