storing beer temp

Warmer temperatures can cause beers to age faster than they would at a lower temp.

I keep mine in my kitchen cupboard, which stays around 66-70 during the summer. I usually don't store more than 2-3 beers for longer than a year. That being said, I haven't noticed any of mine decreasing in quality. If I'm really worried, then I will toss some bottles in the fridge. I, personally, wouldn't worry if your planning on keeping them for a few months. A few years though, I can't say that it would be the most ideal option...

Also, I don't age triples so I can't comment on La Fin Du Monde.

 

I try to store beer in my fridge regardless of style, I'd rather err on the side of too cold rather than too warm.

That said, I sometimes exceed my fridge's capacity (about 28 bottles/pints) and have to hold the excess beers at room temperature. When that happens I prefer to hold barleywines and doppelbocks at room temperature because those styles tend to be more robust at elevated temperatures.

 

I "cellar" at room temp in a dark closet. Haven't seen any negatives yet, then again I haven't been sitting on anything for more than three years or so.

 

I cellar beer at 55-57F in my wine cooler. Compressor won't kick on unless there is a 1 or 2 degree deviation. Not sure if that's the right temp either.

 

regarding LFDM...

I recall that beer having a lot of sediment and high ABV so I think it could handle room temps for an extended period.

A LFDM observation...there's something about that brewer's whole line of beers, they taste peculiar, like even when fresh there's something wrong. I won't drink those beers anymore. Maybe with LFDM you picked up on the same thing, and it wasn't a storage temp issue.

 

Obviously, I can't speak for them...but to me:

Storing = buying more beer than you can drink at once, and keeping it until you do (weeks, etc)
Cellaring = buying beer with the intention of letting it age for a certain period of time before you drink it.


...so depending on how long you "store" it, the flavor could change.

 

I just got a FranklinChef 100 bottle wine cooler. You can fit a lot more than that if you swap out the wine shelves for conventional shelves though.

 

That's pretty much why I put cellaring in quotes, I am technically just storing beer since I am not holding it at cellar temps. The results are up to much debate, in my humble opinion as long as you keep your beer in a dark place and keep it from huge changes in temperature you'll be fine. Will the beer improve over time?.....well some do but most don't (at least what seems the consensus on this site).

Pretty much everyone can agree that if you want to hold a beer for an extended period of time without it changing the colder the better, so really this all comes down to what you expect/want from your cellaring.

 

I used to cellar in a wine fridge (with bottles stored upright) at 54 degrees but I found the beers were just a bit too warm when I wanted to drink them. I dropped it to 50 and like that temp. Not too cold, but appropriate for aging. I've outgrown capacity in my initial "cellar" so I'm storing some crazy good beers in a second fridge for the time being. I'm going to buy an upright freezer and install a temp control on it soon, though, so I can have more capacity at 50 degrees. My wine fridge is small (about 2x2x3.5) so it is a good option for people in apartments or those with limited space. Just be careful and don't get in the habit of over-aging once you build up a cellar. You'll hate yourself when that 6 year old bourbon Barleywine gushes all over your floor and tastes like an oude bruin once you finally find an occasion special enough to open it!

 

54 is fine for aging. In fact it's great.

Be careful with freezers. Maybe sure that they are frost free. If it's not you'll have mold issues.

 

Perhaps I have drank too much tonight because I read this statement more than 3 times and cant make any sense of it. Is it an inside joke? Or do you have cellar fairies that add extra fermentables and wild bacteria to your beer once it gets to be 6 years old?

 

I store mine in a fridge around 40-45 degrees and have been doing so for a couple years. A buddy of mine and I decided to do an aging test between my fridge and his just keeping it in a closet in the basement around 55-60 degrees. We tested last years Rumpkin (awesome beer no matter when you try it) and did a side by side a couple weeks ago. The one that was stored in the fridge at a cooler temp seemed to have mellowed and blended a lot more than his. We have two more about 6 months away I will have to report back on.

Next two beers we'll be testing: 2011 Abyss and Brain of the Turtle

Stay tuned...

 

My cellar has definitely hit the 70s this year. Guess I'll wait and see, but I'm with the poster above who said as long as it is in the dark and doesn't have extreme, rapid temp changes, it will be fine.