Cellar Suggestions/Thoughts

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by HartsyThaiFood, Feb 10, 2014.

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  1. HartsyThaiFood

    HartsyThaiFood Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2013 Illinois

    Hey there -

    I'm sure this has been talked about ad nauseam around here, but I'm finally building a decent collection of beers that I'd love to cellar and was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations for someone who is on a budget and doesn't have the most space.

    Ideally I'd love to have around 16-24 bottles stashed away (for now) and not sitting on our back stairwell, as they are now. So just wondered if you guys had any good recommendations for a total newbie.
     
    #1 HartsyThaiFood, Feb 10, 2014
  2. sblanton83

    sblanton83 Initiate (0) May 29, 2013 Michigan

    If you are planning to keep them for more than a year, I would say try to find a spot in your house that is dark, away from all sunlight, and the closest to 55-60 as possible. Usually a basement closet or a closet in the middle of your house would work. If you have a budget, you could pick up a small fridge or chest freezer on clearance or from Craigslist and buy a temp controller to keep the temps wherever you want them. I recently got a 12.1 cu ft freezer and a temp controller for under 200$ total. Before I got my freezer, I just kept them around 65 degrees in my basement closet and everything was fine. As long as you don't have many wild temp fluctuations you should be good.

    What bottles do you have so far?
     
    #2 sblanton83, Feb 10, 2014
  3. HartsyThaiFood

    HartsyThaiFood Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2013 Illinois

    Yeah right now the bottles I have are sitting on our back walkway leading to our basement. It's an add-on to our apartment, so it's not well insulated and is quite chilly out there, especially considering the winter we've had in Chicago. My goal is to buy something moderately affordable so I can store everything at an okay temp year-round.

    As for what I've got now, not a really impressive selection, but at least a starting point with....

    • 2012 BCBS
    • 2013 BCBS
    • 2013 BCBS Barleywine
    • 2013 BCBS Coffee
    • 2013 BCBS Backyard Rye
    • 2013 BCBS Proprietors (probably going to drink that rather than cellar it)
    • 2013 Half Acre Big Hugs
    • Revolution Very Mad Cow
    • Revolution 4th Year (just got it over the weekend)
    • Pipeworks Hey Careful Man, There's a Beverage Here
    So not a really overwhelming haul so far, but it's something I want to keep building and adding to over time.
     
    #3 HartsyThaiFood, Feb 10, 2014
  4. sblanton83

    sblanton83 Initiate (0) May 29, 2013 Michigan

    That's an impressive list there to get started! I would drink the BCBCS as well. IMO it's best fresh. Seems like the coffee fades over time.
     
    #4 sblanton83, Feb 10, 2014
  5. HartsyThaiFood

    HartsyThaiFood Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2013 Illinois

    Thanks! It feels like a pretty okay start to a collection. Really looking forward to obsessing and building on it.

    Certainly am open to any low to moderate priced suggestions for cellars that would be a good jumping off point. I see some of the photos posted around this forum and it makes me envious and admittedly a little excited about the day I have the space to build something or at least have a bigger cellar space.
     
    #5 HartsyThaiFood, Feb 10, 2014
  6. Davl22

    Davl22 Maven (1,341) Sep 27, 2011 New Hampshire
    Trader

    Definitely drink the Big Hugs soon, had one a few weeks ago and was great but the coffee fades pretty quick.
     
    #6 Davl22, Feb 11, 2014
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  7. Treyliff

    Treyliff Grand Pooh-Bah (5,025) Aug 10, 2010 West Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    With Bigfoot just being released, I'd suggest throwing a couple of 4 packs away for a while and have one every 6 months or so. It's one of the best values for cellaring and easiest to get, I prefer aged Bigfoot over fresh any day.
     
    #7 Treyliff, Feb 11, 2014
    offthelevel_bytheplumb and HartsyThaiFood like this.
  8. JasonLovesBeer

    JasonLovesBeer Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2013 Canada (BC)

    I'm a big fan of the small wine coolers, as they keep things at a very constant and ideal temperature and they look pretty boss. $150-200 will get you a nice looking one that holds 24 or so bottles. You can buy them with shelves instead of racks if you want to keep them upright, or you can defy the internet and keep them on their side, which in the real world is a totally okay thing to do.
     
    #8 JasonLovesBeer, Feb 11, 2014
    HartsyThaiFood likes this.
  9. HartsyThaiFood

    HartsyThaiFood Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2013 Illinois

    Awesome...thanks for the tip. I had always assumed keeping bottles on their side wouldn't make much of a difference, so that's good to know. Ideally I'd love to keep things standing upright just for my own OCD reasons (more for display than anything...I just love the way bottles look).

    I'll have to do some research as to what is out there at that price that seems like a fair deal. I have to imagine looking around Amazon will yield some solid results.
     
    #9 HartsyThaiFood, Feb 11, 2014
  10. offthelevel_bytheplumb

    offthelevel_bytheplumb Maven (1,277) Aug 19, 2013 Illinois

    I'd highly recommend getting Bell's Expedition or Third Coast Old Ale in the cellar. I have at least a six pack of both of them in the cellar at all times.
     
    #10 offthelevel_bytheplumb, Feb 15, 2014
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