Wine has long been revered as the drink of choice to cellar, however, the right beer can easily be cellared and matured to increase its flavour and enjoyment. Now we’re not talking about your mainstream beer that has a shelf life of 3 – 9 months. Instead these are beers which the brewer has designed to be aged for full benefit – the likes of Belgian strong ales, vintage ales and Imperial stouts.

In our October beer club pack, we managed to source Coopers Vintage Ale from 1999. That’s right a beer that is 12 years old! Coopers release their Vintage Ale once a year and this one has aged exceptionally. We suggest you buy a current Coopers Vintage so you’re able to drink them side by side. We’d even suggest buying a whole case of the 2011 vintage and putting some aside to enjoy them over a period of time, say 5 – 10 years.

Now what’s the best way to cellar beer I hear you ask? Very simple if you follow these simple tips:

• Ensure the storage area is dark and cool, ideally a constant temperature of around 10⁰ – 15⁰ C
• Store the beers upright as the plastic in the crown seal can negatively effect the beer over time
• Leave the beer alone – don’t be tempted to raid the stash within the first couple of weeks!

Some other beers you may want to make room in your cellar/basement/garage for:

• Murrays Anniversary Ale
• Holgate Beelzbub Quadruple
• Mikkeller Santas Little Helper
• Coopers Vintage
• Rogue Ales Russian Imperial Stout