I have recently built up a small cellar, and am just curious of the best way I can store them, in my conditions. Do NOT have excess fridge space, Do not feel comfortable storing horizontal unless they have corks. And I do not have temperature control. Except for a six bottle wine cellar which is full. Just need some input on the best place I can store my beers. I live in Central CA, Ambient house temp of about 74, maybe a little cooler in the pantry. Just at a loss of idea. Any input in appreciated. Thank you!
Well the general rules will apply here. Just keep it as close to 50*-55* as possible in a dark space is optimal. Seeing you can't do that I would just get as close to those conditions as you can. If down the road you want to buy a temp controlled fridge that will do you well too. But if you only want to keep the beers around for a year or two they should be alright in a dark closet. Keep in mind that most beer doesn't get better with age.
Unfortunetly, there is no good answer here. If you want to actually cellar your beers, you need to have a way to cool the area. There are a lot of people who have beers Stored at this conditions who will tell you, that you will be fine, because they have never had problems. This doesn't make it correct, and is usually said, because they are trying to convince themselves it's okay. You might be okay to Store them at those conditions for up to a year, but I wouldn't try anything valuable, longer than that. Another way to think of it, if you were trying to trade for a 4 year old whalish beer, would you be okay with it being improperly stored at 74 degrees? I know I wouldn't. Another option, is to see if there are any wine storage places near you. It can be pretty affordable. Best of luck to you!
Both replies so far pretty much hit the nail on the head. Is your pantry on a north-facing wall? That'll definitely help. Mine is, but I'm in TX and I can't afford to keep the a/c going 24/7 during the brutal summers we get here so the apt often goes above 75° mark. I've kept a few beers longer than two years and had good results; I've kept others barely a year and had an undrinkable bottle. Aim to get a fridge with a thermostat controller at some point... or start digging By the way, corked beer bottles don't need to stored horizontally, as wine does. As I understand it, there's enough moisture in the headspace to keep the cork from drying out. I think that's right, and I think I read it here. Or not.
Thanks so much for the replies everybody. What I have in the " cellar " now I do not plan to store there for more then a year. Just until I get some kind of control going on. I have two fridges in my homebrewery I SHOULD use, but one is for kegs, and one is for lagering. Anways, Thanks again for the replies. I think now They should be fine until I find some other way. One more question tho, Brett. Beers/Sour ales are supposed to improve with time, or if nothing else CHANGE. How does temperature affect this? I just can't see the Brett. developing more flavors around 55F seeing as it likes to ferment usually at least 70F, Any clarity on this subject is appreciated.
