The Cellar
Raiding the Beer Cellar
Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 | Beer, The Cellar | No Comments
I’ve been raiding my beer cellar recently because I’m moving in the not too distant future. Why move perfectly good beers when I could drink them, right? I’ve had mixed results with the beer in my cellar, which may be a byproduct of poor cellaring on my part. My beer cellar was originally just a dark, cool corner of my garage, but as the weather got warmer I had to invest in a beer fridge. I kept the fridge as warm as I could (ideal cellar temperature is about 8 degrees Celsius), but it sill might have been too cold in there. The temperature fluctuations from warm to cool might have produced the off flavors in my aged beers, but then who knows? That being said, it wasn’t all bad; I got some pretty good results too.
The bad:
I had one of those ceramic bottles of Rogue Old Crustacean Barleywine from Christmas 2008. It was atrociously bad. It tasted extremely bitter and almost metallic. It was a high alcohol beer, so my only guess as to what happened is that the beer may have interacted poorly with the bottle? Anyway, this was a big waste of a beer; I wish I’d consumed this one fresh.
Another beer that didn’t age well was a Phillips The Hammer Imperial Stout from January 2009. It had the tangy, almost sour flavor of a beer containing a bacterial infection. I consumed both the 2009 and 2010 versions of this beer fresh and bother were tasty, so it’s a shame this one didn’t age well.
Fuller's Vintage Ale 2008 and 2009, delicious
The good:
I saved a 2008 Fuller’s Vintage Ale and drank it along side the 2009 version. Fuller’s uses a new recipe every year, so the two aren’t really comparable, but it was fun to do anyway. I found the aged 2008 bottle to be far superior to the 2009 bottle, where both were good. Drinking the aged 2008 version was like taking a trip to flavortown. It had great apply, fruity, caramel flavors and I wish I had ten more of them, half to drink and half to cuddle.
I had another Phillips brew aging away in my garage, this one a Burley Barleywine from Christmas 2008. Unlike the imperial stout, this one aged wonderfully. There was none of the harshness of a young barleywine present, no detectable alcohol or hops whatsoever. What remained was a wonderful medley of caramel and molasses type flavors, with maybe a bit of fruit in there too. I’m glad I saved this one.
Erik and I took a trip to Portland this past weekend and, now that we’ve overcome our Olympic hangovers, we’ll have a lot to write about in the coming weeks.
Cheers,
Chris
A new beer cellar
Thursday, April 30th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 5 Comments
I recently noticed that it was getting rather warm in my garage, which concerned me because my beer cellar is also in my garage. While most beer is best served fresh, stronger beers (think 8% ABV and higher) can get better with age. Both Erik and I have a few beers ageing, which you can read about on The Cellar page. Erik also wrote a great post on how and why you should cellar certain beers. Back to the problem at hand, beer ages best between seven and ten degrees (Canadian degrees, the ones that make sense). Thanks to the arrival of Spring, my South facing garage has been heating up to as high as twenty, not good for my beer.
My new beer fridge/cellar. Not all those empties are mine. I'm not an alcoholic, I swear.
Luckily for me, I’ve recently come into some hockey pool winnings. With said winnings, I decided to purchase a beer fridge to use as my new beer cellar. I was a bit worried that my beer fridge would be too warm, but the warmest setting has given me a nice eight degrees. I purchased most of my cellar beers last winter, so it’ll be at least another half year before I crack any of them. I’ll definitely post about the differences I notice in the aged version versus their younger counterparts. If any of the beers end up spoiled because of my previously poor temperature control, I will be pissed. Mustering the patience to store beer was hard enough in the first place!
Still only eight beers in the cellar, should probably go shopping...
Cheers,
Chris
Cellar Update: Bush de Noel
Monday, January 19th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 1 Comment
I was delighted when my wife surprised me with a Brasserie Dubuisson Bush de Noel for my cellar. I mean really, how often does that happen? I believe she may have originally been attracted to the bottle by its shiny, colorful label, but then decided to purchase one upon hearing that Erik found it cellar worthy. This is an epic addition to my cellar, Scaldis Noel being the first beer added (of four total) that I haven’t consumer prior, only to buy another for ageing. I have finally learned my lesson, that strong beers develop more complex and interesting flavors with age. I’ve also found of late that I enjoy high alcohol content beers more once they’ve aged for a good while, which I find helps take the edge off the alcoholic taste. Bush de Noel (or Scaldis Noel) is a strong Belgian Amber Ale (12% ABV) that I look forward to drinking in a year or so. Reviews I’ve read indicate that this one will have a sweet, spicy, fruity taste. I can’t wait.
I also recently added a Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine to my cellar, after drinking one of course. This Northwest style Barley Wine was sweet, hoppy, and full of flavor. I recommend that you immediately buy at least two, one for now and one for later.
Cheers,
Chris
The Beer Cellar Updated
Sunday, January 11th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 5 Comments
Further to Erik’s great post on cellaring beer and his creation of The Cellar page, I thought I should post about my philosophy on the beer cellar and what beers I am currently aging. Until very recently, my philosophy on cellaring has been to not cellar anything. I’ve realized recently that I was flawed in my thinking because aging can definitely enhance the flavors and take the edge off of a strong beer. What really helped me realize the greatness of aging beer was the Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine we recently enjoyed at Central City Brewing, which was fantastic. I had the opportunity to compare this barley wine, aged 18 months, to other younger barley wines, where the aged beer far surpassed the young beer in smoothness and in flavor.
I’ve learned the hard way that strong beer should be aged, having impatiently consumed a Fullers 2008 Vintage Ale, a Philips Burley Barley Wine, and a Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron far too early. In fact, I’ve noticed the pattern that I always immediatly drink a strong beer worthy of aging, only to have Erik realize my folly and buy the same beer for his cellar. This works out well for both of us, Erik gets to taste the young beer I hasten to enjoy, and then I get to taste Erik’s aged bottle a year or so later. Look forward to some great reviews of aged beer in the coming year, complete with first hand insight on how the beer has matured with age.
As for my cellar, it is humbly located in a dark, tucked away corner of my garage where the temperature ranges from 10-20 degrees Celsius throughout the year. I may have to make other arrangements in the summer during heat waves. My cellar consists of very few beers at this point in time, but my stockpile will grow. The meager number of bottles in my cellar has to do with my lack of patience and the knowledge that Erik will probably share his aged goods with me.
My cellar currently contains:
- Phillips Burley Barley Wine (November 2008)
- Fullers Vintage Ale (2008)
The stock in my cellar will surely grow this year. That being said, old habits die hard. I have a Driftwood Old Cellar Dweller Barley Wine in the fridge right now, ready to be warmed up and consumed at a moments notice. When will I learn?
We’ll be updating our Cellar Page with new acquisitions as they arrive. Please check back with us for reviews of aged brews as we consume them. Also, we’d love to hear of other worthy candidates for our cellar if anybody has any recommendations.
Cheers,
Chris
The Beer Cellar: how to cellar beer and why
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 | Beer, The Cellar | 2 Comments
My Cellar - A Cool Basement Closet
Over the past month we have commented a fair bit on cellaring or aging beer. Most beer drinkers, mainly those who drink generic lager, don’t know that beer ages just as well as wine. A passionate beer drinker will almost always have a beer cellar, and if not they will have tried aging beer only to discover their pallet is not fond of cellared beer. Aged beer tastes dramatically different than fresh beer, and there is no shame in disliking aged beer, but there is shame, lots of shame, in not trying it. Being an inquisitive person, I searched far and wide, the internet mainly, for information about how to properly cellar beer, and to learn what is actually going on in a bottle while beer ages.
How to Build a Basic Cellar
I have been cellaring beer for just over a year now. My cellar is probably one of the most popular styles; it is a closet in my basement. There is a heap of information available on the internet on how to build a cellar, some is good and some is over the top ridiculous. Creating a basic cellar is quite simple; find the coldest place in your house, turn out the lights, place beer in the cool dark room and patiently wait. Ideally a cellar should be between 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit with minimal temperature fluctuation. If the room used as a cellar, a crawl space for example, drops to around 40 F or colder, it is not well suited for cellaring beer. Most homes have a room or closet close to an appropriate cellar temperate, so please feel no need to renovate.
There is great debate about aging bottles standing up or laying down. I don’t think it matters a great deal either way. Beer Advocate has a good article in support of the bottles standing up approach.
What Beers to Cellar
Any beer can be aged, but generally speaking the best choices are bigger ales. Barley wines, old ales, imperial stouts, big IPAs, and most strong Belgian ales are great candidates for aging. I have a small preference for bottle conditioned ales, beer that has been re-fermented in the bottle, as the yeast sediment helps in the aging process. With beer there are no rules, only guidelines, so feel free to experiment with your favorite brew – pick beer that agrees with your pallet.
Many people recommend buying two or three bottles when cellaring beer. One for immediate consumption, one after 6-12 months (if you bought three) and the final one for as long as your patience can last. I have heard of beer being aged well past 10 years successfully. If you only have enough money for one bottle, that is perfectly acceptable – drinking good beer is not a pastime reserved for the elite.
What is Going on in the Beer Bottle
Anyone who has made a stew will know that it always tastes better the next day. The big flavours in a stew need time to blend together and develop – beer is the same way. This is simplest explanation; the flavours in beer blend together creating distinct new and often more complex flavours.
Many of the unique flavours in ale, fruit, floral and spice, come from esters in the beer. Esters are a byproduct of ale yeast fermentation – lager yeast does not create esters. These esters give ale a unique flavour and aroma and are intended to be there, they are not off flavours. As beer ages, esters break down and their flavours begin to disappear. Yeast helps to break down esters, explaining my preference for bottle conditioned ales. Flavour compounds from the hops also fade relatively quickly. Many other reactions take place in a bottle of beer while is ages, changing its flavour profile. As a result aged beer is often smoother, almost creamy, in comparison to young beer. Common flavours in cellared beer are coffee, toffee, chocolate, spice, vinous (Sherry like) to name a few. In general, it is the malt flavours that become more pronounced in aged beer. The only real way to find out what aged beer tastes like is to visit your favorite beer store, refrain from drinking all of your newly purchased beer, and keep a few bottles in the cellar. It is that simple.
We are planning on putting together a page dedicated to our cellars – discussing and reviewing how well different beers age. This should be up shortly. For additional information on cellaring beer I recommend visiting brewbasement.com, a great site all about cellaring beer.
Erik