Tomorrow over on FoodGPS, I will have an interview with Christian Albertson from the Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco about aging beers, what to buy and tasting dinners. But to borrow the Hollywood movie lingo, here is a teaser of one question and one answer….
Q. What are your recommendations for beer geeks to cellar for themselves?
This advice goes out to not just people at home, but also other restaurants that are doing a vintage beer program. I think the most important thing that I’ve learned first-hand is that if you’re going to do it, you need to do it right: you need a cool constant temperature between 55 and 60. Good cellaring conditions make all the difference. We have had the opportunity (due to the large number of different beers in our cellar) to test other cellars/warehouses: there were a few times when a beer came in and I realized that it’s the same batch that we housed, and did a side by side tasting. Hands down, every time, the beer is better in the bottle we cellared—sometimes it’s a slight difference, and sometimes the contrast is stark (in some cases, it’s not the same beer at all). Get a “wine cabinet” and keep it in there at cellar temp—or at worst, your fridge (it will slow the aging process, but it won’t ruin it as much as a fluctuating, too-high temp will). We are talking here about the best beers in the world, some that can last 20 years and keep improving—it is necessary that the conditions are right. Wine enthusiasts are not putting their ’96 Burgundies in the back of their closet—don’t do the same with beer’s equivalents.