Side Project — Shin Shin (2025) Double Willett

Technical Details

Tasting Profile

Shin Shin 2025 pours pitch-black and viscous, releasing aromas of dark chocolate, freshly pulled espresso, and warm maple syrup. The double Willett barrel treatment lends generous bourbon warmth, vanilla, and toasted oak, framing layers of roasted malt and bittersweet cocoa. Sump coffee dominates the mid-palate with a deep, roasty intensity, while Canadian maple syrup adds rounded sweetness and a silken, almost confection-like richness. The finish is velvety and lingering, balancing barrel-aged spirit heat with chocolate truffle, dark caramel, and a final whisper of coffee-laced oak. A meticulously composed adjunct imperial stout.

Food Pairing

Pair with a flourless dark chocolate torte topped with maple whipped cream to mirror the beer’s cocoa, coffee, and syrup notes. Alternatively, serve alongside a slab of aged bourbon-washed blue cheese with toasted pecans, where the funky richness and nuttiness contrast beautifully with the stout’s barrel warmth and roasted depth.

About Side Project Brewing

Side Project Brewing was founded in 2013 in Maplewood, Missouri, as an ambitious extension of Perennial Artisan Ales. Created by brewmaster Cory King, the brewery was conceived as a no-compromise venture dedicated to producing extremely limited quantities of experimental and barrel-aged beers. Side Project operates with a singular philosophy: to push the boundaries of brewing without regard to commercial constraints or production schedules, releasing beers only when they reach optimal maturity and quality.

The brewery has earned international recognition for its exceptional barrel-aged stouts, wild ales, and fruited sour beers, with many releases becoming highly sought after by collectors worldwide. Side Project’s meticulous approach involves extensive barrel aging programs, often utilizing premium wine and spirit barrels, and incorporating unique ingredients to create complex, nuanced flavor profiles. Their small-batch production model and unwavering commitment to quality over quantity have established them as one of the most respected names in American craft brewing. The brewery’s reputation is built on consistently delivering beers of extraordinary depth and character, making their limited releases among the most anticipated in the global beer community.