Problem? My beer cellar is growing.

Simple solution, just drink them or send them to me.

 

Stop buying, start drinking.

 

It's not as simple as, "stop buying, start drinking." I have the same issue. It started out with a dozen or so special beers and has now grown to over 600 bottles. It is a hobby/addiction that I am slowing down on but it's hard to simply stop because I don't want to.

 

It's not easy to stop buying and start drinking. I would invite some people over and pop a few bottles, I will be opening 2-3 bottles out of my cellar tomorrow depending on how many people show up.

 

How long have you been cellaring? After about 4-5 years I had figured out which of the stouts and barleywines I'd been cellaring that I thought aged the best, and drank down everything else so that I could focus on those. I started buying those particular beers in greater quantity, but have recently cut back because I can't keep up. I now buy about 4-5 cases a year combined of those stouts/barleywines which is about a bottle a week to pull from the cellar.

 

I had the same problem. Kept on adding and minimally taking from, even with shares. So I made myself up a little contract. No beer purchases for 3 months. The consequence, you say? My wife would gain control of my cellar and do with it what she pleased (but no dumping)! I bought no beer and my cellar gained room. Drinking them is the most fun...

 

I reached a point where I was annoyed at just looking at them over and over. Eventually, I just started opening them up... whether someone was there to share with or not. Enough is enough! I'm sure you didn't start acquiring good beers for collection purposes. You probably like(d) drinking 'em. So might as well get crackin', and start enjoying them.

 

I see you trade, you could trade multiple bottles to land some rarer beers you've been wanting.

 

Get more shelf space then start drinking older bottles but keep adding new ones faster than you drink the old ones.

 

I like to try and throw themed tastings... invite a handful of people over and open up several beers.

 

That's the same issue I have!
I keep the special beers for special occasions. The problem is, there are few special occasions.

I also have been proxying for multiple people recently.
So for now, I only buy special beer, and drink thank you beers. Cutting down the shelf beer I buy.

It's hard to trade from qty to quality. Not many are willing. I'm usually the one trading from quality to qty.

 

Drink more, buy less. Problem solved.

 

I have encountered the same problem recently. I have a good mix between formats (12 oz vs 22 oz) and am now into the 400s. I found that bottles I was holding on to for a while and saving for a special occasion (Bell's Batch 10000, This one goes to 11) did not age well, despite being in the back of a fridge for their lifetime. I'm starting to thin out beers I've read/found that don't age well, but it's tough to go through the collection on a weekly basis. I can't really give any tips on how to get in the mindset of "I'm going to drink this beer tonight 'just because.'"

I've found that I've had the mentality of "stop buying, start drinking" and every time I go to the store, I think that and I've eliminated some purchases I would have made in the past. Only focusing on verticals and the more rare releases has done a good job of slowing my cellar's growth.

 

Similar situation here, had well over 100 bottles in a condo so not much room. I stopped buying stuff just to buy stuff. I drank down some of the easily replace able beers which also was a good reminder that not everything is better with age.

I am getting married in OCT and my best man and a couple other guests are craft beer nuts so I am going to clear out a bunch of my special bottles and have one heck of a night.

Were boring and not doing anything crazy for bachelor party besides heading up to Northern AZ to a friends place for some golf bbq and beer. That weekend should feature
BCBS Vanilla Rye
Velvet Merkin 2015
Stickee Monkee 2015
Helldorado 2015
XVIII
Bruery Cuirve


Wedding reception
Relatives coming in from Santa Rosa bringing down fresh Pliny and Blind Pig for us
Multiples of the following
Parabola 2016
North Coast 2013 BBA Old Stock
Sucaba 2016
2014 BCBS and BCBBW
A few others I am still undecided on Black Tuesday might be a bit much for that night in name and ABV


That should put a massive dent in my cellar

 

I used to have a similar problem but I've found that I prefer most beers fresh, as within a year. Since I don't drink "that" much, I ended up drain pouring a lot of beers that I would normally enjoy fresh. If you have lambics or other beers that age similarly then age on but most everything else I would stop or greatly slow down buying and trading until you have a smaller, more manageable amount that may be enjoyed in a timely fashion.

I also got into the mindset "Im saving this for a special occasion" and most of the time that occasion never occurred. Instead of just opening the bottle and drinking it by myself or sharing it with my wife because I wanted a delicious beer I would save it for some magical time and place that rarely came. As a result, I missed out on enjoying those beers at their peak and were only a shell of their former selves by the time I got to them.

IMOF, I'm having a couple BA's over today and basically its a cellar cleaning/drain pouring party because we all have the same problem. I'm sure some of the beers will be good to ok but many tears will be shed over pouring out what was once a fantastic delicious brew.

Save a few different styles for variety or that are known to age well (very few IMO) and drink the shit. Start with your oldest and never buy more than what you can't drink in 6 months to a year.

 

^^^Sounds like you aren't cellering your beer properly. Do you store your beer at a constant 55 degrees or lower? Cellarable beer should not be a shell of it's former self and drain pours after only a couple years if stored properly. They should still be good for 5+ years. If you've been storing them at room temp for a year that's your fault not the beers.