Better choice for non ideal aging condidtions

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by loki993, Jun 27, 2012.

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  1. loki993

    loki993 Initiate (0) Apr 16, 2009 Michigan

    Ok so I don't really have the money to get a wine cooler or an old fridge. So I basically have a choice between 2 non ideal conditions. 1 age them in my fridge at probably mid 40s or so or in my closet. I dont run the AC in my house and in the summer the house can get into the upper 70s, but id say average is around 72-74. Whats the lesser of the 2 evils? I dont want the beer to go bad what I have in there right now are 2 jolly pumpkins and in the fridge I have 2 KBSs.
     
  2. PGHbeer77

    PGHbeer77 Initiate (0) Jan 16, 2012 Pennsylvania

    If all you have are those four bottles, find a friend you trust with adequate cellaring means to store them for you.
     
  3. NickMunford

    NickMunford Pooh-Bah (2,094) Oct 2, 2006 Wyoming
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd say the lesser of two evils is the fridge. That will slow down the aging process. Leaving them in you closet will speed it up when it's that warm. If you have any corked beers, the fridge will dry the corks out. The best option here is to drink your beers and enjoy them fresh when you know they're good. Save the cellaring until you have a proper set up.
     
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  4. loki993

    loki993 Initiate (0) Apr 16, 2009 Michigan

    How about keeping them in the fridge until I can get say an old fridge or something? Going from colder to cellar temp wont hurt it would it?
     
  5. NickMunford

    NickMunford Pooh-Bah (2,094) Oct 2, 2006 Wyoming
    Pooh-Bah

    It shouldn't hurt. Just like I said, if you have corked beers, a regular fridge's job is to keep things dry and cold, so it will dry the corks out over time. If you are able to get a wine cooler, those will help with humidity. But not an issue for non-corked beers.
     
  6. yinzer

    yinzer Initiate (0) Nov 24, 2006 Pennsylvania

    You could get a temp controller. Drill a small hole in the fridge, put the probe in something that buffers the temp. You don't want it cycling no/off every five minutes.

    But you also have to do the math with respect to how many bottles it will hold, how long you want to keep them and how many you can drink in a year. Basically the longer that you want to keep them the less you'll be able to drink in a year. It can get to a point of diminishing returns where it sucks up resources with little reward.

    hope this helps.
     
  7. loki993

    loki993 Initiate (0) Apr 16, 2009 Michigan

    Yeah, None of them are corked.

    I cant do that because its my main fridge. If I get an old one I could though. So even if I were to get an older fridge there wouldn't be a way I couldn't just set it high and get cellar temp?
     
  8. starkmarvelo

    starkmarvelo Initiate (0) Jan 20, 2010 Texas

    You might want to consider turning the light off in your fridge. I don't really know if it can get light struck by being exposed to light a few minutes at a time but I turned the light off in mine just in case.

    Man, the Science Fair projects I could have done in High School if I knew then what I know now.
     
  9. knightlypint

    knightlypint Initiate (0) Apr 18, 2012 New Jersey

    Thanks for mentioning the cold drying out the corks, that explains a disaster I experienced years ago, KP.
     
  10. omnigrits

    omnigrits Initiate (0) Jun 1, 2006 Texas

    I've been ageing beers in similar conditions to yours for close to four years now. In the summer I leave the a/c running while I'm at work during the day but I can't afford the kind of bills I'd get if I set the thermostat to 70° so I turn it up a little. I don't keep anything for more than two years, and then only the hardiest of brews such Russian Imperial Stouts, barley wines, old ales, geuze. Everything else is consumed within 12 - 18 months. I haven't had any regrettable disasters yet, and you'll also find that cellaring them at room temperature will give a slightly drier result as the residual yeasts in the bottle, which wouldn't be so active at 55°, gobble up a bit more sugar.

    My goal is a cellaring fridge with temp controller, but the postage stamp of an apartment I live in is making that difficult for the time being.

    Edit: Most of my cellared beers are in a pantry on a north-facing wall, but there's been considerable overspill in the past six months or so and there are several bottles on the kitchen floor these days, in a dark corner.
     
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