Cellaring Beer. Just Say No?

I think this is the most valuable statement to make when it comes to cellaring beer. Particularly with non-barrel-aged styles, where one can find how the original beer style itself can change over time.

 

We don't age Firestone Walker anymore. I think in every instance, it was better fresh.

As for the general debate, while our cellar started with lots of cool rare beers, as our experimentation progresses, we're focusing more on best bang for the cellaring buck (i.e., Speedway Stout, Rochefort, Black Chocolate Stout, etc.).

 

I cellar when I buy something, try it, don't enjoy, hoping some time will fix it. Other times it sits because I can't seem to find a day when I want to consume 22'ounces of robust stout.

 

A beer in a cellar can't "get" infected, but if it's already infected, time & warmer temps will bring out the bugs & it'll get funkier (worse, in my book) with age.

Some of the older FW Anniversary beers aged well for a couple years, but the last two have been much more ready to drink (IMHO) right away, especially the XVI, no reason to age that beauty! Parabola is the only Firestone beer that maintains & might even improve with age (again IMHO).

 

I don't think we've done enough cellaring to have much of an informed opinion about that, but we haven't had much of a problem with it. The only thing I can think of off the top of my head was a particularly unpleasant 1 year old Daniel Boone.

I'm sure there are tons of opinions on this one. I think the broadest definition of cellaring is 'aging with the purpose of aging.' A lot of the participants on the cellaring forums don't have a proper temp-controlled cellar (we have a non-temp-controlled cellar, for example), but I think that generally works just fine. Generally one year is a good cellaring goal post, but for sure beers will age and change in meaningful ways in less time than that.

I agree with you that it's risky to plan on aging everything for a long time (i.e. several years or more).

 

"Improving" is subjective.

 

Some previous thoughts from me on cellaring terminology/timelines: http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/do-people-save-store-beer-like-wine.109990/#post-1622033

I think a point that gets lost in these discussions is that palate variation is real, and if anything the particular flavors that develop in longer-term beer aging are extremely polarizing. I've had bottles that some at the table couldn't get enough of and some couldn't even finish due to oxidative flavors. I know a guy who genuinely prefers Pliny with 6 months on it. The soy sauce flavor that develops in aged dark beer is so appealing to me that I get thirsty for beer when I smell a bottle of actual soy sauce!

 

To me it isn't cellaring unless we are talking 2+ years at a bare minimum. Anything less is just waiting to drink it when you get around to it/holding it for a "special" occasion.

Just my own opinion.

 

Cellared beers aren't always bad. Some beer is designed to be aged. I brewed a batch of Old Stoners Barley Wine four years ago that is just starting to come into its own. I expect it will keep improving into a gem the original taste could not have predicted. It is hard to know with commercial varieties which are the ones that will do better. It also is hard to know, without cellaring your own beers, if you will like a beer with age that others think is marvelous. All these are reasons to cellar with a bit of care IMHO, and this was expressed in the mag article as well.

 

There is no holy grail of cellaring. I've put a fresh Parabola at 4.25-4.5, whereas one that has aged about 6-12 months at refrigerator temp would easily go north of 4.5. That said, I much preferred their DDBA fresher than aged. With Sucaba, I think its sweet spot was around 3-6 months of age. The FW 14 was sublime at 1 year of age, and at 2 years, it was still one of the best strong ales I've ever had, although it would rank a touch below the 1 year old one. I'm having a 2011 Deschutes Abyss as I'm typing this, and I honestly think it's drinking fantastic. I've also enjoyed it super fresh, and I thought it was less than stellar at 12-18 months of age. Their Black Butte XXIII and XXIV I thought were ok fresh, but at 12 months I really think they came into their own. Cellaring has as much to do with a beer's development as does one's own palate. So, to sum it all up - it depends. At any rate, if I were a betting man, I'd say your FW beers are still good, so drink up!

 

What happens when cellaring "too cold"? Is this just refrigerating for a long time. As in below 45. Thats how we control bad bugs in food so does it mess up the process for aging beer?

 

sometimes there's not enough room in the fridge for IPAs AND sours AND stouts AND all the other beers I enjoy. Soooo, out of necessity, I have to put the beer I won't be drinking tonight or tomorrow somewhere. and what better place to store beer for future consumption than in my basement in an old cedar trunk!

 

I'm not sure anyone said once a beer came out it wasn't mean to be consumed immediately. Same goes with wine. Just some aspects of beers, such as alcohol harshness and sour notes, can mellow to create more of a pleasant tasting experience overall. Your best bet to know if cellaring it worth your time is to buy a 4/6 pack or 2. Drink one beer fresh, then age and try a bottle in 6 month increments to see if you can tell cellaring's done anything. By all means do what you want mate! Just my 2 cents!
I'm gonna get my cellar going in the the next few weeks to a month! I only have 3 2013 Sierra Nevada Bigfoots (bought in March). Thought fresh was nice, and then thought in September the next bottle was far more soft and drinkable on the palate.

 

That's what I do - if it's sold in singles, 3 is my magic number most of the time, or 4-6 if it's one I am especially excited about!

 

On two separate occasions ive done a 5 year vert of a 10% plus ABV stout. Both times I had the oldest bottles as my top two selections.

It's all subjective, but i believe some merit. It's alot of fun also to pull out old beers to see what time has done. Adds a little juice to a tasting if you bring out 3 bottles from 2010.

 

My $0.02: Cellaring mellows certain flavors/aspects. So if a beer is too "hot" (alcohol-forward) or has too sharp a coffee or hop taste for your palette, then cellaring will presumably improve the beer (for you).