When it comes to starting a beer cellar, many collectors find that it begins not as a conscious decision, but rather as the slow, and perhaps seemingly random, accumulation of ragtag beers. A couple of bottles too “special” to open right then, leftovers from a six-pack that someone mentioned cellar well, a unique find at an out-of-the-way liquor store. And then one day, you suddenly find yourself with a cobbled-together beer collection.
Yet, because the collecting was fairly unintentional, chances are the beers aren’t being stored in the ideal cellaring conditions and instead end up being squirreled away somewhere based more on convenience: a cupboard, your kitchen counter, crisper drawer of your fridge—all far from ideal (as we’ll discuss). Beer needs all the help it can get if it’s going to win the battle against Father Time.
It first takes an exceptional beer to be able to develop and mature positively much past a year. But even when you make vintage-worthy selections, the next key to successful cellaring is the conditions in which the beers are stored. The cornerstones of an ideal cellar are lack of light, a cool and steady temperature, relatively high humidity, and (in)convenience.