Cork Question

I follow Russian Rivers recommendation for corked bottles and keep them upright.

 

you'll get both answers and you'll get them from many different reasons. I age upright for 2 reasons. Less surface area for oxidation reactions, I don't care about the damn cork, the beer doesn't need to move in and out of the cork like it can in wine. after aging, the only point of the cork is to be removed. That said, I've never had an upright corked bottle dry out, and I've ages them for up to 3 years like that. but ymmv

 

Its a bit of a catch 22 this one. Cork closed bottles should always be stored flat on their side during extended aging as they limit the amount oxygen exposure (thererby greatly reducing the chances of oxidation) while at the same time keeping the cork moist, healthy, flexible and appropriately sealed. The problem comes inevitably with the yeast sediment which usually accompanies beer for long aging. The solution would be to lie your cork closed bottle on its side for the duration of ther cellaring and then stand it up for about a week before you want to drink it. Should work a treat.

 

I agree with this philosophy 100%. I've had 3-4 year old RR sours that taste just fine, and I've stored them on their side the whole time, no off flavors. I will say that I have noticed a difference when it comes to cork quality. My la Folies for example, have better quality corks than RR, and as such there is less deterioration of the cork in the better quality cork. Cantillon has whole piece corks, and as such don't deteriorate really much at all (except after a few decades naturally). I've also had a Lambic from a small Midwest brewery that used horrible corks; this beer was no more than a year old in bottle at best and the cork came apart in big chewy chunks. I'd say take a look at the cork material if you can, and from there judge what is best for it. Use common sense and look at a wide variety of cork to gauge quality for yourself. My rule of thumb: smaller cork grain and darker corks indicate poor quality, larger and lighter grains are better, and no-grain whole cork (which is increasingly rare these days) is best. As is often with wine, you will pay the price for the cork in your bottle moreso than the wine.