Are any of these not good candidates for cellaring?

So I've kinda started a 'cellar' (really just the back of one shelf in the basement fridge) and wanted to make sure these are good ones to age:

Lagunitas Brown Shugga
SN Bigfoot
Founders Porter
NB Abbey

I'm pretty sure about the first two, but how about the others? They're still fairly young, so I can def still drink them soon if not

I know it's best to cellar at higher temps than a typical fridge, which leads me to my other question (problem?).

[Disclaimer: This might be better suited for the DIY section, but I didn't feel like making 2 new threads] Anyway, I don't have a place that's a consistent 55-60 degrees. The fridge the above beers are in is pretty old. It has a freezer compartment at top but there's just one big outside door. The temp (there's just one dial for the whole thing-freezer and fridge) is set as warm as it can go, just below defrost, but it still gets down to like 40 degrees in there. There's constantly water dripping from the freezer section, and there's always a puddle in the bottom of the fridge. So it's basically at defrost now. If I turn the dial any warmer, it'll be in the 'off' position.

I do have a minifridge, but I have the same problem turning it up any warmer than 40ish degrees. The freezer compartment draws lots of condensation and drips water constantly. However, unlike the big fridge in the basement, its inside floor is sloped outwards, so if I get condensation dripping it runs out onto the floor every time I open the door.

I know they make add-on temp controllers that people use for making lagers and turning chest freezers into kegerators, but they're more expensive than what I want to spend just for this right now. Anyone know of any cheap DIY temp control plans, or know how I could modify the thermostat of the big, old basement fridge?

I guess I could find a tub/tray to catch the drips in the minifridge and just crank the thermostat warmer....nah, that would be far too easy :cross:

I believe another reason not to "cellar" in a fridge is the very low humidity in a fridge, versus a real cellar.

I've only had one bottle of Brown Shugga and thought it was okay, but I thought when I listened to this:

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/510

they said it was better fresher... or maybe it was just different when fresher...

SN bigfoot is definitely a good candidate. I've had it aged a few times (up to 4 years) and I think its much better than fresh.

What about using your actual basement? I'd guess its pretty consistently in the 50-65F range and its usually slow temperature changes.

Paddle_Head said:

I believe another reason not to "cellar" in a fridge is the very low humidity in a fridge, versus a real cellar.

Click to expand...

I think that only matters for corked beers, of which none said beers are. And even so, both of my fridges make their own pools of condensation on their floors, and they're probably the 2 of the most humid fridges I've ever felt (seen?). I have a digital thermo/hygro. Not sure why I haven't measured the humidity, but I may do that tonight. I can say though that most (if not all) items in the old basement fridge are constantly covered in condensation...regardless of the basement humidity & temp