Full disclosure right up front — I’m stealing this idea. But it’s a good one, so here goes.
I recently discovered Simply Beer, a blog run by Peter, a homebrewer and fellow nerd. One of the site’s best features is a tab with Peter’s beer cellar — an up-to-date snapshot of all the beer he has on hand. It’s quite a list, with dozens upon dozens of really good beers — some rare, some aged, some both. He even designates the really special stuff with an asterisk, which means that the beer is “not available for trade, unless it is something equally amazing I may consider”.
Well, I don’t have a cellar, and my collection is nowhere near as awesome as Peter’s. But I do keep 4 cardboard boxes full of beer in the coldest room in my apartment, and just yesterday I did some rearranging and updated the spreadsheet where I keep track of the beers.
Yeah, I keep a spreadsheet…this place is called Beer Nerds for a reason.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve got:
Allagash Odyssey (bottled 7/09)
Anchor Christmas Ale (2 bottles, 2009 release)
Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale (2 bottles, bottled 1/14/09)
Avery Anniversary Ale Sixteen Saison (bottled 5/09)
Avery the Beast Grand Cru Ale (bottled 2009)
Avery Mephistopheles Stout (brewed 11/08)
Avery Old Jubilation Ale (2 bottles, 2009 release)
Avery Samael’s Oak-Aged Ale (bottled 4/09)
Baltika No. 6 Porter (“production date” 8/7/09)
Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru (best before 3/13/11)
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (3 bottles, Winter 09-10)
Dogfish Head Burton Baton (3 bottles, bottled 6/19/09)
Dogfish Head Immort Ale (4 bottles, bottled in 2009)
Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron (3 bottles, bottled 9/28/09)
Dogfish Head Raison D’Etre (bottled 3/23/09)
Dogfish Head/Sierra Nevada Life & Limb (2 bottles, brewed 9/09)
Fuller’s Vintage Ale (2 bottles, 2006 release)
Fuller’s Vintage Ale (3 bottles, 2007 release)
George Gale Prize Old Ale (2007 release)
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (4 bottles, bottled 10/16/08)
Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer (3 bottles, 2008 release)
Great Divide 15th Anniversary Wood-Aged Double IPA (bottled 6/19/09)
Great Divide Chocolate Oak-Aged Yeti Imperial Stout (bottled 6/15/09)
Great Divide Hibernation Ale (3 bottles, bottled 10/29/08)
Great Divide Hibernation Ale (2 bottles, bottled 10/28/09)
Kulmbacher Eisbock (purchased 10/09)
Lagunitas Brown Shugga Ale (purchased Fall 2008)
North Coast Old Stock Ale (2007 release)
North Coast Old Stock Ale (2008 release)
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence (purchased 12/09)
Otter Creek Imperial India Pale Ale (purchased 10/09)
Real Ale Sisyphus Barleywine Ale (2007 release)
Real Ale Sisyphus Barleywine Ale (2 bottles, 2008 release)
Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 8 (5 bottles, bottled 8/20/09)
Saint Arnold Divine Reserve No. 9 (12 bottles, bottled 11/11/09)
Samichlaus Bier (bottled 2007)
Samichlaus Bier Helles (bottled 2007)
Samuel Adams Double Bock (purchased early 2009)
Samuel Adams Imperial Stout (purchased early 2009)
Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale (2 bottles, bottled 1/7/09)
Stone Imperial Russian Stout (2 bottles, released Spring 2009)
Stone Old Guardian Barleywine Style Ale (early 2009 release)
Victory WildDevil (bottled 4/22/09)
So there you go. By my count, that’s 85 beers, and I’ve got to admit that I’m pretty proud of the collection.
A couple of notes:
-As you can tell, I don’t know exactly how old all these beers are. I guess that’s part of the challenge. Some (such as most Great Divide releases) have the exact bottling date on the label. Others are once-a-year releases (Samichlaus, Stone IRS), so all you need to know is the year. For a few, a little bit of digging is enough to put a ballpark date on them. And for an annoying few, the only thing I know is when I bought them.
-The conditions in which I’m aging these beers are not ideal. I’m no expert, not at all, but from what I’ve heard and read, beer should be aged upright in a cool, dark place. I’ve got the upright and dark parts taken care of, but I don’t have a way to keep the beers at “cellar” temperature. Still, the coldest room in my apartment is pretty much always below 70 degrees, which is better than nothing. As Peter says in his own cellar description, you “work with what ya got”. Hopefully someday I’ll have a full-fledged beer fridge or cellar.
I plan on adding a tab that keeps my current inventory relatively up-to-date, and I’ll do my best to update folks on how these beers turn out.
I’d also love to hear what kind of beers other nerds are aging or simply saving for a rainy day.
Now I’m thirsty…
Beer Nerds 