The Beer Cellar

Every Beer lover I know of has a Beer Cellar.  You know where they store the good stuff.  I myself have a good makings of a worthy beer cellar.  Included in my cellar are some beers that I am quite proud of and I am holding on to for a special occasion.  Among the beers I have are Surly's Smoke, Two and Three; Stone's Vertical Epic, Anniversary Ale and Arrogant Bastard.  Also I have beers from Cantillion, Unibroque, Dog Fish Head, New Glarus and many other craft beers. 

In many cellars there are some beers that are only brewed once or at a certain time of the year.  These included beers like Three Flyod's Dark Lord and Surly's Darkness to give a couple examples.  Many collectors go out of their way to get these special beers.  Even if you can not be there to purchase that certain beer you want there are other ways to find them.  There is the secondary market of beer.  If you go to eBay http://www.ebay.com/ and search for a certain beer you will more than likely find that beer and can purchase the bottle and it's contents.  As well there are many beer related sites that have beer trading areas like the one on Beer Advocate http://beeradvocate.com/.  These are on the gray edge of the law but if is done correctly and quietly nothing other than a good trade is done for both parties.

Once you find those special beers it is important to take care of the beers, because if you do not you will have a spoiled beer that you may have paid up to several hundred dollars for.  The best beer cellar is a dedicated fridge or walk in cooler to store the beers.  Also a cool room in your basement would work as well.  The key factors are temperature, darkness and ability to store the beer upright.  Keeping a beer at 50 degrees or lower is the best.  Even if a beer is in a brown bottle it can over time become light struck, so keeping a beer in a dark area helps the longevity of the shelf life.  The last key is storing the bottle up right this allows any yeast that is in the bottle to settle to the bottom.  Remember that a beer cellar is a means to keep your beer collection in top condition for your latter enjoyment. 

  QC Beerguy