Talk to the brewer about the aging process, and taste test your own cellared beers while documenting in a log what beers you have and what changes you see or taste at six-month and one-year marks. There are very few hard and fast rules about how long beers should be cellared. Beers that have extra yeast left over in the bottle to continue the fermenting process can benefit from cellaring, allowing them to age further. Or, according to The Kitchn, they can transform into what has been described as “cheesy” or “litter box” smells and flavors. Citrusy and piney notes imparted by hops can mellow TOO much with age and eventually disappear altogether. However, the hoppier a beer is, the less well-suited it will be to cellaring. RELATED: What’s the difference between porter and stout?īarrel-aged beers can help to further bring out the fruity, oaky notes that cellaring tends to impart, while less hoppy beers such as Belgian dubbels, brown and red ales, porters and stouts tend to hold up under aging because of their prominent caramel and toffee flavors. Cellaring high-alcohol beers can help to protect the flavor, which often can mellow over time, especially when the beer has a sour flavor to begin with. This would include beers with at least eight percent alcohol or have some acidity or a smoked beer like a rauchbier. One expert told the Denver Post that the “vast majority of beers do not improve with age,” that one needs to look for the three ’Ss’ for prime aging: strong, sour or smoked. However, not all beers will improve with aging. Lighter ales such as kirsch, weiss or wheat beers and lagers benefit from refrigeration, allowing them to be kept at a slightly lower temperature than the rest of the cellar. RELATED: Barrel-aging Q&A: Green Flash Brewmaster Chuck Silva Beer selection Finally, if you are going to invest time and energy into setting up a beer cellar, suggests purchasing the proper glassware in order to better appreciate the results of your work. A humidity meter can monitor these levels, and if you are unable to effectively control humidity, an air purifier system may be the key to avoiding problems. Ideal humidity level is between 50 and 70 percent. Too little humidity can lead to corks drying out, and too much combined with loose caps can lead to mold growing in the beer. Temperature and light are key variables to control when cellaring beer, but humidity shouldn’t be forgotten, according to. Whenever possible, beer should be stored upright to allow yeast to settle to the bottom and remain there after the beer is poured, though corked bottles can be stored sideways like wine in order to prevent cork shrinkage.Įquipment needed in the room may include a dehumidifier and/or humidifier, depending on the cellar’s base moisture level. RELATED: How to properly insure your barrel-aging program How should beer be cellared? Refrigeration, however, can be optional depending on what types of beers you want to keep in the cellar. Typically, according to and, all you need for a proper beer cellar is: the right room temperature and light conditions and shelving and refrigeration. It takes a very long time of being exposed to warmth for beer to “cook” and become ruined. Cellared beers, however, will not be ruined by a rapid temperature swing caused, for example, by a power outage. The ideal temperature should be around 55 to 60 degrees F year round, but no colder than 40 degrees. If you don’t have a basement, aim to cut down on light and focus on temperature control. If you’re aging your beer in an at-home cellar, it should be in the darkest, coolest area of your house, which typically would be the basement. See the full post below, or head over to the original here. Our pals at Digital Third Coast worked with Next Door Self Storage to come up with this insightful infographic and guide for setting up a legit at-home beer cellar that won’t result in leaving beers sit too far past their prime.
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