Beer Cellar/Fridge

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

GingerFlock

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2013
Messages
56
Reaction score
2
Location
Birmingham
I actually got into cellaring beer before I started brewing, and have been searching for a good cellar for some time. I came across the following, and it has worked perfectly. I was concerned about aging beer on its sides, and the nice thing about this model is that the racks are customizable - you can alter their height every 1/2''. I now have shelves that slide out and have been altered so that I can store all my brews upright. In addition, its got UV glass shielding, digital thermostat and a lock. It's pricey (I got mine for $800), but it has been phenomenal. I know there have been a couple of threads asking about cellars, and since I've been pleased with mine, I wanted to share.

IMG_20130329_195135_zps635cf5b7.jpg
 
That's pretty sweet! Where did you get it? What is the make and model?

Dunno what the forum rules are for goods (delete this if necessary), but its the Allavino CWR271-1BB. Its actually a wine cellar that I've converted. I acquired it from beveragefactory.com.

A word on the conversion. This is rated for 107 wine bottles. The racks are rated to hold ~30-40lbs. As seen from the attached pic, I have upwards of 50-60lbs of beer on there (the main reason is b/c the bottles are stored upright, and thus more are on each rack). I do not know how the racks will hold up to the weight stresses in the long run, but what I have done was to take some thin plastic sheeting and placed it on each rack. In this manner, I've dispersed the forces across all the rack, rather than localize it (its not a solid bottom, but rather made up of strips). Also, the metal hinges that hold it in the fridge are bending, but after ~5 months I've not had any issues (knock on wood). I just make sure that whenever I roll the racking out, I hold on to it for support.

For those interested, here is my current cellar list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AvBdo8E8yomCdFRpaVhNTHJ1Y01jZTdhTk9FZ1ktMUE&output=html

IMG_20130329_195310_zpsb69e8c76.jpg
 
This looks really nice, and if you don't have a basement or a garage, it's hard to find a nice-looking solution for this problem. This is definitely a nice-looking solution.

That being said, all I can think is how you could buy somewhere between four and six nice refrigerators on Craigslist for that $800. Granted: No glass door, no sliding shelves (not that you couldn't build them into a fridge), and definitely not half as much swagger. But I've landed barely-used brand name stainless fridges for under $200 more than once now. Just sayin!
 
This looks really nice, and if you don't have a basement or a garage, it's hard to find a nice-looking solution for this problem. This is definitely a nice-looking solution.

That being said, all I can think is how you could buy somewhere between four and six nice refrigerators on Craigslist for that $800. Granted: No glass door, no sliding shelves (not that you couldn't build them into a fridge), and definitely not half as much swagger. But I've landed barely-used brand name stainless fridges for under $200 more than once now. Just sayin!

That's what I originally had, but I'm a stickler for glass doors. As much as it hurt my wallet, in the end I justified my purchase by telling myself that its an investment that I should have for 8-10 years. If that's the case, it's only $100/mo. I'm also kind of an impulse buyer -____-

I looked into converting my old fridge to a glass door, but as a bioengineer, I don't really have the requisite skills to make such an alteration :/
 
What I upgraded from. Seeing as the 75F+ temp in my closet was killing my beer, I had to get a larger size...

IMG_20130316_101445_zps5d781a67.jpg
 
GingerFlock said:
Now if I could only get my hands on some Bishop's Barrel... Le sigh

I accidentally had one at Fox and the Hound. I ordered a brown ale and the waitress brought me the Bishop's Barrel.
 
I accidentally had one at Fox and the Hound. I ordered a brown ale and the waitress brought me the Bishop's Barrel.

Which? #3 I presume? I love that thing! BTW, if you see any Hellfighter BBA hit the shelves, PM me. I need a few more...
 
Back
Top