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

[stupac2]

the situation here is turrible

just carted away all of my homebrewing equiptment. i "loaned" it to a friend until this place gets sold and we build the new house. the same friend offered up his cellar space to help me clean out. we just moved 16 cases of ******* homebrew... HOMEBREW. who the **** has that much homebrew swill sitting around? everything from fruited berliners to mock lambic, wild saisons, blended "geuze" and barrel aged beers. i found a 4-pack of 7 year old homebrew berliner as well as a smoked barleywine thats even older than that. what have i been doing...good lord

Just from your posts in the cellaring threads I've always wondered how much beer you had. Sounds about right! Good luck moving it all...

 

[stakem1]

http://www.talkbeer.com/community/threads/introducing-cellartracker-org-beta.30836/

Then you at least get alerts when your old stuff is nearing a consume by date.

I cant even... You srs m8?

Putting a best by date on 16 19 cases of homebrew (yes, the number went up when I just uncovered more) in a cellar tracking app that I cant even find the time to list store bought beer in?

 

[stakem1]

Just from your posts in the cellaring threads I've always wondered how much beer you had. Sounds about right! Good luck moving it all...

I think im at the halfway point. Got the call a couple hours ago that the people doing a walk through tonight are not able to come today so that buys me some time. So...ive started drinking quite a bit to help numb the pain and reduce what needs to be moved.

Im going to a superbowl bottle share on Sunday. These poor bastards have no idea what they are in for based off the things ive been finding.

 

[JM03]

I cant even... You srs m8?

Putting a best by date on 16 19 cases of homebrew (yes, the number went up when I just uncovered more) in a cellar tracking app that I cant even find the time to list store bought beer in?

What would one have to give up to land a mixed case of Stakem-erliners? I'm sure I wouldn't have the ammo.

 

[stupac2]

I think im at the halfway point. Got the call a couple hours ago that the people doing a walk through tonight are not able to come today so that buys me some time. So...ive started drinking quite a bit to help numb the pain and reduce what needs to be moved.

Im going to a superbowl bottle share on Sunday. These poor bastards have no idea what they are in for based off the things ive been finding.

For your sake I hope it's a big party and you can offload a few cases.

 

[user 306926]

Sorry to detract from the drama that is stakem's exces inventory of awesomeness....

Just picked up a Johnson Controls A419 thermostat and planning to retrofit a 15 cu ft stand up freezer to my only beer fridge/cellar. Definitely open to tips and tricks. This one is prewired for power so no need to splice extension cords.
Current fridge is dated and lacks sufficient insulation so it sweats like a pig in the summer and is costing a fortune in energy costs. Its also smaller than new freezer. Cellar is dwindling so I hope to be able to fit it all in one spot in the garage that can keep everything at a nice spot.
Will post success/failures.

 

[stakem1]

What would one have to give up to land a mixed case of Stakem-erliners? I'm sure I wouldn't have the ammo.

You of all people...shame on you for being negative.

When things are not so hectic and I can get shipping materials (already recycled everything) ill send you a mixed goody bag. Unless Voodoo does a release sometime relatively soon, ill hand deliver some wineberry, elderberry and something else.

Im done bitching about first world problems...these past could days have been interesting and enough about me.

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

I think im at the halfway point. Got the call a couple hours ago that the people doing a walk through tonight are not able to come today so that buys me some time. So...ive started drinking quite a bit to help numb the pain and reduce what needs to be moved.

I hope your wife subscribes to this line of logic as well. When I recently was moving my 60 case cellar the fiance did not think I should be taking breaks to drink a bottle here and there to lighten the load.

 

[neorunner]

Definitely open to tips and tricks.

Make sure it is wired to fail off. You don't want to make beer pop-sickles.

 

[cosmicevan]

I hope your wife subscribes to this line of logic as well. When I recently was moving my 60 case cellar the fiance did not think I should be taking breaks to drink a bottle here and there to lighten the load.

In a good hour you can probably eliminate 4 - 6 bottles....(and your productivity for the rest of the evenint)

 

[nophunk]

I'm hoping some of you lambic (or wine) fiends have advice on this one. I'm looking to get a dedicated wine fridge in order to separate my different styles of beer. I can keep it indoors in a room that wont really go below 60, so cooling shouldn't be an issue at all. I want something that will hold at least 100 bottles. I know almost every one of the companies exaggerate the actual number of bottles, so I'm taking that into consideration.

Do you have any experiences with brands that you like? Any negatives worth mentioning? Any fridges that wouldn't fit specific bottles?

Also worth noting, I think I would probably spend an extra $100-200 as Amazon offers many service plans beyond the manufacturer warranty. I will be purchasing through Amazon.

These are a couple that look to be pretty popular and have overall good reviews on the web, but I'm open to many brands/prices/suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help!
http://goo.gl/8Em7cG

http://goo.gl/bCX6Bd

 

[stupac2]

I'm hoping some of you lambic (or wine) fiends have advice on this one. I'm looking to get a dedicated wine fridge in order to separate my different styles of beer. I can keep it indoors in a room that wont really go below 60, so cooling shouldn't be an issue at all. I want something that will hold at least 100 bottles. I know almost every one of the companies exaggerate the actual number of bottles, so I'm taking that into consideration.

Do you have any experiences with brands that you like? Any negatives worth mentioning? Any fridges that wouldn't fit specific bottles?

Also worth noting, I think I would probably spend an extra $100-200 as Amazon offers many service plans beyond the manufacturer warranty. I will be purchasing through Amazon.

These are a couple that look to be pretty popular and have overall good reviews on the web, but I'm open to many brands/prices/suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help!
http://goo.gl/8Em7cG

http://goo.gl/bCX6Bd

IIRC Totoropanda has something like one of those.

 

[maximthegreat]

I'm hoping some of you lambic (or wine) fiends have advice on this one. I'm looking to get a dedicated wine fridge in order to separate my different styles of beer. I can keep it indoors in a room that wont really go below 60, so cooling shouldn't be an issue at all. I want something that will hold at least 100 bottles. I know almost every one of the companies exaggerate the actual number of bottles, so I'm taking that into consideration.

Do you have any experiences with brands that you like? Any negatives worth mentioning? Any fridges that wouldn't fit specific bottles?

Also worth noting, I think I would probably spend an extra $100-200 as Amazon offers many service plans beyond the manufacturer warranty. I will be purchasing through Amazon.

These are a couple that look to be pretty popular and have overall good reviews on the web, but I'm open to many brands/prices/suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help!
http://goo.gl/8Em7cG

http://goo.gl/bCX6Bd

I have 2 large wine coolers. What I can tell you is that they don't hold nearly as much lambic as the stated bottle amount. I think mine are stated at 240 and hold about 150 in lambic sized bottles.

I can't speak to either of those brands of coolers as mine are Eurocave.

 

[Totoropanda]

I'm hoping some of you lambic (or wine) fiends have advice on this one. I'm looking to get a dedicated wine fridge in order to separate my different styles of beer. I can keep it indoors in a room that wont really go below 60, so cooling shouldn't be an issue at all. I want something that will hold at least 100 bottles. I know almost every one of the companies exaggerate the actual number of bottles, so I'm taking that into consideration.

Do you have any experiences with brands that you like? Any negatives worth mentioning? Any fridges that wouldn't fit specific bottles?

Also worth noting, I think I would probably spend an extra $100-200 as Amazon offers many service plans beyond the manufacturer warranty. I will be purchasing through Amazon.

These are a couple that look to be pretty popular and have overall good reviews on the web, but I'm open to many brands/prices/suggestions. Thanks in advance for any help!
http://goo.gl/8Em7cG

http://goo.gl/bCX6Bd

I bought a used Eurocave on Craigslist. Have had no issues.

 

[nophunk]

I have 2 large wine coolers. What I can tell you is that they don't hold nearly as much lambic as the stated bottle amount. I think mine are stated at 240 and hold about 150 in lambic sized bottles.

I can't speak to either of those brands of coolers as mine are Eurocave.

I bought a used Eurocave on Craigslist. Have had no issues.

I am familiar with Eurocave. Unfortunately, they do not sell via Amazon. I kind of feel more comfortable getting a new unit with a warranty, but I have checked CL for used ones peridically. I don't live in a huge newmoney city, so they don't seem to go up for sale too often.

 

[maximthegreat]

I am familiar with Eurocave. Unfortunately, they do not sell via Amazon. I kind of feel more comfortable getting a new unit with a warranty, but I have checked CL for used ones peridically. I don't live in a huge newmoney city, so they don't seem to go up for sale too often.

It's not easy in Chicago either. I checked CL religiously for 6-8 months before I found exactly what I wanted. The argument for buying a good unit vs a cheaper on with a warranty is that failure can ruin your beer. Imagine a cheaper unit starts blowing hot air and boils your beers!

 

[neorunner]

Imagine a cheaper unit starts blowing hot air and boils your beers!

 

[Evan1212]

Vinotemp!

 

[maximthegreat]

Vinotemp!

I have one of these also. I have a 25 bottle one and I'm very happy with that one also.

 

[nophunk]

Oh cmon you are being extremely pedantic. In the end, its trading beer. No need to get all upset over it.

There werent any words of wisdom on this thread, only adolescent insults and mockery. Its fun to watch because that is part of the internet nowadays and common sense falls in a close second. What else can you do by laugh?

Im sure there's a meme for that which you can download...google it

Vinotemp!

I have one of these also. I have a 25 bottle one and I'm very happy with that one also.

This is one reason I am weary to purchase a "higher end" model. Vinotemp has absolutely terrible reviews if you read wine forums/product reviews. They seem to fail often and are expensive to replace. The compressor seems to be the common issue. I almost think these people who specialize in fridges/home appliances might have your "basic cellar" down to a better science as they use more traditional cooling units. I think I have an idea of one I might buy. If and when I do, I'll certainly report back with a review.

 

[Evan1212]

This is one reason I am weary to purchase a "higher end" model. Vinotemp has absolutely terrible reviews if you read wine forums/product reviews. They seem to fail often and are expensive to replace. The compressor seems to be the common issue. I almost think these people who specialize in fridges/home appliances might have your "basic cellar" down to a better science as they use more traditional cooling units. I think I have an idea of one I might buy. If and when I do, I'll certainly report back with a review.

I bought a 48-bottle vinotemp from CL this past year for $150. Great deal compared to MSRP and it has been working very very well for me and with a warranty I do not see the problem.

 

[oregonskibum1]

I am familiar with Eurocave. Unfortunately, they do not sell via Amazon. I kind of feel more comfortable getting a new unit with a warranty, but I have checked CL for used ones peridically. I don't live in a huge newmoney city, so they don't seem to go up for sale too often.

I guess I've been lucky (knock on wood) about my CL purchase. Four, maybe five years ago, a used 80-bottle Danby wine cooler for dirt cheap. Mostly used for wine as I have a custom built (by me) walk in cellar for beer. But I've had no problem with the Danby. Don't be afraid of CL. It comes down to expected life span and $/year. Warranties have a cost and may or may not cover the full cost of repair. I wouldn't assume that all CL deals are bad. It will take more time and diligence to find what you're looking for on CL, however. Just depends on your needs.

 

[nophunk]

It comes down to expected life span and $/year. Warranties have a cost and may or may not cover the full cost of repair. I wouldn't assume that all CL deals are bad. It will take more time and diligence to find what you're looking for on CL, however. Just depends on your needs.

I'm certainly not anti craigslist. The really big fridge I have that can hold lots of bottles came from there. It was $50 for an old meatpacking warehouse office fridge, so it wasn't rank and I've had it almost 2 years I think.

Anyway, I agree about the $/year part heavily. My buddy linked me to a listing that went up in my market. 100 bottle Franklin Chef, about 3+ years old he said. It looks like these were $1000+ new. This one is in pretty nice condition, and I gave him the $375 he was asking as more people were in line behind me. I hope I can get 4 years out of it at least. One really nice part is that the capacity is not exaggerated. Each rack can hold 5 bottles, and it's 10 from top to bottom on each side. I should be set for a minute now

 

[nachojon]

Only been trading / cellaring beer for less than a year. And yes I realize there are a few IPA's in the mix. I need a better method to organize, it is hard to find the stuff in the back, they go 3 to 4 rows deep.

Drink that ****. Why are you hoarding Bu Weisse?

 

[stupac2]

Drink that ****. Why are you hoarding Bu Weisse?

I think most beer geeks have credit cards bigger than their stomachs. A lot of the time I see cellars and think "most of this beer is just getting worse". I'm certainly not immune to this, I have ~550 bottles right now and maybe 400 of those are still improving with time, the rest are just taking up space while I find a way to get around to them.

 

[PepeSylvia1]

Drink that ****. Why are you hoarding Bu Weisse?

I think most beer geeks have credit cards bigger than their stomachs. A lot of the time I see cellars and think "most of this beer is just getting worse". I'm certainly not immune to this, I have ~550 bottles right now and maybe 400 of those are still improving with time, the rest are just taking up space while I find a way to get around to them.

The contents of my cellar changes very frequently... although at times some beer does sit longer than it should. Hard to drink all the beer I want, while still being productive at life.

Also I don't rack up credit card debt for my hobbies, that's just stupid.

 

[brother rebus]

I just poverty cellar it. Rubbermaid tote on a concrete floor, milk crates on a concrete floor.
never really goes > 60, < 50. Got ine of the. Dampraid things for precaution. It works.

 

[brother rebus]

 

[Lansman]

Cellar in an uninsulated storage area in basement, no windows, stays between 45-60 here in Chicago as the temperatures change with the seasons.

Lock on door:

View of main cellar:

Lambic/wine fridge:

Other side of area used to store wine in wine racks and for extra storage of boxes, etc.

 

[brother rebus]

waw