Noob question on how to cellar

Same question here, hope someone can answer. And to add a little to the thread, what are the rules for beer cellaring? My friend for the US told me you can cellar anything above 10 ABV but I don´t really know. I want to start in this practice but mexico is so hot all the time (here in Guadalajara) I might buy a fridge to store some beer.

 

This sentence is the key to your entire post.

If this is what you want to do, you must invest in a fridge. A "cellar" simply will not do (as good of a job).

Your looking for one you can keep at about 40-45 degrees, below cellar temp.

Secondly, you're going to want to do home bottle waxing. I will say that I can't confirm this, so take it with a grain of salt. The research I've done points to a decrease in oxidation effects over time with waxing.

These two items should help your beer stay as close to fresh as possible for the longest amount of time.

What I don't know, and I don't know if anyone knows, is will these two things change how the beer ages or only prolong aging.

 

If your waxing a big whale then maybe. But how are you really trying to acquire big whales, age them, then trade them? A lot of big whales come pre waxed anyway

 

Guys, there are literally TONS of threads on this. You're not breaking new ground asking this. The biggest thing to know is simple, there are no 'rules' with cellaring beer. Everyone's experience differs. Some people have mindblowing 5yr old stouts, some have shitty 2yr old barleywines. The conditions and situations will differ for everyone and NOTHING has been proven, it's all based on random experience.

Waxing from my experience is just a way to piss off the person opening the bottle. It's more work for the same effect. Read up, browse the site, soak up all the thousands of threads already written just like this. You haven't entered new territory.

 

I would start by reading this book: http://www.amazon.com/Vintage-Beer-...TF8&qid=1428499315&sr=8-1&keywords=aging+beer

The 10% and up rule does not work, it depends on style and ABV with some exceptions. Start with 8%+ RIS, IS, Stouts, and Barleywines. You can add in most any sour and smoked beer regardless of ABV. Most people I know stick with the simple sour, stout, and barleywine model for cellaring. You cannot really go wrong there.

 

Check the reviews on this site - I generally reference vintages, as do many others. There are definitely classic styles that age well and are outlined in the book posted by MOVERTON1284, which I will reiterate is a good read. It is difficult to tell with new beers from new brewers. If you can buy two or more, drink one fresh and it will at least give you an inclination as to whether it may be cellar worthy.

 

Just toss the bottles in a regular fridge to preserve the flavors longest. The beer is still aging but much...more...slowly.

I would also caution against aging just for the sake of aging. That leads to a lot of expensive disappointments.

 

I would add that I generally started with sure bets, there are several listed in the book and in this forum. Stuff like Founders IS, Bell's Expedition, Stone RIS, Bigfoot, Stone Old Guardian, BCBS, etc. Most of those listed are reasonably priced and pretty easy to get.