Beer Cellar thread - real cellars, closet cellars, fridge cellars, freezer cellars, wine coolers

[xscottypx]

re-org to make some more room

 

[oldp0rt]

I laid the cedar boards out to dry for a couple days before hanging them. I should have left them out for a week or two, as I learned after the fact that they were still moist. It added to the humidity in the room. And I don't have an exhaust fan (not sure if I should). So that moisture and strong cedar aroma lasted for a bit. But in the past week or so, the smell has started to subside. I think if I had properly dried the boards, this would have been less of an issue. But I have wondered whether I'm making a new humidor series of Cantillons.

One thing to consider. Outside of letting the room air out for an extended period of time, any interior is going to off gas. My first option was mildew resistant sheetrock and paint. That would have added a heavy chemical smell to the air. Then I realized cedar was only $50 more expensive than sheetrock and paint, so went with the natural unfinished route.

I was debating myself if cedar was the way to go. I'm still stuck on that. Exterior is done but I'm still uncertain as to what I'll be putting inside.

Great looking cellar by the way.

 

[oregonskibum1]

I was debating myself if cedar was the way to go. I'm still stuck on that. Exterior is done but I'm still uncertain as to what I'll be putting inside.

My only regret with the cedar is the moisture. If I could do it over again, I would have separated the boards and let them dry for a week or two instead of a couple days. The room is pretty tightly sealed and the moisture started to build in the room after a week or two. I brought in a fan and left the door open for a couple evenings. That helped. But I think it's still a little moist in there. I did not install a humidity sensor (another thing I would have done). But the cedar has/is starting to truly dry out. I think my problems will subside over time. Especially as the a/c unit runs more with the summer approaching.

As you think about your options, it came down to three for me:

1. Mildew resistance sheetrock, taped and painted
2. Wood that needed to be stained
3. Wood that didn't need to be stained

In the first two options, you're now dealing with a chemical smell that needs time to air out. And it's messy and takes time to paint/stain. I'm not sure cedar was the right or best choice. But I'm not unhappy with my choice.

 

[degardebrewing]

Humidity is your friend for corked bottles.

 

[matedog]

Old cellar was a storage unit I shared with my roommate that was half subterranean in SF:

Pros: Naturally stayed between 60-65 year round. Theoretically a large amount of space.
Cons: Share with roommate. Looks kinda like a **** chamber.

New cellar is a fridge in my garage in Oakland:

Pros: Temperature controlled at 52 degrees. The space is MINE. Cost $0.
Cons: I was relieved to find out I had space to grow after the cellar plunging I did during the move, still I can fill it up pretty quickly.

Also, I'm keeping the Cantillon horizontal in the veggie crisper.

 

[stupac2]

Cost $0.

If you pay for electricity than this isn't really true!

 

[matedog]

If you pay for electricity than this isn't really true!

Simple solution:

I just meant the gf's giant extended family was good enough to drop off a free fridge. Power usage will definitely go up, but not super since I'm only going down to 50-55. I'm trying to figure out how to shut the cooling to the freezer.

 

[stupac2]

Simple solution:

I just meant the gf's giant extended family was good enough to drop off a free fridge. Power usage will definitely go up, but not super since I'm only going down to 50-55. I'm trying to figure out how to shut the cooling to the freezer.

There's probably not a way, but you can do a number of things with it:

1) Extra freezer space! Excellent for story all those dead hookers.

2) Set the freezer to the warmest setting, fridge to the coolest, and see how big the difference is. That might make the freezer good for stuff like IPAs.

3) I don't actually recommend this, but if you do your research and it turns out it's fine you could cut out the separator between the fridge and the freezer, making one big area that should be (roughly) the same temp. Not a great idea to just DO because there might be electronics or something in there.

 

[matedog]

There's probably not a way, but you can do a number of things with it:

1) Extra freezer space! Excellent for story all those dead hookers.

2) Set the freezer to the warmest setting, fridge to the coolest, and see how big the difference is. That might make the freezer good for stuff like IPAs.

3) I don't actually recommend this, but if you do your research and it turns out it's fine you could cut out the separator between the fridge and the freezer, making one big area that should be (roughly) the same temp. Not a great idea to just DO because there might be electronics or something in there.

Yeah, likely I'll end up with #1 since the gf has a say. And she's running out of room in the crawl space to stuff the dead whores.

I am futzing around with the settings right now to concentrate the cooling on the fridge while keep the cooling at a minimum. In theory, it could make for a 40ish degree freezer where I could store my beers for drinking as opposed to aging.

Thanks for the input.

 

[stupac2]

Yeah, likely I'll end up with #1 since the gf has a say. And she's running out of room in the crawl space to stuff the dead whores.

I am futzing around with the settings right now to concentrate the cooling on the fridge while keep the cooling at a minimum. In theory, it could make for a 40ish degree freezer where I could store my beers for drinking as opposed to aging.

Thanks for the input.

Are you using some kind of temperature controller? I had assumed you were but I guess you didn't specify.

 

[matedog]

Are you using some kind of temperature controller? I had assumed you were but I guess you didn't specify.

There are settings on the fridge itself. One that generically regulates temperature (either both fridge/freezer or just the fridge, I'm still figuring it out). The other one that regulates the amount of cooling sent to freezer or fridge. The latter setting I'm using to try to focus the cooling on the fridge while using the temperature gauge to keep it in the 50-55 range.

I'm verifying temperature with a meat thermometer.

 

[jtmartino1]

There are settings on the fridge itself. One that generically regulates temperature (either both fridge/freezer or just the fridge, I'm still figuring it out). The other one that regulates the amount of cooling sent to freezer or fridge. The latter setting I'm using to try to focus the cooling on the fridge while using the temperature gauge to keep it in the 50-55 range.

I'm verifying temperature with a meat thermometer.

If you're trying to keep the freezer-side intact and cold, a temp controller won't really do anything. Also, most fridges utilize cold air from the freezer to cool the fridge chamber as well, so you may have a hard time warming up the fridge side without compromising the freezer temp also.

Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

[GetchaPull]

Some really terrible photos taken with a golden russet - the start of my new closet cellar (again, thanks Florida)...started with organizing mostly lambics and g(u)euzes. Other sours and styles to be handled later. Will put a mix of stuff in fridges when they get here from VA. Made the "mistake" of ordering another 45 bottles on BIAB before I unpacked...need a couple more Craig's List wine racks.

 

[ASUBeer]

There are settings on the fridge itself. One that generically regulates temperature (either both fridge/freezer or just the fridge, I'm still figuring it out). The other one that regulates the amount of cooling sent to freezer or fridge. The latter setting I'm using to try to focus the cooling on the fridge while using the temperature gauge to keep it in the 50-55 range.

I'm verifying temperature with a meat thermometer.

If you don't like the meat thermometer, go with a humidor thermometer (magnetic, battery operated, electronic temp and humidity level)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007W1EA6/?tag=talkbecom09-20

 

[matedog]

If you don't like the meat thermometer, go with a humidor thermometer (magnetic, battery operated, electronic temp and humidity level)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007W1EA6/?tag=talkbecom09-20

Oh cool, thanks for the rec. Meat thermometer is good enough for now, but it would be nice to know the humidity.

 

[netdigger2]

Craigslist find.

 

[blue_bleeder]

Craigslist find.

Nice find!!

 

[netdigger2]

Nice find!!

Really nice for the price. If I told you all the price, no one would believe me anyway.

 

[GuisseppeFranco]

Really nice for the price. If I told you all the price, no one would believe me anyway.

Now you have to say how much.

 

[netdigger2]

Now you have to say how much.

It's a 300 (200 w/o double stacking) bottle capacity with a new Vintage Keeper cooling unit and dehumidifier that was installed 6 months ago and he gave me moving blankets and helped me load it.


$200

 

[stupac2]

It's a 300 (200 w/o double stacking) bottle capacity with a new Vintage Keeper cooling unit and dehumidifier that was installed 6 months ago and he gave me moving blankets and helped me load it.


$200

Mad jelly. I think my 40-bottle fridge cost nearly that much.

 

[chanokokoro]

Mad jelly. I think my 40-bottle fridge cost nearly that much.

I know mine did as well.

 

[chanokokoro]

I rent out a locker at a local wine storage facility. I also have a 40 bottle wine cooler at home that I transfer bottles to that I plan on drinking in the near future, so I don't always have to run over to the cellar. I just reorganized my bottles. I use one five shelf unit in the back:

To maximize space, I use some of the extra large dairy crates from Tthe Container Store that I stack up in front of the shelves. These crates are tall and wide enough to store corked and caged 750 ml bottles either horizontally or vertically. These three crates hold American Wild Ales, lambic, and gueuze which I store horizontally:

They are a bit pricey ($13.99 each), but they were perfect:

They also stack, can be labeled, and can be easily removed to give me quick access to the bottles stored vertically on the shelving unit:

 

[brian4beer]

Not as handy as stupac2 to build my own so I bought a prefabricated kit online to put together and anchor to the wall but turned out well.

 

[justforrazors]

Considering building a crawlspace cellar in the new house (once we finally move in). I'm probably going to put a vapor barrier down first and then was considering either making a path from bricks, or just going to good old cheapo cardboard route. Anyone who has taken on a similar project have any advice on "paving" your crawlspace? The area I'm thinking about doing this in a 10x10x6 portion of the crawlspace, so I'll be able to have plenty of shelving in there easily, just more concerned about the dirt shifting during the winter months, it would be a shame to lose a large chunk of beer due to a rack falling over or something.

 

[stupac2]

Considering building a crawlspace cellar in the new house (once we finally move in). I'm probably going to put a vapor barrier down first and then was considering either making a path from bricks, or just going to good old cheapo cardboard route. Anyone who has taken on a similar project have any advice on "paving" your crawlspace? The area I'm thinking about doing this in a 10x10x6 portion of the crawlspace, so I'll be able to have plenty of shelving in there easily, just more concerned about the dirt shifting during the winter months, it would be a shame to lose a large chunk of beer due to a rack falling over or something.

jedwards has posted a book about building your own wine cellar, I can't remember the name but bet it'd have some good info.

 

[netdigger2]

Considering building a crawlspace cellar in the new house (once we finally move in). I'm probably going to put a vapor barrier down first and then was considering either making a path from bricks, or just going to good old cheapo cardboard route. Anyone who has taken on a similar project have any advice on "paving" your crawlspace? The area I'm thinking about doing this in a 10x10x6 portion of the crawlspace, so I'll be able to have plenty of shelving in there easily, just more concerned about the dirt shifting during the winter months, it would be a shame to lose a large chunk of beer due to a rack falling over or something.

Doing the same thing next spring. We have a 30'x20' section of our crawlspace with about 8.5' of clearance. We are going to level out the ground below the vapor barrier and wall it up with insulated concrete blocks. We'll pour 2-3" of concrete flooring to prevent shifting. We're having a trapdoor installed into the hallway for access. A wallmounted cooling unit will regulate temperature and humidity. I'll have 3d drafts soon for reference.

 

[justforrazors]

Doing the same thing next spring. We have a 30'x20' section of our crawlspace with about 8.5' of clearance. We are going to level out the ground below the vapor barrier and wall it up with insulated concrete blocks. We'll pour 2-3" of concrete flooring to prevent shifting. We're having a trapdoor installed into the hallway for access. A wallmounted cooling unit will regulate temperature and humidity. I'll have 3d drafts soon for reference.

I'd definitely love to see them. My cellar won't be as large, but your idea is solid and would be fairly straightforward.

 

[jedwards]

The book is Gold's How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar, though I can't recall if there's specific advice for crawlspaces (I'd look, but it's currently packed in a box someplace along with everything else I own). Lots of info on passive cooling/basement construction, including for unfinished spaces, so I imagine it would have some relevant advice.

 

[netdigger2]

My 3d drafting skills aren't the greatest, but this should give you a general idea of the proposed layout. I figure I'll have enough space for bottle racks for 1200+/- bottles, a small bar, an area for barrels and maybe 2 tables for poker. Some of the the A/C units that can be controlled by a Johnson Controls manual controller also have smoke filters, so a small humidor will be a must.

JulianB , you'll have to be present for the unveiling party.