Cellaring beer outside of cellar temps

[luckybeagle]

Hi all.

I brew a lot of Belgians, and have been pretty pleased with my results, but lately I've been trying to copy CSI's clone recipes for some of my all time favorites and see that many of them require 6 to 12 months + cellaring times in the 50 to 60F range. In particular, I'm thinking Rochefort 10, Westvleteren 12, Maredsous 8 and 10, Chimay Grand Reserve, etc etc...

I don't mind the wait so much, but my chest freezer w/inkbird is always occupied with fermenting beer, and my kegerator is holding...well... kegs.

I'm pretty much out of space in my house for non essential appliances and don't have a garage or basement, so my options to store my beer for "cellaring purposes" are severely limited. I could stuff them in a rubbermaid in the crawlspace, which still gets a bit warm in the summer months, attempt to dig a deep hole behind my shed as a root cellar (wife might not like that too much), rotate them from the crawlspace in the summer (65F or so) to the attic in the winter (55F or so), or store at plain old room temp in the closet beneath the stairs. None of those are truly fantastic options, so I'm at a loss...

What do you all do for your "special beers" that benefit from lots and lots of bottle conditioning times?

 

[filthyastronaut]

I don't think you need to cellar that long, honestly. Many Belgian breweries don't cellar nearly that long before selling, and these beers are considered done when they leave the brewery. Also, many Belgian companies lager their beers. I would bottle condition for three weeks and then store them cold.

 

[luckybeagle]

I don't think you need to cellar that long, honestly. Many Belgian breweries don't cellar nearly that long before selling, and these beers are considered done when they leave the brewery. Also, many Belgian companies lager their beers. I would bottle condition for three weeks and then store them cold.

Thanks and good points. I feel like a noob asking this, but I'll ask it anyway:

Can a beer continue to mature at refrigerator temperatures? Or is room temperature better for some of the more complex, higher gravity ales? Is the cold storing (ie refrigerator) essentially lagering in the bottle, and refines the beer in its final vessel rather than in a carboy? Hope that makes sense?

I brewed a Scotch Ale in February and found it way too sweet initially. I drank most of it but tucked a few in the back of my closet (range from 68 to 78F, winter to summer temps inside the house). I opened one about a month ago and noticed the sweetness had died back and a nice smoke character was coming forward. It went from a dud to a pretty delicious beer. Do you think this development could've still occurred at fridge temps? It came in at about 7.8% ABV.

 

[filthyastronaut]

Thanks and good points. I feel like a noob asking this, but I'll ask it anyway:

Can a beer continue to mature at refrigerator temperatures? Or is room temperature better for some of the more complex, higher gravity ales? Is the cold storing (ie refrigerator) essentially lagering in the bottle, and refines the beer in its final vessel rather than in a carboy? Hope that makes sense?

I brewed a Scotch Ale in February and found it way too sweet initially. I drank most of it but tucked a few in the back of my closet (range from 68 to 78F, winter to summer temps inside the house). I opened one about a month ago and noticed the sweetness had died back and a nice smoke character was coming forward. It went from a dud to a pretty delicious beer. Do you think this development could've still occurred at fridge temps? It came in at about 7.8% ABV.

Aging is complicated, and there are many things that occur in a beer from biological, chemical, and physical standpoints over time. Biological would be active yeast in the beer changing compounds chemically ("cleaning up" different off flavors, for one), chemical is change in compounds due to reactions independent of microbes (oxidation of different compounds), and physical would be precipitation of protein-polyphenol complexes and yeast, which do affect flavor and aroma. Warm temperatures will favor biological activity, but I would be surprised if much occurs after 3 weeks at room temperature, unless its a Brett beer or sour, but I can't say that with certainty. Warm temperatures will also encourage staling from oxidation (energy from heat catalyzing the reactions), but may also result in so-called "microoxidation," which can result in favorable flavor development for specific styles. Mostly barrel aged beers, sours, darker beers, and high gravity beers. It is essentially just small amounts of oxidized character. Finally settling of protein-polyphenol complexes and yeast will happen at warm temperatures, but not as well as cold temperatures, and without formation and precipitation of chill haze, specifically. It's hard to say whether that Scotch Ale would be mostly the same, better, worse, etc. if you cold conditioned it instead of stored it warm. Storing it cold would inhibit microbial activity and the effects of oxidation. Ultimately, its up to you to find a process that works for you. With this batch, consider storing some warm and some cold and trying at different ages, take notes, and decide for yourself what you like to do. Myself, I think aging beyond carbonation, reduction of off-flavors, and precipitation of particles is overrated and unnecessary. If anything I will let a beer age because I know it can take it better than others, not because I think it will improve over time. It might! But generally I think beer is best fresh, even styles that people insist you should be waiting 6 months to a year for like an Imperial Stout or Quad.

 

[Smellyglove]

THB, if you want to cellar, and don't have the real estate to do so, I'd go with the dig 'em down option. If you dig them down they are easily forgotten, who wants to dig up a beer just to take a "sample"? And, the temperature is more stable down there than it is in ambient atmospheric temperature. Just dig deep, not wide, so the footprint will be smaller, if you need to stack two cases or such.

To freely quote a danish movie from 15-20 years back. "You just need to find your own personal depth" when it comes to taste.

I've dug down several beers, and they were good. Sort of forgotten. Best thing was when I was digging around to plant my tomato-plants, and I struck a bottle. Best surprise ever, it tasted really good too, even though it was a hoppy one at bottling time. Felt like I was drinking something left behind by an ancient civilization because it was diry and all that.

 

[DonJuan7]

To freely quote a danish movie from 15-20 years back. "You just need to find your own personal depth" when it comes to taste.

What movie was that? What was the plot or characters?

 

[madscientist451]

I'm pretty much out of space in my house for non essential appliances and don't have a garage or basement, so my options to store my beer for "cellaring purposes" are severely limited.

Easy answer: Just change what you consider an "essential appliance". You never know when the next Pandemic is going to hit, so maybe get a new yard shed and put a couple of used refrigerators out there to store frozen food in the top part and the bottom will be your "cellar". Or, build a new shed with an actual cellar that stays at a steady temperature all year.
Life's all about choices, what's more important: storage for beer vs saving for retirement?


https://www.houzz.com/photos/shed-m...llar-farmhouse-shed-brisbane-phvw-vp~42680136

 

[luckybeagle]

Thanks y'all! Fortunately we sold that house and bought a new one. Now I've got a large garage (and new-and-improved brewery!), and ample space to store/cellar beer. It stays pretty temperate out there in the garage--about 60 or so--so I'm thinking I might just store the bottles in a cabinet out there.

I'll be brewing a big ol' barleywine either today or tomorrow, so this will be the first beer that I'll truly be cellaring/aging after I give it a few weeks to carbonate, that is.

I still like the idea of digging down. We have a much smaller backyard now, and most of it is paved except for a garden bed and small dirt patch (where the dog poops). Maybe I'll dig there. It would be a fun surprise to hit a bottle when I'm scooping up a deuce someday. Or maybe I'll just bury a rubbermaid tub, haha.