Vinotemp Cellar and Sideways Beer

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by drbenzo, Feb 26, 2013.

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  1. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    I recently purchased a used vinotemp wine cabinet for $300. Great deal! I am aging both wine and beer in it. What are your thoughts on aging beer sideways? Have you had any experience aging beer sideways? I am seeing mixed reviews. I will try to post pics...
     
  2. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

  3. claspada

    claspada Pooh-Bah (2,391) Sep 27, 2007 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah

    Beers with cork and cages will be fine but the yeast will gather on the side of the bottle and you will want to refrigerate any bottle you store in there upright for at least 24 hrs before consumption to allow the yeast to settle.
    Beers with metal caps could rust depending on the quality of cap used. Many smaller breweries use low budget caps which will rust over an extended periods of time.
    So overall I would not recommend long term beer bottle storage horizontally.
     
  4. stupac2

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

    This is wrong. You can just keep the bottle sideways. This is why lambic baskets exist, and doing it is really not that hard.
    When was the last time you saw a cap that didn't have a plastic (I believe PVC) liner on the inside? Not in this century, I'd guess. I've had a good number of older capped beers and never seen rust. I'm not saying it won't happen, but that the odds are low enough to not worry about, and if it does happen it probably means the cap failed and the beer would be bad regardless of orientation.
    Based on reasoning that flimsy? Okay.

    OP, it'll be fine. No one has ever demonstrated using anything even approaching scientific experiment/reasoning that aging one way is better than the other (or, if they have, the evidence is unavailable, like that champagne study). Do whatever you want and it'll be fine.
     
  5. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    I have seen this happen when the bottle is capped but the brewer puts foil over the neck of the bottle. The outside part of the cap gets rusty from what I assume is moisture from a process on the bottling line that is prevented from evaporating well due to the covering on the neck.
     
  6. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    Thanks for the advice. I have also never found any scientific reasoning for sideways versus vertical. I would be happy to read some if it is out there. I did figure that I would want to set bottles vertical for some time before consumption, or just not worry much about sediment. I am so far very happy with the cabinet. I needed something enclosed like that considering that I live near the coast in SoCal. Also, this box allows us to age some wines nicely as well.
     
  7. stupac2

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

    Oh yeah, I've heard of that but never actually seen it (older foil-covered beers aren't super common). I don't think that would affect the beer at all, though.
    Yeah, it looks like a great box. It looks like if you got clever you could put some additional storage above the racks, near the compressor. I'm a bit jealous, getting something with that capacity for only $300 is a steal, I've seen those on craigslist but only for well over $500.
     
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  8. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    I found an interesting article here. I also found one of the references.
     
  9. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    Yeah. I was pretty excited that this guy was letting it go. Head 4 different models! But, only selling one. He had a LOT of wine...
    I have been aging beer in closets ever since the Vertical Epic 2002 series came out. And it has been very interesting. My Vertical aged very well under those conditions, and I am excited to now have a controlled environment.
     
  10. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

  11. stupac2

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

    Yeah, that article was pretty good, but as far as I can tell that guy, like me, is just a scientifically minded person trying their best, not an expert in the field. And those papers are typically dealing with aging ALLs, not good beer. I asked The Beer Chemist (who runs a blog) if he knew of anything at all dealing with aging sideways vs upright, and he said he didn't but couldn't really see why one would be preferable.

    In the end I come down heavily on the side of "do whichever's easier", which is why I now have about 1/3 of my bottles sideways and 2/3 upright, that's how it makes sense given what I have. (Also finding bottles is SO MUCH EASIER when they're on their side, rather than stacked in boxes.)
     
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  12. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    I am currently in the whatever works best category until I find some science/evidence otherwise. I originally considered modifying the box, but since it is a nice, and originally expensive, cabinet I decided to keep it the way it is. Not to mention that we are also aging wine in it...
    Thanks for the replies!
     
  13. stupac2

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

    If I were you I'd add some kind of shelving above where the racks end, looks like you could get another few cases in there.

    Also, I just realized that it holds bottles 2-deep. And if I counted right is 9x18x2, for over 300 bottles stored as-is! You can't even find wooden racks for $1/bottle, and you managed to find a FRIDGE for that? I don't think I can overemphasize how thoroughly you scored with this thing.
     
  14. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    I know! It is actually 10x18x2=360 :wink:
    I am working on the shelving the top rack. I am trying to make sure that it doesn't interfere with the airflow of the winemate air unit. I'll post pics once I get that sorted out...
     
  15. jtmartino

    jtmartino Initiate (0) Dec 11, 2010 California

    Stupac already hit it, but I'll reiterate. Vertical/Horizontal storage is near the bottom of the list of concerns when storing beer. Environmental factors like light, heat and moisture content are all far more important. If water drips on the bottles, caps could rust (I've seen this happen.) Mold/mildew is a bit of an environmental factor too, if you're aging for a long time.

    For you, throw the bottles in there and call it a day.

    Awesome, awesome score on that unit. Well done.
     
  16. drbenzo

    drbenzo Initiate (0) Jul 13, 2005 California

    Thanks J! I have been storing beer upright and in closets since 2002. It worked, but it took a lot of effort to keep it all managed... I aged my whole Stone Vertical Epic series in closets while in college and such, and it worked. BUT I am happy to have consistent place to store and age my beer (and wine). Now that I have space it's time to start buying cases of certain beers :wink:
     
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