Side Project / Shared (2023)

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet but Content Moderator to-go on Friday!!! #creek/lakebeers

 

#riverbeers

 

I am still stunned that SP decided to make their “best coffee stout ever” such a small batch and sell it unlimited to members only. I don’t get it, especially when batches have been massive in the past.

 

maybe having the barrel-aged component put limits on it? or maybe the fast that the coffee was a custom roast? it seems like if they made a normal batch of vibes recipe the other half (or at least a portion) is going to Ambiente.

 

Ah yeah that makes sense. Prob split the vibes batch between csv and Ambiente.

still, no reasonable explanation for no limit other than just wanting to sell it out I guess.

 

Can't speak for anyone else, but I would rather have CSV over Ambiente.

 

the no limit i can’t explain. but i think that’s a decent guess on the batch size.

 

100%

if this goes well (canning, nitro, portion of BA) then perhaps next time they’ll do them in two separate runs… let’s just hope it doesn’t take another 3 years or whatever it was for CSV..

 

Ambiente feels like a beer that deserves a small release (size) and/or infrequent releases. I'd argue that it belongs in the same camp as Langst. Whereas CSV seems like it deserves a larger and more frequent release (annual or biannual?).

This isn't just personal opinion, I mean this from the standpoint of how popular these beers appear to be. Personally I like Langst a lot, but I really don't want a 750ml, and I also don't really like the cost of that beer. It's an ideal candidate for smaller size bottles. Also, by comparison, I mean, it doesn't wow me or satiate the way others do. For what it is, great, but still. I suspect on one or more of these dimensions, others feel the same way.

 

For someone who isn't even that big a CSV fan, this x 1000. Ambiente just flat out sucks

 

it’s really odd that Ambiente (and BA Ambiente) aren’t better. especially considering that it’s Shared’s version of Abraxas (Mexican hot chocolate), which was Cory’s recipe originally anyways. i’ve always been perplexed by this.

 

That right there is why it sucks. Base a beer off a crappy beer and get another crappy beer.
#justsaynotocinnamonandchilisinbeer Just one man's opinion. Carry on

 

Abraxas tastes like Dirt. Sometimes Spicy Dirt.

#Teammexicanhotchocolatebeersuck

 

@TNCraftBeer

 

I'm honestly not sure it's that it's not good or great, but just that the style is played out and people don't really crave Mexican stouts at volume or on the regular. It's fine to share once or twice a year, but that niche seems saturated in a strange way (it's not like we're swimming in Mexican stouts at stores or anything, but it still feels that way).

By contrast, coffee stouts are a dime a dozen, but well made ones are still craveable and sell well.

Sometimes it's better to let go of past glory and let it shine on its own, instead of re-exercising a regular tribute. Hell, if it were more infrequent perhaps the nostalgia would see a greater spike in demand every few years...a tactic SP (and thus Shared) typically seems more than comfortable with.

 

Re: Ambiente, BA Ambiente, cue Thomas Haden Church from Sideways: “Tastes pretty good to me”

 

Are Mexican Chocolate stouts the Merlot of the beer world? Please discuss.

 

I still enjoy a well made spicy stout. The reason why most of them suck is because there's usually way too much cinnamon in them.

 

are you chewing gum?

 

While I don’t think BA Abraxas “sucks”, I do think it has fallen a long, LONG way from what it once was. Almost not worth buying anymore. But back in about 2017, that beer was nails. I remember it was like cinnamon/whiskey soaked raisins. I don’t know what changed, other than Cory left, but as someone else mentioned above, that hasn’t translated into a similar elite beer in BA Ambiente.