Boy, that title sounds impressive, huh. A beer cellar: You’d think I was some sort of hoighty-toighty, rich snob who has someone named James drive me around, doesn’t it. Well, sorry to burst the bubble, but I drive myself around in a 5 year old Volkswagen.
But, as a lover of quality beer, I want to do as much as possible to make sure I enjoy my beer. That means I need to be aware of storage and serving temperatures. One of the best ways to do that is to have a specific area that is used exclusively for storage of beer. That’s why I have invested in a beer cellar “facility” to store my precious brew.
Here’s a video tour:
As you saw from the video, my cellar isn’t real big at all, in fact its pretty darn small, but it gets the job done. My beer is kept cold enough (usually between 49-53 degrees), but not too cold, and is ready to drink almost immediately. If I have a lager I want to drink I can put it in the regular fridge for a few minutes to get it a little colder. But for most ales I am at a great drinking temp right out of the “cellar”. If I want to drink a dark, strong ale or barleywine I can let it warm up a bit on the counter.
I do want more space eventually. I’m looking for a larger cheap, used refrigerator that I can convert to a “long term” storage facility. I’ll then use the smaller one as my “to be consumed soon” cooler.
If you enjoy quality beer you might want to find an extra refrigerator to use for your beer storage. The regular family fridge is way too cold (35-40 degrees) for most of your beer. In my opinion, beer that is too cold just doesn’t taste as good. So, save up your pennies if you can and get yourself an extra fridge so you can enjoy your beer as much as possible.
