Cellaring in an apartment?

That's too warm. IMO, I'd rather keep them in the fridge over time rather than a dark closet.

 

It is a huge beer, especially this year. How long do you plan on aging it for? My opinion is you could get 2 years or so without much negative change at those temperatures. Other beers may react differently though.

 

you can find cheap wine "chillers" I would dig through Craigslist to see what you can find.

 

You will be fine for a year or two. I wouldn't reccomend cellaring rare/expensive beers in that condition, but a four pack of BCBS will be fine. It's very tasty right now, you may have trouble with keeping it in the cellar !

 

I 'store' my beer in the bottom cabinet in the kitchen of my 1bdr. The temperature usually varies from 60-70 here.

If you have the money and the space to get a mini fridge, then thats probably the best option. If not (and you are worried about optimal conditions), then leave them there. 70 won't absolutely destroy the beer, but I wouldn't suggest any long-term aging at that temp. I usually plan on storing the chosen beers for 1 year, maybe 2 max.

 

You should be fine at that temp. Your best bet is to keep them in the dark, as cool as possible. You want to reduce temperature swings as much as possible, so insulating the packs in a cheap cooler would help.

Put them in the back of a closet, or a deep cupboard that doesn't get opened. Closer to the ground is better. And don't expect miracles.

 

I live in an apartment and my closet stays between 65 and 78. Yeah its warm and it seems to have a negative effect on some beers (like my Vertical Epics) but stouts seem to do alright. My 2011 Bitches Brew wasn't very good, but I think that was oxidation. Some other stouts and heavy brews have come out great. I had a Palo Santo for just under 2 years and it was fantastic. I'm planning on keeping a handful of stouts for my 30th bday in 2015 so I'm going to wax dip them and coming up around 2 years I'll probably transfer them to my fridge to be safe. It won't age the same but its better than it going bad. Just keep it as cool and dark as you possibly can. Keep in contact with me please if you decide to do this. I'd like to see how yours go compared to mine.

EDIT: I aim to keep most of my beers 1-2 years maximum. There's just a handful to go past that, but they are high ABV so hopefully that'll help.

 

Here are some options from most expensive to least expensive:

1. Buy a wine fridge.
2. Buy a small chest freezer off of craigslist and put a Johnson temp controller in it.
3. Store the beer in your normal fridge and just keep it longer.

Don't leave the beer in an environment above 55 degrees or you'll ruin them.

 

people in this forum overstate the harmful effects of >55F storage. my beer has survived a summer of up to 75F quite fine.

that being said, i'd like a little cellar/wine fridge if there are any that store bottles vertically to keep the rarest or most sensitive beers closer to 55. i haven't found one yet.

 

I definitely think the small fridge is the way to go, but I have been cellaring at the same temperature (65 to 70) for about the last 3 years and haven't noticed anything negative. Then again, I don't do all the verticals, etc... I have heard that as long as the temperature is constant, the beer should be fine, but it will speed up the aging process. I have no proof that this is true, however. I did crack a three year old Ommegang Abbey Ale out of the cellar last night and it was tasting like a decadent Rochefort 8.

 

Honestly, I think people far over-exaggerate the effects of closet aging. I've been aging beers for ~3 years now solely in dark closets that stay between 60-70 and have had good experiences so far. The only times I've had bad aged beers were when the bottles were already 4+ months old when I bought them, so they had been sitting on shelves for too long. If I were going to age something for 3-4+ years, I'd invest in more of a proper cellar, but I've yet to encounter a beer that's both better with that much age and worth hanging onto for that long.

 

Great question, since I too live in an apartment, and some very good ideas in the responses. I was hoping to be able to store some "shelf" bottles, Allagash Odyssey BA ale, etc. in a tall cooler I have with a pair of rotating Micro-ban ice-paks in the closet.

 

From experience: I lived in an apartment that was a duplex. I stored a bunch of beers in a dark hutch. Two years later, I moved into a house (complete with it's own basement!), transferred the bottles. There was not one beer negatively affected by the conditions. Of course, we some beers better candidates for aging? Sure. Were they all great? No. But I would apply the logic that conditions were poor and that led to any adverse effects.

 

I am cellaring under the same conditions as the OP. I have 3 storage locations, including the floors of 2 closets and under my bed. My apartment stays around the same temperature, say 65-70, and I have not yet had an issue with a cellared beer. I have some '13 BCBS and BCBBW that have been cellaring for almost 1.5 years. I put a BCBBW in my fridge last night for consumption later today, so I'll let you know how it is. I recently had a Pt5, which I cellared for over a year, and it was just magic.

 

I can vouch for closet aging. I started with a Chimay blue in a closet that probably stayed around 65, it was fantastic at two years. I currently have my "cellar" in our pantry, and just cracked a few that were 1-2 years old and they aged as expected, which was well.

 

Awesome thread OP, I'm in the same boat and was wondering what the negative aspects of this were. Looks like I'm good to go until I save up for that chest freezer!

 

I have two coolers in the back of my closet covered with blankets. That was told to me, to be sufficient enough. Time will tell as i just started cellaring in March

 

What's the temp and who told you that?