Side Project Brewing (2025)

$40

 

Okay, so they have a magnum of Vintage 2014 at the brewery right now. It's the last one.

I cracked a 375 of it recently and it's drinking so damn well.

I am begging someone. Please. Come buy this bottle. Because if it's still here in a few days I will buy it and Mrs. Smalony will have me sleeping on the couch.

 

$39.99 BUT, again, it's part of a package. A Chi-town package.

You will never be able to escape packages. Ever.

Want Tarpey? Gotta buy som BA Malort.



https://www.wineandcheeseplace.com/spirits/Malort-Bourbon-Barrel-Aged-w6835820l6

 

Oreo, vanilla, mint parfait.

 

I so badly want it to be good, but I think some of the versions of 17 really ruined mint for me.

 

Mint oreo parfait is up for LC

might wait to hear from all of you guys how it is first. Dropping tomorrow and sale ends 12/23, I like that sequence to get some time to hear about it before we can no longer buy it

 

Holy smokes this is up my alley.

 

A question about BBT pickups for an outta-towner, that I should I know better than to ask, but here goes:

The emails are quite clear that the BBT pickup window ends Dec 29 "at 8pm" (which is just when the Brewery closes ... anyway)



Now, I've never had any issues picking up online orders (for regular beers) after the 3 week window before. I've emailed a few times to let them know I'd be late, and even in those instances the reply was pretty much always "Yeah dude, whatever, no big deal."

I've also been explicitly told by one of the bartenders that it's more like a soft request of "we'd prefer you pick 'em up within 3 months or so of release, and let us know if you can't (especially for LC members)." I.e. -- Just don't abuse the system and push for like 6+ months. Even though I'm sure we've all heard stories of dudes picking up a year late.

But I've also never gone past New Year's for a BBT pickup, either. And they do seem to be extra serious about the deadline for BBT packages vs. other beers.

My buddy was there for Cellarversary and asked one of the bartenders (who knows him well, and is always very friendly/accommodating) about the possibility of picking up BBT's after Dec 29... and they suddenly got very serious and said that the packages could be forfeit at that point.

I'm ... guessing that's just what the bartenders HAVE to say, but just curious if anyone else has any perspective on this. Trying to avoid burdening a proxy on this one because I have several packages to pick up for several people, plus a buttload of other recent bottles.

 

I guess I overlooked the Dec 29 deadline and had assumed 3 weeks starting on Black Friday. Also an out-of-towner, but have trip through planned for this coming weekend or early next week. I reached out by email to verify this was ok and the reply said:

"We know how hectic the holidays are so don't fret about a late pickup! We will hold orders a little longer this time of the year. If it will be past January just let us know so we can be sure your items are available when you or a proxy comes by!"

Hope that helps some. Months?!? Geez.

 

Not gonna comment on BBT, because I just don't know, but I was there Monday night to pick up some orders, and I'll just relay what I heard - the 3 week deadline is definitely a soft deadline (which I think we all knew) and this is mostly driven by space limitations. That pickup area where they fill orders just isn't meant to hold gaggles of D21 for 12 months at a time, and I totally get that. I understand that there has to be SOME policy in place, but as the OP said, if you're picking up quarterly or less, I get the impression that's fine, especially as things lag online longer and longer (if you can still buy it immediately, one would think that it would still have some inventory on site so even if you ordered it a few months ago, they'd still be able to fill that order).

Now - all that being said - I had a bit of a rough go the other night.

Since I don't live there and was driving back my LC pickups for much of the year to Pittsburgh, I opened it up to a few friends to grab whatever they wanted (rare instance where I had known space in the car). Had a friend buy the With Tarpey / Coex package online, but they had no bottles of With Tarpey on site - said they couldn't fill it until Wednesday (today), however I was going to be back home by that point - I WILL give the brewery credit here - they swapped out another same price bottle and fixed the issue (friend was happy with the swap, they didn't have to refund the order) but this was problem #1.

Next issue was fellow LC member ordered a blue LC Crewneck sweatshirt when bought in a large - they didn't have any larges left. I do not know how this happens. He was almost as pissed about this sweatshirt as he would have been missing a bottle. They had sweatshirts there in XL, which I asked if they could just swap one of those, but those were all orders that hadn't been picked up and were spoken for (I did not see the pertinence of this as either someone had picked up HIS order OR they put too many up online - i.e. if someone doesn't pick up their XL for 5 more months, what does it matter if they don't get their's vs. he not getting his?) - turns out he's just shit out of luck, and they had to refund the order. He remains not very pleased.

Final issue was a black zip up LC hoodie I myself had ordered in a 2xl, and they had no more of these either. Now this one, I was almost relieved that they didn't have it, as they went on sale before the blue crewnecks and I purchased it before I knew the other one was an option, so I was actually glad they just refunded me, but the same question lingers...as in, I kinda get that shit happens, maybe they had 30 made, sold 30, and whoever was opening the box sliced one down the middle with the box cutter - whatever. Stuff happens all the time. We were late-ish to pick up (as in maybe I should have asked my proxy to go a month ago), we got screwed. I'm a little surprised we didn't get a head's up that they oversold some of the shirts and that they couldn't fulfill our order.

 

That definitely helps, thanks bub. Guess I'll just forge ahead with trying to make a road trip happen before NYE, and if it doesn't I'll send 'em an email and pray

That's all very messy man, sorry that sucks. I've had recent (minor) issues with Merch fulfillment there as well. I think the best bet is to email them like a week ahead of time before you get there, because apparently they have off-site storage for some of their online inventory, which they only re-up from once or twice a week. Here's an email response I got from them a couple months ago after not being able to pickup a hat I'd ordered during the anniversary weekend:

We are sorry for the confusion! Our backup merch is kept at our warehouse which is about 15 minutes from our Brewery, so they may have run out during the busy weekend. But there is a fresh stack at the Brewery now ready for pickup!
We are so sorry for the extra work! Let me know if you have any other questions.
--The SP Team

Overall it was no biggie, I managed to get it through a friend that was there for Cellarversary. That was definitely outweighed by the positives of them letting me pick up bottles way past the deadline on previous visits.

But that's bizarre that your friends sweatshirt was just ...fully sold-out? Like not a "we can't fulfill this today, but we can later" type situation? Hmmph.

 

This is good info to have re: giving them a head's up - considering I only pick up my own stuff out there once or twice a year, I wouldn't even think to do that on my own - so TY.

And yep - same with my hoodie (although like I said, I was happy to get the money back on that one). There were no options with either of those to pick up at a later date or move up / down on a size - just "we're sold out - I can only refund your order on these." Legit had to call him on the phone and just assure him I was not fucking with him and that they really didn't have it and there was really nothing they could do - they did kick him a free LC hat as a "mea culpa" which isn't nothing, but yeah - he was not happy.

 

FWIW, I ordered a LC glass towards the end of the year (this was last year). I was going to be in town for pick up for that particular order, so tossed it in so I didn't have to make my proxy care for a delicate glass. They were out of stock. They just don't do an effective job of maintaining online inventory for merch.

 

If SP is really using Oreos now than nothing should be holding back the peanut butter coconut Derivation we all want.

By we I mean me.

 

I'd drink that. Peanut butter is at least an adjunct that doesn't throw a beer in "hurting my teeth" sweetness.

 

Peanut Butter Vibes.

 

Peanut butter gives off a chemically taste every time I've tried it. Peanuts on the other hand gives a PB flavor

 

https://www.sideprojectbrewing.com/blogs/news/stout-week-2026