More and more of you are expressing interest (and often fascination) in the idea of cellaring beer. You can really get our geek side riled-up if you ask about it. While a lot folks want to try aging their beer, there seems to be a misperception that you need this gargantuan climate-controlled hideaway to accomplish such a feat. Not so. Cellaring can be as much as you keeping your beers in a cardboard box, away from light, in a cool place. Ideally, you want the storage area to be around 55° (+/-, depending), but you can get away with a basement temp or often just a cool, closeted area. Some people use a beer fridge, which is not our favorite way, because corks can dry out or oxidation can occur. But to each his own. Time is also a factor, meaning how long will you age the beer. Corked beers age better outside the fridge.

As far as cellaring is concerned, light is beer’s worst enemy. Heat is beer’s second worst enemy. In that order. As a simple rule, we always buy two of something we want to age—one for now, one for later, to see how it evolves.

So, why cellar/age your beer? It’s simple—beers evolve and change, often developing more intense and rich flavors than when they started out, pulling out the complexities in the beer that weren’t there when it was fresh. Sometimes you’ll hear the term “too hot” or “calming down,” meaning the true balance isn’t found in the beer yet. This often happens with super-hoppy, overly-malty beers, or just plain boozers. Often, a little aging will take off that alcohol burn and turn it into a delightful, smooth sipper.

That’s a pic our cellar above. A couple shelves from Lowes and you’ve got your own! Nothing fancy. And we store the goodies we’ve found along the way to savor with friends. Give cellaring a try. If you can stand not to drink the goods, that is.

Here’s a bunch of Google searches to keep you busy.