Everyone reading this should know by now that I make lists to help me be at least somewhat productive with my time.  Initially I feel great when I cross a few things off the list and see that the number of yet-to-dos is getting smaller.  Then there is inevitably a point where I begin to add things to the bottom as fast or faster than I am crossing items off at the top.

Not all of the things I add to the bottom are all that important in the grand scheme of things, but they allow me an opportunity for a mental or physical break from what I really should be concentrating on.  Today I will provide an example of that.

Somewhere floating in the middle of my current list has been a generic task that simply asks that I do some work on the websites that I have control of.  There could be a completely separate list of simply the things I am behind on doing with just this site.  Though I had put much thought into it for a while, making more videos would really belong near the top of that one.

So that started me thinking again of the things that I would like to make videos about like beer styles, proper glassware, buying beer, storing beer, and just tasting beer in general.  Then I started to think about the format of the videos.  How serious should I be?  How long should the videos be?  Where should I shoot the videos?  How often should I do them?

That then lead me to looking at beer related videos like this one . . . .

Now I am looking for a little feedback.

What did you like about it and what did not work so well?  Was the length about right?  Was the mood and presentation style to your liking?  I think that format is fairly close to what might work well for me, but I am not sure.  Any input would be appreciated.

Cheers!

As fond as I am of reading beer related lists from other places I should really create a few of my own now and again. The one for today is not going to be a collection of my top beers or anything like that, but rather a rundown of some beery things that I need to get moving on in the near future. Considering that last year at this time I was still basking in the glory of leaving office life and likely trying to decide what video game to play, getting an action list into writing is a must for me to be productive with my time.

Now in no particular order I will go with a few items to start off year . . .

1. Build some sort of storage rack for larger bottles of beer (22s and 750s) and possibly even some 12oz ones as well. After building more of a utility style rack for work (job number 1) I have the basis for designing something smaller and more furniture-like for the house. Since I will be moving all bottles from the bathtub soon anyway it would be nice not to put them back there. With a go ahead already given by The Wife I hope to get started soon.


Now to shrink this version

2. Brew a Maple Porter that has been requested via a combination of input from some family and friends that will be visiting in the coming months. Since I pretty much always brew in pairs I need to get working on that recipe and one other as well.
3. Work on this site and lots of it. I have tons of maintenance to do here that should begin with updating my beer review pages and also my cellar page. Beyond that I have lists of things from previous posts that I have thought of doing here (such as describing all of the beer styles) that I need to work on plans of attack for.
4. Read, read, study, and read some more. I have so many beer books that I really want to get to reading. Also, though the practical application of my beer knowledge has grown considerably in the last few months I need to get back to working on my base of knowledge as I did before. Fortunately reading will take care of both.
5. Enter a beer competition somewhere here in Florida. This may be something that will be part of the plan for that second beer recipe that I have yet to decide on from number 2. I have no delusions of doing well in the competition but it would be nice to get that kind of formal feedback to help in going forward.
6. Reviewing beers. For much of last year I had the luxury of having a significant backlog of beer reviews to pull from and did not really have to evaluate beers unless I felt like doing so. Now the backlog is gone and I must get working on building it up at least a little bit. Since I plan on adjusting my methods as well, I have to get started sooner than later.

Time to get organized

That is where I will start with a beer to do list for the beginning of this year. I am sure I have forgotten a few things and I know that I have at least that many more things to take care of with my professional life (job number 2) that are much less interesting to me (and likely for you). Why all renewals and such have to be at the beginning of the year I do not know as I would much rather have them spread out just a bit. Fortunately for me, at this point in my life I would much rather be too busy than not busy enough.

Onward to tackle list items. Stay tuned . . .

The time has come to add another page to this site. This page is one that really should have been part of it from the very beginning if only because it would give everyone an idea of what beer reviews would be coming in the future. Better late than never I suppose, so without any more delay this is what will become “The Cellar” page that you will soon see above . . .

OK, so there is not actually a cellar at my house. That is likely a good thing since if there was to be one I would definitely be tempted to expand the amount of beer that I have in the house to utilize that extra space to its fullest potential.

This page will be where I keep a current list of the different beers that are floating around somewhere in my house. On top of letting everyone else know what I have on hand, it will also be a great way for me to keep track as I often forget at least a few that are tucked away somewhere.

What will be referred to here on out as “The Cellar” is actually a combination of my fridge, guest bathtub, wine fridge, counter, bookshelf, and anywhere else that I can keep beers out of the way until I am ready to enjoy them.

As you well know by now I often have quite a few beers that I don’t actually buy on my own. For full disclosure, those beers that are received as gifts or via other means will be followed with an asterisk or a name.

In my collection at the moment . . .

• Allagash Brewing – Dubbel (Batch #91)
• Allagash Brewing – Tripel (Batch #155)
• Brewery Ommegang – Abbey Ale
• Brewery Ommegang – Cup O Kyndnes
• Brewery Ommegang – Tripel Perfection
• Dogfish Head Craft Brewery – Bitches Brew
• Great Divide Brewing Company – 16^th Anniversary Wood Aged Double IPA
• Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company – Vacation Land Summer Ale *
• Ithaca Beer Company – Apricot Wheat
• Ithaca Beer Company – Casca Zilla
• Ithaca Beer Company – Ground Break
• Ithaca Beer Company – Pale Ale
• PALM Breweries – PALM Amber *
• Sackets Harbor Brewing Company – 1812 Ale
• Samuel Smith Old Brewery – Organic Cider *
• Shipyard Brewing Company – Summer Ale *
• Sierra Nevada Brewing Company – Northern Hemisphere Harvest *
• Southern Tier Brewing Company – Crème Brûlée Stout
• Southern Tier Brewing Company – Pumking
• Southern Tier Brewing Company – Mokah
• Stone Brewing Company – 10.10.10 Vertical Epic Ale
• Terrapin Beer Company – Reunion ’10

There is also some home brewed beer in bottles . . .

• Belgian Dubbel
• Berliner Weisse (via Mr. Melton)
• Dopplebock (via Mr. Melton)
• Fruit Cider (via Mr. Melton)
• Saison
• Strong Ale (via Mr. Melton)
• Tepache (via Mr. Melton)

In the early stages of recording my beer evaluations I realized that it could become common to have as many as ten or more different beers in the house at one time.  As a result, I did some research on how to store beer at home and quickly understood that it was an important part in the whole tasting process.  This will spell out what I think I know and what I typically do.

Really the basics of beer storage are that heat and light equal bad things for your beer.  As you know, Florida has a lot of both so I probably store mine differently than people would in more temperate climates.  Basements aren’t all that common here and unless the garage is conditioned to be quite cool, that isn’t a good option either.

Ideally, it’s a good to store the beer at the temperature that you would like to drink it at.  I have read that the late beer writer extraordinaire Michael Jackson suggested five different temperature ranges for serving and I tend to listen to what he had to say about all things beer.  His recommendations are:

• Well chilled (7 °C/45 °F) for “light” beers (pale lagers)
• Chilled (8 °C/47 °F) for Berliner Weisse and other wheat beers
• Lightly chilled (9 °C/48 °F) for all dark lagers, altbier and German wheat beers
• Cellar temperature (13 °C/55 °F) for regular British ale, stout and most Belgian specialties
• Room temperature (15.5 °C/60 °F) for strong dark ales (especially trappist beer) and barley wine

A room temperature of 60 degrees doesn’t happen anywhere in my house at almost any time of year, so I needed to find another option even for that.  I ended up settling on three temperatures for my home storage.  I have an under counter dual zone wine fridge that we built into our kitchen a few years back, so I am able to take advantage of some space in the side for whites (set at 54 degrees or so) and reds (right around 60-61 degrees).  The other space I use is the regular old refrigerator.

With that setup, my methods are pretty simple.  Any darker beers or beers with a higher alcohol content end up in the wine fridge on one side or the other.  Lighter beers (in color and alcohol content) go in the regular refrigerator and sometimes I pull a beer out and let it warm a bit before opening it.  It’s not a perfect system but it has some flexibility and it works well for me.

Even though cellaring and aging beer is something I have yet to get into, it is certainly worth a mention.  Maybe when I work up enough will power to hold onto a worthwhile beer for a year or more before drinking it, I can revisit the subject with more expertise.

The same temperature rules apply as described above since storing at the optimal temperatures will ensure a longer shelf life for your beer.  The only other opinion I have on long-term storage (having not really tried it) is that the beer should be stored in an upright position so any yeast will settle to the bottom and not somewhere in the middle of the bottle.  Yeast collected in the middle will surely come out when you finally decide to pour that beer into a glass.  Also, I would imagine that long-term contact with a cork (that some beers do have) would not help the flavor of the beer much.  I guess when it comes down to it, I have never seen beer stored on its side in a store so I don’t think it should be done at home either.