Cellar-time ...

[The Beer Philosopher]

Here's a fun article in the New York Times on cellaring beer I came across ... I need a cave too! I'm jealous!

[Virgil G]

Not sure if it was in that article or a different one on cellaring; but it was mentioned that if you were going to be laying down a beer for a long time, that you should wax the top.

Ah... found it

Beer Examiner

Helpful Hint: If you are stashing beers for any length of time and you truly intend to drink them, invert the bottle and dip the capped end in a melted pot of paraffin. They can then be stored upright. This has worked well for me and minimizes air "ingress" into the bottle (no matter how securely a bottle cap is atop a beer bottle, there is a slow "creep" of air into the bottle from the outside - it has to do with Boyle's Law for all you engineers) thus preventing negative aspects of oxidation.

funny, he links to the article too.

[The Beer Philosopher]

Interesting stuff and a good idea, I suppose. I'd likely do it if I had some paraffin wax just sitting around, but I'm not likely to go to that extent for most of the beers I cellar. Besides, I typically cellar for 1-3 years only ... not too much "ingress" over that relatively short span of time, assuming the bottles are stored at the right temperature, are more or less undisturbed and are stored UPRIGHT as opposed to on their side, for Pete's sake.

[Virgil G]

The place I get my beers and homebrew stuff, locally, sells paraffin wax, so it's not that hard to get. Many of the beers for aging come with wax on it anyway, so it's already done... all i have to do is be patient... and not listen to anyone else when they ask me to open something.

[Rob DeNunzio]

Upright or on its side? Hmmm.....

[The Beer Philosopher]

Interesting stuff ... how on earth did I miss this site all this time? Thanks for posting.

[theBryon]

The "Alewife" had this gadget for paraffin, apparently it's good for the hands or something. Think crock pot with wax in it... It was a passing fad, and I think it didn't sell at the last tag sale... Maybe I should wax my homebrews to prevent flat beers from poor seals...