New To Cellaring

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by Connortripp, Feb 17, 2015.

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  1. Connortripp

    Connortripp Initiate (0) Oct 1, 2014 Minnesota

    Hello!

    I am just getting into cellaring and I am in need of some insight/advice.

    I believe I have the basics down. So far, I have tasted most of the beers in my cellar as fresh as possible (with one or two exceptions). I keep my beer in a dark and cool environment. More specifically, my cellar is my old dorm mini-fridge that I have been able to keep the temperature within the suggested range found in The Oxford Companion to Beer. I also only age beers that are meant to be aged (mostly stouts, some sours, and a few barleywines).

    I have run into some problems however.

    The first is that I have completely run out of room in this cellar. I know that many might think less of me for using a mini-fridge in the first place but I am doing my best with what I have available.

    The second is that I am curious how long some of these brews will really last. Being from MN, I've seen guys do verticals of Darkness starting with a 2007 bottle and work their way up. I have thought to myself on several occasions that it would be really fun to be a part of one of those vertical tastings but at the same time, I'm wondering if 2007 is just too long.

    So I guess my questions to all of you would be:

    1. What do you use as a cellar? Should I consider getting a standard sized fridge? I've also heard of guys just putting their beer in a closet at room temp; does this work?

    2. How long is too long to age beer? And what are some of the things you notice when you do verticals (more specifically, are there any common flavor indicators that you notice when you taste beer that is aged opposed to fresh)?

    3. Lastly, have these questions been answered here before? If so, I would love some links to prior posts.

    Cheers!
     
    #1 Connortripp, Feb 17, 2015
  2. lateralusbeer

    lateralusbeer Savant (1,222) Feb 7, 2010 North Carolina
    Trader

    1. I keep my long term cellarables in the back of a closet, in a sealed box. Temps can get as high as 70, but the alternative is fridge cellaring, and I'd rather err on the side of expedited aging than ******ed aging. Plus, I've been aging beers that way for years and had great results, so I'm going with it. Definitely YMMV though

    2. Varies wildly by the beer, and your palette

    3. There's a good number of threads here talking cellaring basics; you'll see a lot of fact and many informed opinions (some even directly conflicting). Best thing to do is dive in; there are a few good threads on the first few pages of this forum, and then ultimately decide what level of risk versus convenience you're comfortable with. If you're not going to invest in a modified fridge with a temperature probe and you don't have a basement, you're going to have a hard getting to optimum temps. The question is if you're more comfortable with too cold or too warm.
     
    #2 lateralusbeer, Feb 17, 2015
  3. iTunesUpdates

    iTunesUpdates Initiate (0) May 7, 2014 Florida

    I have all mine in a closet. Best I have living in FL and not wanting to pay the bill for an extra fridge. So what you're doing should be fine. Good luck
     
    #3 iTunesUpdates, Feb 17, 2015
  4. SenatorSpaceman

    SenatorSpaceman Savant (1,015) May 24, 2014 Connecticut

    Doesn't get too hot in the summer? I'm relatively new to aging (I also store in a closet) and I worry about the temp getting too high in the summer months. I'm considering buying a temp controller this year.
     
    #4 SenatorSpaceman, Feb 17, 2015
  5. SoCaliC8

    SoCaliC8 Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2010 Idaho

    So GLAD someone posted this!

    When it comes to stouts - what flavors should I avoid cellaring? I've also been told not to age anything with spices (i.e. pumpkin) because it causes a lot of the flavors to go away if you cellar too long.

    Barleywines/strong ales - same thing. How long to age?
     
    #5 SoCaliC8, Feb 17, 2015
  6. iTunesUpdates

    iTunesUpdates Initiate (0) May 7, 2014 Florida

    It's an apartment, and the sun doesn't hit our place, so not much heat in summer.
     
    #6 iTunesUpdates, Feb 17, 2015
  7. atrocity

    atrocity Pooh-Bah (2,264) Dec 18, 2013 Virginia
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    How long is really a matter of your own taste. If you feel the beer is "too hot" or boozy then it will certainly benefit with some age. Certainly beers brewed with adjuncts (pumpkin, spices, etc) are going to lose some of those flavors. Hop flavors will fall out with type as well.
     
    #7 atrocity, Feb 17, 2015
  8. Surlyguy81

    Surlyguy81 Aspirant (205) Oct 4, 2013 Minnesota

    If you want a little more detailed info on cellaring I highly recommend the book Vintage Beer, by Patrick Dawson. He gives recommendations on styles and beer characteristics to look for and even gets into the nerdy science stuff going on whilst cellaring. He also breaks down verticals on a number of brews and recommends optimum cellaring time.
    http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-Tasters-Guide-Improve/dp/161212156X
     
    #8 Surlyguy81, Feb 17, 2015
    ljdrinksbeer likes this.
  9. mattosgood

    mattosgood Initiate (0) Jan 13, 2014 Massachusetts

    buy four, if you can afford it. Otherwise, buy two. Drink one now. Drink the other in six months.

    Repeat. Add another six months each time.

    you'll be fine. trial and error. I like barrel aged stuff at a year. I like english style barleywines. fresh, six months, a year, two years, they're all good.
     
    #9 mattosgood, Feb 17, 2015
  10. alexrufio666

    alexrufio666 Initiate (0) Dec 10, 2014 Illinois

    I was wondering the same thing, I got some BA stouts in my basement that I'm aging and it's getting chilly down there since its winter and all, I'm always worried about wether or not Its ok to take them out of there or if moving them around from temp to temp is gonna mess with the aging process so I just left them down there for now till I figure out what to do..
     
    #10 alexrufio666, Feb 17, 2015
  11. SoCaliC8

    SoCaliC8 Initiate (0) Jan 28, 2010 Idaho

    I read that anything over 7% ages well, not sure how true that really is
     
    #11 SoCaliC8, Feb 21, 2015
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