How to properly stock garage beer

A recent social media trend or meme depending on your point-of-view, especially among elder millennial dads is the garage beer. Garage beers are often accompanied by the musical stylings of Creed. The Kelce Brothers have even launched their own Garage Beer brand. A critical element of the garage beer is the garage fridge.

As a homebrewer with a four tap keezer, I still buy a fair amount of commercial beer. I don’t have a garage, but I do have a mini-fridge for beer in my basement. That was a Covid purchase. Initially our basement fridge was filled with Trillium when they were doing deliveries during the pandemic. In the time since, I have honed in on the ideal way to stock your beer fridge.

I’ll start by saying what not to do. Garage beer is beer you go for on a random weekend day or weeknight. Do not pack your garage fridge with beer you may want to cellar or save for a special occasion. You don’t want your garage fridge to be cluttered with these beers. That is a good way to fill your beer fridge with boozy stouts or other high alcohol styles that can sit there for literally years while you wait for the right time to drink them. Before you know it, you don't even go to your beer fridge when you want a beer because you instinctively know there is nothing in there you want at that moment. 

These beers belong in a cellar. If your home does not have a basement, a closet can work. Ideally it is somewhere cool. Chill these beers in the fridge when you plan to drink them. If you have the space and wherewithal for a separate fridge for cellared beer, that’s great. That is just not what garage beer is about. Garage beers are more about good times and good company than the liquid itself. 

A well-stocked garage should have three classes of beer. 

Local craft beer 4-packs, crowlers: 

I’ve worked with and visited hundreds of small breweries all over the country. For a long time this is what I drank the most, or at least the most other than homebrew. This beer certainly has its place in any beer fridge, but there are two factors to consider: cost and freshness. Specifically when it comes to New England IPA.

If you have the disposable income to fill a garage fridge with $20 four-packs, and you and your buddies will drink those beers within say 30-60 days of purchase, go nuts. For a lot of people that is aggressive. If you and your drinking buddies won’t drink these beers in that timeframe, the better move is to buy your local craft four-packs a few at a time. You are still supporting your local breweries, while ensuring you drink the beer at peak freshness. This also allows you to have a bit more variety as you can pick up any new or rotating releases when they come out. 

Regional/national craft or import 12-packs: 

Coming it at a lower cost per can and typically more shelf stable, these are beers you can always keep in your garage. This could be the beer you drink the most. A table beer with flavor you can enjoy at relatively moderate cost and not have to think about. There is something to be said for having a "house beer", a go-to that you always keep stocked. A beer that when you are down to a few cans, you backfill and buy more. 

Besides, if your garage fridge has a compartment for 12 ounce cans in the door, you may as well use it! The more full a refrigerator is, the less energy is needed to keep the contents cold. Keeping the door empty is just bad for the environment.

Examples of this class of beer include Samuel Adams, Sierra Nevada, or any regional brand in your area. This could also be seasonal beers or sample packs. Sample packs can be a great way to add some variety to your garage fridge. The only caveats with sample packs are that an IPA in a warm sample pack is never going to be the best representation of that beer, and often some of the "new" or "exclusive" beers included in a sampler can be pretty unremarkable. 

Premium imports like European lagers or Guinness also fit in this class. Guinness Extra Stout could easily be a house beer for me. The only issue you may run into with imports is that they are typically available in bottles. If the shelving in your fridge is set up for cans, bottles can be an awkward fit.

Macro-lager: 

If garage beer is a pyramid, this is the base. By macro lager I am talking about cheap, easy to drink, and something that any beer drinker will recognize and enjoy.  Depending on the size of your garage or basement fridge you can buy a 30-pack and as long as you keep them cold these beers will be perfectly drinkable for an extended period. If your garage fridge is smaller you may only be able to buy a 12-pack at a time.

You don’t want to be seen as the “craft beer dad” who only drinks and only has IPAs in his garage. You don't want your neighbor from down the street to think you will judge him for his taste in beer. It is also good to have something crushable to enjoy while mowing the lawn or grilling. Some days these beers hit the right way. Other times a craft beer drinker will get bored after one or two macro lagers which is why the other two classes are important. 

For me this class of beer is Coors Banquet, Narragansett, or Budweiser. If I want to save a few bucks I might pick up Gennessee Cream Ale or PBR.

Lets say you have a full size refrigerator in your garage or basement: a 30-pack of PBR, a 12-pack of Sierra Nevada pale ale, maybe another 12-pack of a Sam Adams seasonal, and a few fresh 4-packs from your local brewery should have a little something for everyone, and a beer to fit any occasion.

With my smaller fridge, I usually only have room for 12-packs and local craft. If I have a 30-bomb, it is usually in my keezer, or on the front porch during the winter  

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