A number of beers recently featured in the club have been vintage bottles, picked specifically because they’re drinking at their prime, and it’s had me thinking a lot about cellaring overall lately. I’ll start by saying, despite writing about beer professionally for about a decade, I tend to feel pretty out-there when it comes to discussing beer cellars or beer collections… I have (I checked) literally one bottle of cellared beer right now. It’s in our kitchen cupboard, and I didn’t buy it. Our little wine fridge is focused on younger Pinots and Tablas Creek releases.
This is very much personal preference, and it’s evolved a bit over the years. When we lived in DC and I was trading beer regularly, we at least had a closet full of ageable beer—but that was functionally more of an on-deck circle for the regular tastings our DC crew was hosting. I’ve had some wonderfully aged examples from Hair of the Dog and De Dolle over the years that remind me there’s absolutely positive potential in cellaring beers. But I’ve accepted I just don’t have a taste for oxidation… Nine times out of ten I’m going to prefer that beer fresh.
Same for vintage flights of Pinot. Ditto for aged sherry. Just how these tastebuds are wired.
As such… I’m always curious when people do keep a beer cellar (and not just of IPAs they forgot to drink… you folks know who you are). Where do you fall when it comes to aging beer? Do you keep a cellar? What styles do you like to age? (I’d totally accept a cellar full of lambic…) Have your habits evolved over time? Chime in on Twitter at @RareBeerClub.
