What I’ve Learned So Far About Aging and Cellaring Beer: The Basics (Part 2)

Where should you cellar your beer?

Going a bit further then the obvious answer of “in the basement, Jackass”, let’s look at the environmental considerations you should have when cellaring beer.

You know how that creepy woman in Poltergeist kept saying “go into the light”? You should definitely not go into the light with your beers. More specifically, you should stay the hell out of it. Light, and especially sunlight, is a beer cellar’s worst enemy. The famous skunking of beers is a direct result of what is called “light shock” and can happen pretty damn fast, with changes occurring even within just minutes of exposure. Keep your beer out of light! I don’t even turn the lights on any more in my beer cellar (it’s just a pantry in my basement), I just let the ambient light from the rest of my basement filter in when I’m rooting around in there.

Another important concern is temperature. The warmer your cellar is, the more metabolically active your bottle-conditioned beers will be, and the faster they will change with age. Beers higher in alcohol content seem to stand up to the higher temperatures better then lower content beers. If temperatures in your storage area rise over 70 degrees or so, you’ll run the risk of your beer going stale. Very low temperatures can bring about “chill haze”. A good rule of thumb is that you should cellar your brew at the temperature that’s recommended for you to drink it at.

Maybe even more important the actual temperature is how the temperature fluctuates in your cellar. Many cellaring enthusiasts will swear that limiting temperature fluctuation is one of the keys to maintaining a stellar beer cellar environment. I haven’t found very much info on this yet, but I’ll be sure to explore this topic further on.

Another environmental factor to be considered is the humidity levels. For capped bottles, humidity isn’t really a factor. However, corked beers that are cellared in dry environments over periods of years can have their corks become somewhat brittle. This can lead to a breakdown of the integrity of the bottle environment, which will definitely not be good for your brew. Thankfully, most cellars are also on the damp side. Just be aware that if you have a particularly dry cellar, you might have an issue with a cork or two down the road.

The last thing I would like to mention is that your beers should be in a stable environment. Use nice sturdy shelves. I’ve read more then one tragedy about a shelf full of beer crashing to the ground. Secure your beers well!

Part three of my guide will cover what you should be storing in your beer cellar, coming later this week.