What a Surprise

[RandyG]

Hey All, I was moving some cases of MT's around in the garage and to my surprise I found 6 bottles of OatMeal Stout. It was from a Mr. Beer kit that I had steeped 2 cups of oatmeal,amd added some brown sugar and an ounce of Fuggles hops. I'm not a big stout fan,but it was a gift or something,so I brewed it up.I know the results weren't the best,maybe " 7 Points Under Deelish ",but I drank almost all of it down anyways. I looked back in my brew-log and I had made a note to dump the remainder. Glad I didn't. I had brewed it on Feb.12,2013,over a year ago.Those last 6 bottles were over a year old,and let me tell you brothers and Sisters,that this brew was "12 Points Past Dee-lish."Creamy,nutty,roasty,hoppy. An utter delight. Wish now I had the rest of the case back.

[Gman20]

awesome...... its amazing what time can do to a brewski

[berryman]

I love finding forgotten or misplaced beer, and every once in-awhile I do. It really shows you what time and conditioning can do for a homebrew.

[John Sand]

Actually had a similar experience with a beer today. My last? bottle of Bee Cave Haus Pale is 4 months in the bottle, 9 days in the fridge (or 39, I only label the day of the month on it). I opened it for my afternoon snack. First, it's one of those I found to have minimal head. Today it poured beautiful, golden with two fingers of creamy head that laced all the way down the glass. And a smooth flavor, much improved by time. I still think it needs work, but it's very nice.
What's in your basement?

[BigPapaG]

What's in your basement?

My basement? Why... Let's see...

[philm00x]

basement? what's a basement? lol.
we don't have such things here in FL

[jimjohson]

we don't either. I don't get that here tornado country and no basements

[John Sand]

Papa, your brewery doubles as a bomb shelter.

[BigPapaG]

LOL!

That there is my cool storage for long term conditioning...

I don't brew in there per se...

But I DO ferment lagers in there in the winter somtimes...
(note the four fermenters on the back wall...)

Summer it stays about 62*F-65*F (just looked at my notes and corrected this...)

Winter it dips to 48*F-52*F give or take, depending on how harsh the winter gets...

All the boxes in bags are conditioning brews... Bottles laying down on the right are aging wine...

Scattered around are some ready to dring brews...

And it doubles as brewing equipment storage during November / December when I take a break from brewing each year at the request of my darling SWMBO... LOL!

[John Sand]

"In summer quite the other way"
My basement is around 55-58 in winter, 70-78 in summer. So much of the year I can ferment with ambient in the 60s. But it's also full of old furniture, heirlooms, car and boat parts, hand tools, etc. No bodies as far as you know.

[FrozenInTime]

Finding long brewed surprises is very nice indeed! I think I finally found all my hidden gems after SWMBO cleaned out the brew room and put up several storage racks. It even looks organized in there... no sure I'm liking that, but again, SWMBO gets what makes her happy. There were a few gems in there.... dayum were they good! I have intentionally put back several bottles through the years and have been pleasantly surprised on just how much better they taste. My only let down was an amber I did last fall, was not a bad keg but it had leaked some so the carbing was way below what I expected. Bein a keg, I just re-carbed it with more pressure and am now drinking it.. pretty good.