Question about cellar location

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by raczkowski, Jun 30, 2012.

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  1. raczkowski

    raczkowski Initiate (0) May 16, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    I have a beer fridge on my enclosed porch/Florida room that staus at a pretty comstant 70 degrees.The sunlight never comes in direct contact with my beers on top of the fridge due to location of porch and fridge. As long as this happens will the beer stay good? I would put them in the fridge but the temp is not 60. I like having them where they are but do not wanna compensate breaking the beer down and having it go bad. Thanks for the input.
     
    #1 raczkowski, Jun 30, 2012
  2. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm confused, you have a beer fridge, but you store your beer on top of it instead of inside? They're staying at 70 outside of the fridge on a porch in Florida? That's one hell of a porch! Regardless, 70 is high. You want something lower than that and especially something controlled. I'd rather have a fridge at 40 than leaving things outside of it.

    As for the light, you can see out there, right? There's going to be some sunlight hitting the bottles, even if it's not direct. If you're intending to age out there it'll probably all be skunked. The CW is "cool dark place" for a reason. It sounds like this spot is neither.
     
    #2 stupac2, Jun 30, 2012
  3. raczkowski

    raczkowski Initiate (0) May 16, 2011 Florida
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    Not sure if u are being sarcastic or not...but yes it is on a porch in Florida. It is an enclosed porch and I have an AC that regulates the temperature. Right now it is 72 degrees here while I watch tv and drink a beer....as for the "you have a beer fridge but store your beer on top" comment...I'm not storing it there with space inside the fridge. The cooler came from a bar and can hold 300 beers in it, which are normally just seasonals and micros that are year round. Many of the bottles on top are bombers which do not fit well in the beer cooler so I store them up top(not to mention I had an expensive bottle in the fridge and was out of the room one afternoon and the bottle got drank....the cooler is up against the wall to my house. how the sun rises and sets no direct light touches the bottles due to trees and dark blinds. Just bc I can see out here does not mean direct sunlight is hitting the bottles...I know this isn't optimal conditions so I guess I should have asked if indirect sunlight will harm bottles.
     
    #3 raczkowski, Jun 30, 2012
  4. knightlypint

    knightlypint Initiate (0) Apr 18, 2012 New Jersey

    Assuming the bombers aren't corked you should lay the bombers down in the fridge.
     
    #4 knightlypint, Jun 30, 2012
  5. Bonis

    Bonis Initiate (0) Jul 28, 2010 Ohio

    Sounds like less than ideal conditions to me. I personally keep my beer in my basement which stays a constant 68 degrees F... I am extremely dissatisfied with my cellar location, it should be about 10 degrees cooler. But we live with what we have.

    Are you sure it stays a constant temp in there? The description of the room sounds like it could fluctuate a good 8 to 10 degrees (possibly more) in a day. I would take knightly's suggestion and find room in the fridge for the bombers, lay them down and store like that. When ready to drink, take out and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes so the sediment can settle.

    If you leave the bombers out at 72+ they will age much quicker and oxidize as well.
     
    #5 Bonis, Jun 30, 2012
  6. ASUBeer

    ASUBeer Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2011 North Carolina

    I've got a secondary beer fridge that I keep at 50 degrees. Everything in there is cellarable beer. Are you saying your secondary beer fridge is kept at/below 40 and is more session stuff? And you keep cellarable bombers on top of it?
     
    #6 ASUBeer, Jul 1, 2012
  7. raczkowski

    raczkowski Initiate (0) May 16, 2011 Florida
    Trader

    Yes that is correct. It is more my sessionable beers that are available pretty much at any normal store. Sam Adams Sierra Nevada lagunitas etc. also this is not a refrigerator but more of a beer cOoler. It has sliding glass doors on it and three racks to put beer in.

    After reading everyone's reviews I may just have to buy a little dorm refrigerator and store my cellarable beers on that.
     
    #7 raczkowski, Jul 1, 2012
  8. ASUBeer

    ASUBeer Initiate (0) Nov 4, 2011 North Carolina

    Sounds like that would be a good idea. You can probably find a cheap one on Craigslist.
     
    #8 ASUBeer, Jul 1, 2012
    LambicKing likes this.
  9. LambicKing

    LambicKing Initiate (0) Apr 13, 2011 Germany

    Came here to say exactly this. Just bought a side-by-side 26 CF fridge off Craig's List for $150, free delivery to my garage. There are deals to be had if you are able to shell out a relatively small amount of cash. Edit: I just couldn't keep my beer in a 70-degree closet anymore...52-degree fridge provides significant peace of mind.
     
    #9 LambicKing, Jul 3, 2012
  10. stupac2

    stupac2 Pooh-Bah (2,031) Feb 22, 2011 California
    Pooh-Bah

    Oof, paragraphs. And the use of "porch" there threw me, I'd call it a sunroom or something. If it's not exposed to the elements at all then it's not really a porch.

    Anyway, the arrangement wasn't clear from your OP. As for light, when I say "if you can see then there's sunlight" I actually mean it. UV light will reflect just like visible light, but it'll be a lot dimmer. That it's dimmer isn't really relevant if the beer is being exposed every day for months. It'll still have the potential to skunk if it's exposed to sunlight, the question is just the total exposure.

    People typically say "direct sunlight" because if you're only exposing it for a few minutes then it takes really bright light. But if you're giving it upwards of 12 hours of indirect light a day for months on end, you could easily end up skunking things.

    Regardless, it sounds like you've decided to go for a second fridge, which is your best bet for long-term aging.
     
    #10 stupac2, Jul 3, 2012
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