Cellaring hoppy beers rarely works out well.
+1
FWIW - I've had great results cellaring beers in the basements of my past 2 houses. Both have been raised-ranch style, my current basement is completely unfinished/unheated and my old house had one room that was unfinished. Up against the concrete wall that is deepest underground holds the most constant and cool temps. I haven't checked the temps regularly, but it holds in the mid-to-upper 50's most of the year, maybe pushing low-60's during a real heat wave in the summer.
The best beers for aging tend to be big ales, barleywines in particular. I usually stash away a 4/6-pack of my favorite barleywines each year and come back to them every year or so. My prized possessions are a 4-pack of 2004 Thomas Hardy Ale and a 1997 Sam Adams Triple Bock. I also recently acquired a 1986 Thomas Hardy, but I don't think I will be aging that one much longer.
![Grin ;D](http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif)
As far as the shelf life of homebrews goes, i was wondering a bit about that myself. I'm just about to brew my first batch of homebrew myself and once I get a few under my belt I was planning to brew my first vintage barleywine. Aside from being really careful about avoiding oxygenation, is there anything else that a homebrewer can do to increase the shelf life of their beer? Would wax-dipping the caps be helpful for brews you're intending to age for several years?