Hey! I am Patrick Boegel and Bottle & Cellar is one of my hobbies. Specifically it is the hobby of cellar aging, often with the intent to do so for long time periods, both professionally brewed commercial beer as well as beer that I brew at home personally.
This all began in the summer of 2005, as I took a course to become a beer judge via the BJCP a great organization founded in the mid 1980s to begin advocating for beer literacy and the promotion of real beer. I passed that first test by the skin of my beer drinking teeth and was given a rank of “Recognized”.
Over the next couple of years I attended a few professional and home brewing competitions as a judge, I did some reading and a fair amount of my own brewing. In 2008 I took the opportunity to take the course once again determined to improve my score and rank. With a bit more knowledge under my belt about both brewing and evaluating beer, as well as the practical experience of taking the test a little too for granted that first time out, I increased my score by 20 points. Currently I have a rank of “Certified”, with a test score that qualifies me for a “National” ranking after accumulating the required level of judging/participation points.
So what does that all mean. Well for starters I am pretty humble about it all (that first go at the BJCP exam developed perspective). I am by no means an expert at evaluating beer. That said I think I’ve substantially trained my palate and learned a great deal about what makes one beer notable and another regretable. The purpose of Bottle & Cellar is primarily to expose individuals to the practice of aging outstanding ales and lagers for personal enjoyment. Cellar aging beer is not something new, but it is a topic that little fanfare.
This is my personal take on the practice of cellar aging beer. Every palate is different, each brewer and beer unique. There are some basic standards and practices for cellar aging beer, I try to follow them as closely as possible. At the end of the day this is a guide to how I think certain beer styles and more importantly specific examples of styles and at times particular vintages are aging. I will share as much information in as great a level of detail that is available on each beer I discuss and review. At the end of the day I hope to encourage others to consider giving cellar aging beer a try. Cheers!
