Side Project / Shared (2021)

Got to ask. How early did you show up? I know folks were lining up on Friday and Sat at like 8am for the 1pm open.

 

2:55pm

less than 10 folks in front of me

 

Nice!

 

It has been a few years since I visited Side Project but what a time to stop by yesterday was!

Got to finally try BBT and got a pour of MJK which was an insane treat. Both are just absolute perfection within their styles imo.

6 Candles and 7 Candles were both very good as well but nothing was going to compare to the other two.

You all in St. Louis are lucky to have SP nearby. As far as hyped midwest breweries, SP >>>> TG and I honestly don't think it's close.

 

this isn’t even close nor a fair comparison. while TG makes some good BA imperial stouts, the other 90+% of their repertoire is IPAs which are just so overplayed at this point. besides making better BA stouts AND barleywines / strong ales, SP has such a vast array of saisons and wilds that get overlooked because all anyone truly cares about is the stouts. furthermore, SP’s ability to tinker, re-work and experiment is always as impressive as it is delicious.

 

Yeah it really comes down to what you really like in a brewery.

As far as apt comparisons, it's better to do beer to beer, focusing on similar aims/styles.

 

A friend and I were talking the other day about how BBT is such a tremendous beer, we’re more likely to compare it to each batch of BBT instead of other BA Stouts. Because to me, it’s leaps and bounds better than pretty much every other one that exists from another brewery.

 

What other BA stouts specifically come to mind in consideration for comparison that ultimately end up falling short?

 

It’s a great beer, but I’m also curious. Leaps and bounds seems like a stretch, but I get that palates differ.

(For the record, leaps and bounds to me means that if you rank BBT a 4.8, that means anything else is a 4.3/4 or less. Or if BBT is a 5, everything else is 4.6 or less. Not questioning your enjoyment, it just seems like there is always hyperbole when it comes to SP beers. Top tier? Absolutely. Beyond comparison? A bridge too far for me. There are certainly other top tier comparable beers IMHO.)

 

Although I agree with your sentiments on SP, is TG even a hyped brewery anymore?? Can think of at least 10 more hyped midwest breweries than TG, 1 of which is in Decorah

 

Same. IMO there is no beer on Earth that is head and shoulders above its competition to such a degree at a certain level, within styles. There are a few old world classics that are hard to mimic, but even those aren't exceptionally transcendent relative to their peers. In my person experience, things can only taste so "good."

 

I’ve obviously not had every beer in that style but some beers of note that get beat out by BBT for me: Assassin, SR-71, BA Dark Lord, BCS Rare, Modern Times Wizard’s Blend, Maman. Mind you I think all those beers are very good, but I’d reach for BBT over all of them.

 

And yes, as I suspected, I wouldn't really disagree with your assessment here.

That said, there are dozens of beers that fly lower under the radar and sometimes even have higher levels of production I find to be just as stellar and enjoyable as the rare, highly vaunted fare, even up into the BBT stratosphere. Some breweries just seem to get lucky, others follow similar steps with a similar love for the blending process. This is easier to find at the end of the year on BA than Untappd, considering the more nuanced scoring scale, and I always enjoy seeing how my top ten shake out.

 

you must not have ever had the first bottling of SR-71.

 

I’d love some recs, would be great to see some more accessible stuff that gets close. BBT has basically become my platonic ideal for the style and I’d for sure be impressed with other great blenders. It seems harder to come by breweries that are making blends like SP with all the different recipes and ages of the stock.

 

Correct, just B2. I viewed TG stouts as pretty much pipe dreams up until a few years ago.

 

Sure, I mean this year I found Mikkeller San Diego to have knocked an insane amount of quality BA stouts out of the park, as in my above linked list The Last OG Trey came out #1 in my reviews this year. I know they've had some controversy this year but I'm honestly less aware of it than I have been other scenarios, but they're easier to access depending on location.

Less accessible, yet moreso than SP, are Voodoo's BRC which finally won me over this year. One after another, just super solid releases.

Kane may be hit or miss, but when they hit it's also a home run, and it's usually obvious because the label is also reflective of the contents inside--their 10th anniversary was excellent. And just to be clear, this is all in regards solely to BA stouts.

Fremont is getting slept on anymore but I find their stuff steadily improving even while output increases.

Same goes for Bottle Logic, although I've always respected their game and the barrel character they achieve amidst all that pastry, their non-adjunct output is usually minimal, but they released two Voodoo collabs this year that were bonkers, one that only added coffee.

My final shout-out has to be Revolution and I'm not sure how they slipped to the end here but they're readily accessible and if not locally, easy to find a proxy, same as Bottle Logic and Kane. They just continue to elevate their game.

Sure, none of these are going to get your adrenaline flowing before you even pop them open, but such are the stakes when you slay whales. It's been proven this kind of anticipatory euphoria can amplify one's experience, so maybe do a little speed before you crack your next KBS (j/k lol).

 

When thinking of better, easier to get straight BB stouts compared to BBT, Deprecophobia immediately came to mind. A friend brought one to a recent gathering and made the DB BCBS and BADL I opened look lame by comparison. It's also one of the thickest stouts I've had and everything else we were drinking seemed thin afterwards.

 

BBT is untouchable as a style within BA stouts I’d say. If you want a super thick, chocolate bomb that’s just beautiful AF, “nothing compares.”

Now, are there other awesome, kick ass BA stouts around? Hell yes. Some have more barrel, which I sometimes prefer. Regular ass BCBS is a champion of value and taste for me, and when we aren’t talking in relative terms (cost per $ or whatevs) it’s a monster. Same can be said for the aforementioned adjunct and non-adjunct stouts, plus others. I’m a Bottle Logic fan - again more of a “value” play versus maxxx flavor/best ever. My opinion, so we all know it’s worth(less) it’s weight in gold.

 

Agreed. SR-71 B1 is better than almost every SP stout I've had, and better than any BBT IMO.