Basement Beer

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; it’s the most wonderful time of the beer. From somewhere around September through well into the New Year, it’s just the beer lovers’ season. Every trip to my local bottle shop brings new offerings and special releases. The end of fall is also the perfect time to restock your cellar. Or if new to the craft beer scene, why not start your first stash of beer to be aged?
First, why cellar? My main reason is to compare beers by year. North Coast’s Old Stock ale has been a great beer to compare over the years, and if you have examples of every year for the last five, you have a stellar tasting. With so many new craft breweries on the market, the other solid reason for cellaring is to let a beer calm down and cool off. I’ve tried many a big beer that has too much piss and vinegar, was way too hot, and did well to hit the crypt for a year or more.
Many different versions of a home cellar exist, and I don’t think there is any one perfect way to age beer. Still, a few variables to keep in mind when choosing a space to keep beer for months or years; temperature is key, the less fluctuation the better. Generally, you want a temp that allows the beer to change and age slowly. So not quite as cold as your fridge, but nowhere near room temp. From a dark upstairs closet, to a hole dug under the house to a cabinet in a corner of the basement, choices abound.
More importantly, what about the beer to go into such a holding cell? A general rule of thumb the higher the alcohol content the better, with the minimal alcohol by volume (ABV) needs to be somewhere nearing 8 percent. I have aged lower ABV beers, but I generally shoot for close to 10 percent ABV or higher.
Where styles are concerned, my cellar consists almost exclusively of Russian Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, Strong Ales and Old Ales, but also quite a few of the strong Belgian ales can be found. Some of these beers are only a few months old, but the further back you look, you can find beers from the middle of last decade, when I started writing the column!
Many beers are meant to be enjoyed fresh. In general, any hoppy beer would be better new compared to six months or a year or more in the cellar. Hops are one of the quickest dissipating flavors in beer, and once gone, they don’t mysteriously return years down the road.
Not every high gravity beer is suitable for cellaring. Many spiced beers, just like their hoppy brothers and sisters, will lose their unique flavors with age. Having attempted to age a variety of big, boozy, winter ales, while the older editions are still tasty, they have lost the interesting character that made the beer stand out.
Other adjuncts, like coffee or cinnamon, will disappear quickly too, and beers with these ingredients should be refrigerated immediately and drank soon after purchase.
Further, some beers are just better big and brash. A perfect example: Duck Rabbit’s Baltic Porter. This thick, rich beauty checks in at 9 percent ABV, a perfect range for the cellar. However, I learned the hard way that a year or two old Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter is nowhere near as enjoyable as it ‘s direct from the brewery itself.
The last factor to your new beer cellar is patience and willpower. It always blows folks minds when I pull out an old ale from 2006 or a Russian imperial stout from ’08. They can’t imagine not drinking a beer within a month of purchase. This is a real problem, and you either have to buy a massive amount of beer, or drink your lot sparingly.
I’m somewhere in the middle; I buy as much as the paycheck will allow, but I also love finding out where a beer will go in a year or five, so nearly every 6-pack will have a bottle or two thrown into the cabinet for a later tasting. Further, these beers with age are a wonderful option for holiday guests, where sharing of your finest booze is essential. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.


Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. While they don’t have every beer the Beer Snob writes about, they probably have most. Gene’s is located at 817 Savannah Hwy. 225-GENE. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.