Refrigerator/Apartment "Cellar"

I'm a big fan of the chest freezer with a temp controller method of cellaring. A lot cheaper than a wine fridge & you get more room for beer!

Cheers!

 

I'm convinced this is the best method, but for many people (myself included) this is not optimal if you have a mini fridge if some sort around and/or do not have space for a freezer. This is the boat my wife and I are in. We received a wine fridge, and do not have the space or money to purchase something ourselves. So, this works well for us.

Is a fully temperature controlled environment better? It sure is. Is it necessary? Not absolutely.

If you're planning to keep low ABV beers (lambic specifically), especially for long-term aging, a temperature controlled environment is probably best. Outside of that, if you're looking to keep beers for primarily just a year or two, you'll be fine with just your closet. If you are looking at longer term aging, you may consider the temp controlled environment more. Further, if you typically buy more beer than you can consume fresh (here I really mean that you consume most things that you are not intentionally aging in about a year, but definitely not within a few months), and you end up finding that a year is making them more oxicidized than you'd prefer, you'd also benefit from cold storage (although, in that case likely stored colder than "cellar temp").

 

Yea I'm struggling to find some good options for a wine/beer aging fridge. I have a full size basement fridge, but its kept too cold with all the IPAs I drink to be a proper cellar fridge for the stouts

 

I got my chest freezer for $180 & the temp controller for $30. $210 for 7 cubic feet of beer storage isn't that bad...

 

Issue is space with the chest freezer

 

No room in the basement next to the full size fridge? Five cubic foot freezers aren't that big.

 

Good point, guess it's more of a (wife) perception issue rather than a true space issue.

 

Two people in my family have a mini fridge to donate if I want it. I do, then I have 1 cellar fridge for true cellaring, and 1 for stuff I may want to drink on any given day. Presently the wine-fridge we have is serving double duty, but obviously does not have enough room
For both.

I am not looking forward to telling the wife I want a second one , even if it is free, perception is everything.

 

Guess I'm lucky. My GF let me keep it in our bedroom when we lived in an apartment. I used it as my nightstand lol.