This trip really highlighted Side Project's mastery in producing other styles of beer which often get overshadowed by their big name bottles.

The date was 25 Dec 2022, in the dim, dark dining hall where no strong beers exist, only weak men, a night of ritualistic offerings of big black beers culminate in the introduction of all surviving pilgrims to the legendary Beer:Barrel:Time by Sideproject Brewing. A bottle of great hype and renown (and also secondary market value), it held onto its great reputation, highlighting the smooth balance between the three fundamental elements in its name that go into brewing the beer. Since then, I’ve gone on to try other bottles from this incredible brewery which focuses on bringing the best out of barrel aging its brews.

An opportunity to visit this brewery popped up when I was invited to a three-week work trip to St Louis, Missouri. I knew I had to make the trip and agreed readily (much to the great dismay of the wife).

A short 20-minute drive from the airport takes you to the Maplewood suburb where you will find all 3 of Sideproject’s outfits within a 5-minute walk of each other. Dangerous.

What looks like an abandoned building houses some of the most coveted beers.

Sideproject Patio

An outdoor space with a pizza kitchen attached next door, this outfit has some of their crushable labels on tap, focusing on an easy and chill outdoor drinking experience. This was our first stop on a quiet Sunday evening having to satisfy our pizza cravings. While we were really here for the pizza (which unfortunately was not the kind that I liked, too crackery), we had a tiny introduction to the range of beers available among its three locations.

Of note is 2024’s Au Revoir – a Saison fermented on watermelons in barrels, and allowed to mature over almost a year, then blended, and finished with sea salt before conditioning for a few more months. Funky on the nose, the juicy and tart sourness of the beer chased by a mild saltiness was perfectly refreshing for the chill outdoor weather. Think of Youngmaster’s Cha Chan Teng Gose on barred aged steroids. A fantastic brew!

 Yes, Rye BBT 2024 was available on-site for drinking

Sideproject Brewery

What looks like an abandoned building houses some of the most coveted beers.

A wall full of temptations.

 (Right) A rack full of temptations.

This is where the magic happens. Directly opposite the patio, the brewery has spacious seating for diners to grab some of their great sandwiches (burgers) along with their core line-up of beers on tap. With a semi-open view into the brewery itself, the space is incredibly comfortable for an evening out with friends. I had their crispy chicken sandwich along with a pint of Bleu, a wild ale aged in oak barrels with blueberries. Amazing colour with incredible juiciness even after spending all that time in oak barrels. Beautifully balanced between a funky sourness and a subtle fruity sweetness at the end. Special shout-out to their signature Sideproject Burger: two juicy smashed beef patties on soft fluffy potato buns with a tangy apple cider dijon aioli to cut through that oil.

The signature Sideproject Burger. Best burger I had throughout the trip.

Right at the entrance of the brewery is also their famous pin board of the world map where I’m pretty sure I squeezed the last pin into whatever space available that can be interpreted as Singapore’s tiny land mass (I believe most of us actually pinned Malaysia except for a certain Mr. Heng). Crazy how there were already so many pins coming from this tiny island considering the general attractiveness of St Louis as a city to international tourists (Cardinals maybe? Anheuser-Busch?). A very cool feature making this pilgrimage worth it.

Too many beer nerds in Singapore.

Sideproject Cellar

A short 5-minute walk from the Patio and Brewery takes you to The Cellar – a small cozy outfit which focuses on their hard-hitters, almost all of which barrel-aged in some fashion. Unique to this outlet is the availability of their cellared beers in bottle format for on-site drinking. Rare labels which you would not be able to find elsewhere.

Of note, they also offered bottle pours of their 2024 MJK. Another one of their highly rated (on Untapped. But don’t trust Untapped ratings) beers, it’s a big 20% barleywine blend between different barrels. On the nose, smooth vanilla and wood from the oak barrels with a hint of cinnamon. On the tongue, boozy syrupy sweetness reminding you of dark cherries, coconut, raisins. Pouring more than 2oz would be overly indulgent for sure. They also tapped in the last keg of Balaton from 2022, a wild ale aged over a year in barrels with Balaton cherries. Subtle dark cherry sweetness underlying the tart sour kick that hits you first along with a heavy lick of wood from the extensive barrel ageing. Also on tap was their 2024 Ludwig , a fantastic German-style Marzen conditioned for 12 weeks, which I couldn’t get enough of. Sloooowly poured over 10 minutes to build that nice souffle-like fluffy, sweet foam (never had foam on beer like this), a bright clear amber shade, light-medium malty sweet body perfectly balanced with short and clean bitterness. Almost my favourite beer of the trip.

Room full of treasure!

(a) Cask-conditioned ales are almost always a fun experience (b) 2024 Ludwig!

In what seems to be a full-circle experience where we started this whole Sideproject obsession with their BBT, I couldn’t leave without cracking open a bottle of their 2024 release of the Rye BBT variant which was thankfully still available to drink at the brewery. All I have to say about this bottle is that it is the best pour I’ve had throughout the trip and also the best stout I’ve ever had.

Sideproject definitely produces some of the best stouts and barleywines out there but this trip really highlighted their mastery in producing other styles of beer which often get overshadowed by their big big! BIG!! name bottles. In my humble opinion, their Saisons (barrel-aged as well if wood is your good) should also carry the same levels of excitement when discussing their work. In closing, should the opportunity arise to try any of their beers, or visit this fantastic brewery, don’t let it slide by.

-Nooooel