Side Project Brewing (2025)

I bought the VWBBT and had zero regrets, that shit was amazing. Passed on Derivation GC and also zero regrets. Hoping my 2 bottles of The Blend have me feeling the same way

 

So I guess ... they.. kinda sorta like us?!

I think the system of doing one standalone bottle per person + unlimited packages (for LC first) is decent. I was pleasantly surprised to see that again for this one. I would have grabbed one of the OF '23 by itself anyway, so that helps.

Agreed that $60 is very steep for 12.7 of liquid. Of course most people would say that $20 for one bottle of beer is insane, so I guess we're already well beyond the realm of reason. I hope this one is a lot closer to VWBBT than to DGC!

 

Side note: I've always thought that Toppling Goliath's bottle artwork was pretty corny/neckbeard-y (sorry if you're reading this, TG's Creative Director)

...so it's been cracking me up that they were, apparently, like "hey what if we did just a normal Side Project bottle but we slapped a B-2 Bomber in there, sweet"

 

Seems like a reference to SR71. Spy plane vs stealth bomber

 

Damn, I actually love that label. Plays on TG's "SR-71" and has a lot of overlap with my job. I don't care to spend $$$ on it, but it would look good on my office shelf.

 

Definitely a SR71 nod

 

SR71 was one of the great white whales for many. I know it was for me. I didn't get to try B1 though but B2 was insane.

 

Oh yeah, I'm sure you're correct on their thought process. TG also used the F-22 for Shadow Raptor! Probably other examples that I'm forgetting. The B-2 is a clear nod to those, I reckon.

I'm glad it's relatively subtle, in Side Project fashion. I was worried they were gonna cram some T-Rex's in Abrams tanks doing battle against ninja commandos on there

 

Should i assume the member party will be in the dead of winter again?

 

Online BBT25 public sale, Saturday, 11/1.

 

Damn, I didn't even drink my BBT24 yet. Time flies

 

Same here - I do think I had it on site at Stout Week though.

 

Might as well throw it away.

Goes to show how mediocre that beer is ny the fact it can just sit for 365 days after purchase.

 

B-2 is also based in MO like SP. Makes it a nice selection.

 

That makes even more sense then, yeah I see that they're based @ Whiteman. Outskirts of KC. TIL! I agree with y'all that it's a cleanly-designed label. SP's always good for that.

Reminds me slightly of the Tenth Stout (and Barleywine) with the outlines of the Cellar. Side note: I still think the Tenth Stout was at least slightly underrated (and I have a conspiracy theory that some musty glassware in the Cellar on that release day brought down the ratings) but that's a story for another day...

 

That's an intriguing tidbit about that glassware....

 

So I could be full of it, but here's what I (and a few others) noticed on the day they released the Tenth Stout (11/7/24). The on-site pours went into whichever glasses the bartenders were pulling out of storage that day, and me and everyone in my group noticed this musty, leathery, almost smoky nose on our pours. I didn't find it terribly off-putting, but I recognized it as a similar profile that I get from glasses that sit in a particular antique cabinet in my house. Just a real grandma's-attic kinda odor.

Anyway we all tried pouring our stout into some clean plastic cups that we had on hand, and it immediately reduced that musty/smoky odor, and we enjoyed the pour quite a bit more after that. I'd say it took a beer I might give a ~4.5 up to more like a 4.8~4.9. So again, maybe I'm just taking crazy pills, but I have loved the pours of Tenth that I've had at home since. And I do always wonder how the first dozen/hundred/whatever ratings on Untappd will end up biasing future ratings. That's a bigger philosophical question, I suppose.

Since then, I've heard a few other locals confirm that sometimes the Cellar glassware does have that musty funk to it, so maybe it's just a running bit of Cellar lore. A certain cabinet they pull glasses out of sometimes. Idk. I've only noticed it in that one instance, but I only get over there a few times a year so my sample size is tiny.

 

Thx for sharing - I actually came in a day after that was released and still haven't cracked my bottle yet.

 

Both are among the best stouts I’ve ever had. I know people consider batch 2 a step down from the first, but the only barrel aged beer I’ve had in the years since batch 2 that would come close was the first iteration of MJK.

 

The 10th stout is totally more smoky/roasty then most of their stouts for sure. I had it at the Member party and everyone i was with mentioned the smokiness of it.