New to the aging game and looking for advice

It depends on how long you would like to age the beer. Refrigeration will extend the life of the beer fairly signifacantly. If the beer would peak at one year in a closet, refrigeration could add between a 6 months and a year. Maybe longer?

The larger volume bottles will age longer. A magnum of something like Chimay Grand Reserve with proper cellaring could last 5-10 years depending on taste preference.

Beers with a lot of malt bitterness, high alcohol and high sugar content lend themselves to aging, ie. belgian quads, barleywines and imperial stouts. The key is balance. Experment by aging two of the same beer, one in a closet and one in a refrigerator for 6 months. Try them both at the same time after that 6 months and see how they have changed. Viva Beer!

 

Before you start (intentionally) aging any beer you really should ask yourself why am I aging this beer?

I feel like too many folks intentionally age beer with this notion that it will transform into some abstract definition of perfect. In all honesty most beer deteriorates with age and doesn't pick up anything positive from an extended stay at cellar temps / conditions.

Having said that, your ideal temperature is somewhere in the 50 - 57 degree spectrum, away from light, with a consistent humidity level (I use damp rip in my chest freezers to keep em at about 70%).

Time is something that you will learn with time. For example, I have discovered that I really seem to like big (non barrel aged) russian imperial stouts with about 3 years of age on them.

I don't want to discourage anyone from cellaring, but making sure you have good cellar conditions (temperature, away from light, consistent humidity) and a clear vision for what you choose to age will make you end up with more successes than failures.

Cheers!

 

I had some 2009 Bigfoot last year that was kept at the distributors warehouse until 2011. I assume that's around 45 - 50 degrees. It was amazing, very complex, much different than when fresh.