Beer Cave

Beer and Spirits
1

Hello all,

I come from cellartracker aka grapestories. I recently posted over there and got referred to this forum so I’ll introduce myself.

I am Nicholas. I am American but I live in Luxembourg. My parents have a house in Savigny les Beaune a small village just outside of Beaune, France. Been interested in wine most of my life really started to get into beer around 2 years ago.

and on to my post that got me referred to this forum,

Just finished my beer cave today! I am super excited, it looks awesome and I am starting to fill it up already have some stuff that is going on 5 years old! Now that I have the space I need to really start stocking up!

Anyone else have a nice beer cave? or any beers aging?

**** Suggestions for beers I should add to my new cave? I am thinking Ill put some MC Chouffe away and well to try some lambics. Please give me your suggestions / experience.

Some side info:
It is a real french “cave”… well actually there is a wine cellar here which I would call a real cave, this in located under the depandance (so underground), which is like a small shack in the courtyard. I think that it might have been a, hmm whats the elegant way to say it, a toilet!!! a few hundred years old.

So I was saying I just finished it, well I just finished cleaning out the hundred year old crap! cleaned up the walls and got my cave stones in there! Really excited because it is even better temp/hum than my real cave which fluctuates between 8 and 16 c from winter to summer. This cave gave a consistent 15 c read with 99 hum on my data logger.

As for the beer aging, I only really got into it in the last year and was actually much more into wine. But now with this nice cave I am writing up a nice shopping list. and since I am living in Europe I can come across some nice treasures like the magnums etc fairly easy.

Actually had a 2006 Chimay (750ml) as a celebration for finishing… you can read my limited tasting note here: CellarTracker - Wine Reviews & Cellar Management Tools" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There is also a review I did a few weeks ago also of a 2006 Chimay but from the smaller bottle (33cl). I had it in a vertical tasting of a 2006 2008 and 2010… Very interesting to see how the beer evolves and the differences between the different bottle formats - but really looking forward to poping one of the magnums!

2

First off [welldone.gif] [welldone.gif] [welldone.gif] and welcome.

Do my eyes deceive me, or is that a 750ml of Rochefort in pic #2? I didn’t think the monks did that.

Whenever possible, cork finish bottles are the way to go, at least with Belgians. Most breweries tend to filter them less and give them a better dose of yeast for bottle conditioning than the uncorked ones. I’ve had varying success with Chouff because of their crown caps. Westvleteren and Orval are the two most glaring exceptions to that, as they only do 12oz crown btls and, as you seem to know, age tremendously.

If you have a good source that you buy from, they may be able to turn you on to things we don’t know about over here.

Personal recommendations:
Fantome Noel
Dupont Avec Bon Voeux Christmas Ale
Vapeur Cochonne
Anything Cantillon
Bernardus Abt 12

I like aging English/American Barleywines for 3+ years, but don’t know what you have access to.

3

A big +1 and welcome!

Matt, that has to be a mag, he’s holding a 750 of Chimay and it looks at least 2x the size.

I wish I could add some beer recs but while I enjoy drinking Belgians they’re really not my thing in general.

4

Nicholas,

Welcome! I would’ve responded to your post earlier, but after seeing your collection of Orval I had to go change my pants.

I think it’s awesome you’re tracking beer in CT – I do the same, with the limited room I allow for beer in my wine fridges; you will be duly noted as a “favorite taster” with haste.

You seem to already have a firm grasp on what beers age well, based upon the selections I see in your posted pics.

The beers I currently have aging are:
2009 Brasserie de Rochefort Malt 10
2005 J.W. Lees Malt English Barley Wine Lagavulin Cask
N.V. Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze Feb. 2007 bottling
N.V. Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze Jan. 2004 bottling
N.V. Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze Mar. 2008 bottling
N.V. Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Garde Biere de Mars
Ichtegem’s - Flemish Red Ale Grand Cru


I’d strongly second Matt’s recs for the “Vapeur - “Cochonne”” and “anything Cantillon.”

Pretty much anything sour will age well, as well as Belgian tripels – Jeremy, what was that one you shared with me? I think that one would age very well – it was vintage-dated, and had “Kaiser” in the name somewhere, iirc. It’s a Belgian tripel, I believe.

I’ve tasted proof that Anchor Brewing Co.'s “Christmas Ale” ages very nicely.

And, although I haven’t tasted any examples, I keep hearing that Imperial Stouts age well, too.

5

I thought it might have been the perspective of being closer forward in the shot, but I think you’re right. That’s a 1.5L.




Is it wrong that I’m aroused by that?

6

You are right those are magnums in the front right of the picture and one 3 liter bottle of Chimay 2009 hiding behind them.

I grab them up whenever I find them in the stores. Great prices on them over here. Recently picked up 2 mangums for 15 euros each. The 3 liter was a little more around 35 euros I think if I remember correctly.

Thanks so much for the suggestions I will try to find some of them and I’ll let you know what I think about them. I use to live in San Francisco so I love the Anchor Steam but have never had their christmas ale. Just googled it and the bottle looks sweet! Maybe the next time I am in the States I will be able to find some of that and the famous Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Ale.

Really looking forward to lurking on this forum now, thanks for the nice welcome!

7

Note to self…plan a trip to Luxembourg to visit Nicholas.
flirtysmile grouphug [drinkers.gif]

8

When in the States again, find Ommegang - they are out of New York and make a Belgian style of beer. Absolutely delicious and age-worthy. Their Three Philosophers might be my favorite beer. Most of the other breweries I’d have suggested are in your pics, so that was all I could think of.

I don’t have a beer cave, but I have some beer bottles in my wine room, and I have a 2nd (smaller) refrigerator in the garage that is only for beer.

http://www.ommegang.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice pics, and welcome!!

9

Luxembourg is a great ‘home base’ to visit…

right smack in the middle of Belgium :wink:, Germany 8), and France $)

10

I’m speechless at those photos.

Magnum Rochefort…


Welcome!

11

the Rochefort magnum is very interesting because it has a cork and a bottle cap. Cant wait to try it!

12

Even the 12oz bottles will last 5+ years past bottling. I’ve had 1.5L Chimay Blue Label at about 12 years past date, and I don’t think it’s nearly the beer Rochefort is. I would think at least 10-15 years for that one. Buy several small ones to help keep your hands off it.

BTW: I couldn’t make out the #, but I could see some light green on the label. It’s an 8, correct?

13

Yah I have a few magnums from each year back to 2006… Ill keep them as long as I can. Right now my collection is around 800 bottles. Mostly Orval, Chimay, Rochefort, Westmalle… but a few mixed crates.

The Rochefort magnum is an 8… their ‘christmas’ beer and I think it is the only one the release in magnum format and only in a very limited production.

14

I was grabbing a few beers the other day for a tasting and thought it would be fun to take a photo of how the beer cave looks today. It has been 3 years since I first posted the story about digging out my beer cave…

I feel like it has been a good evolution. However, I am still really only skimming the surface in terms of selection. Heavy on the Chimay it is not my favorite beer… but I really like it a lot as it ages! We have quite a bit of Orval as well but that is my favorite beer.

Unfortunately, I missed out on ordering some Westvleteren with a friend a while back that would have been nice to have a few cases down there too.

In any case we are planning on taking a ‘beercation’ this summer. Drive up to Belgium drink lots of beer, visit abbys, breweries and buy some beer to bring home. Anyone interested in joining?

15

very nice! I age beer in my wine cellar, and have over 100 bottles myself. I’d love to have something like that Rochefort Magnum. I have some of the obvious candidates, and a lot of not so obvious ones I am aging. Ommegang ages extremely well as other have said. All of the trappist do, as well as non-filtered/pasteurized gueze. I am experimenting with aging some Blue Mountain, Petrus, Gouden Carolous, etc.

16

flirtysmile Glad someone is trying, as I drink mine down too quick.

Nicholas, it looks like you aren’t doing NEARLY enough cellar thinning. I’m thinking Berserkers road trip…

17

Delay it until October and I’ll gladly join in! Looking like I’ll be in Belgium 10/5-10/9.

18

Hudak how do you store your beers? Upright? Do you keep the in crates? I am aging some Gouden Carolous too. I like their vintage bottles with the horse painted on the bottle “Cuvee Van De Keizer”.

Matthew, please do stop by and bring frineds! We need to make room for the new beers we will pick up on our upcoming “beercation”.

Tom, we are just in the planning phase now… but with the weather we have had I expect we will be in the heat of the vinification here in Burgundy at that time in October. I will start a new thread when we have a better idea of when we are going to go.

19

Do you ever notice a “sulphur” note to JW lees?

20

Nicholas, as others have mentioned above…not sure if you are a sour beer drinker but if you like that style you must get some lambics from Belgium for aging. Cantillon, Tilquin, 3 Fonteinen, De Cam, etc. Sour beers age marvelously.

Your beer cave is stunning, highly envious here, so cool looking and I’m sure it functions wonderfully.