So I've been reading on cellaring and I have a question

Anything at 60deg and below is fine. Usually 50-55deg is optimal. They key thing is light control. Minimal amounts of indoor lighting and zero outside lighting should hit your bottles.

 

I'm a noob cellerer as well and from what I've read on here as long as you've got a spot below 65 you should be fine. My fiancee got me a wine fridge which is great, only problem is the space fills up fast. I try and buy 4pcks instead of corked bottles so I can taste over time and the fridge is already jammed.

If you've got a closet and a couple coolers, I'd start with those. Nothing bad will happen if it's for 6 months or so.

note: I am a noob, this is just what I've been hearing on the site. If I'm wrong please correct me.

 

I have a dark closet I use, I started a thread about my cellaring abilities and the general consensus was while not ideal as long as you avoid large temp swings and light you will be fine. Ideally you'd have a wine fridge but for many that just isn't a viable option.

 

Light and heat are the two things you need to control. If you're keeping your house at 70 degrees year round, and are utilizing a closet, you just need to realize that your "cellaring" is not going to be for 10 years under those conditions. That doesn't mean that you can't cellar something for 1-2 years. Avoiding wild temperature swings is key too. I'm sure a lot of people on this site use closets for cellaring...and though not optimal, it's possible. Just make sure that the closet doesn't back up to a heat source and get warmer than the rest of the house.

 

Keeping beers on hand, for most people, is a better description of this process than 'cellaring'. I think that word seems to intimidate people, or else give some kind of false connotation that having one of these magical collections deemed a 'cellar' will allow for mysterious alchemical transformations that will delight and impress your friends.

If you want to have good beers readily on hand that A) won't require you to make a trip to a store or B) are out of availability locally or C) aren't available at all locally, then stick with the general guidelines of finding a dark spot (boxes go a long way to achieve this), that stays 'relatively' cool and consistent (you don't need to be overly concerned with hitting optimal temps). Identifying some that you are interested in seeing how they will develop over time is fine, but don't be overly concerned about just getting beers simply for the sake of aging.

I think it is a true statement to say that a majority of beer is meant to be consumed fresh. The initial 'freshness' window varies by style. Some develop positively with age, but whether you deem it as an improvement or not depends on your palate and tastes.