Believe it or not, wine is not the only type of alcoholic beverage that can be aged for maturation. Many types of beers can also benefit from extended aging. If you're thinking about starting your own wine cellar, here are a few things you should know about aging beer.

Experimentation

When it comes to aging beer, it's best to do a little experimentation. Different beers age in different ways and taste is subjective. Therefore, instead of solely relying on the opinions of others, you should find out for yourself how a certain type of beer ages.

All you need to do is buy a few bottles of beer, drink one of the bottles fresh, and then stash the rest of the bottles. After about six months, you can try out one bottle of stashed beer to see if it has aged well. If you like the new taste, you can leave the rest of the stashed bottles to age for another six months. On the other hand, if you don't like the taste, you can finish off the rest of the stashed beer with a few friends.

Age High-Alcohol Beers

In general, high-alcohol beers age far better. According to KegWorks, you should only age beers with an ABV (alcohol by volume) of 8% or higher. Usually, higher alcohol beers tend to have a sharp taste while fresh. As the beer ages, this sharp or "hot" taste will smooth out substantially. That way, you'll be able to taste the subtle flavors that were previously overtaken by the taste of the alcohol.

Stick with Maltier Beers

When selecting beers to age, you should stick with maltier, darker beers as a rule. Unlike hop-heavy beers, maltier beers tend to age very well. Maltier beers are very complex and roasty in terms of taste and character. As the beer ages, this taste becomes even stronger.

When hop-heavy beers are aged, they tend to lose their hop aroma and  complex hop flavor within a few weeks. If you age a hop-heavy beer for enough time, the isomerized alpha acids will end up oxidizing and the beer will become less bitter.

As you can see, there are many things to keep in mind when it comes to aging beer, especially if you're thinking about starting a wine cellar. Just keep the above tips in mind and you will likely be very pleased with the taste of your aged beers. For more tips or suggestions, talk to experts such as Pacific Wine Merchants.