You don’t need a plane ticket to Belgium or Germany to taste one of the best beers on the planet. You just need to head to Maplewood.
That’s where Side Project Brewing makes Beer : Barrel : Time — BBT to its fans — a line of barrel-aged imperial stouts that many beer lovers would call closer to art than to an ordinary brew.
Preorders for the 2026 edition open Sunday, November 1, with bottles ready for pickup starting Black Friday, November 27.
What makes each BBT release special is that no two years are ever the same. Every edition blends a different set of barrel-aged imperial stouts, and once that year’s batch sells out, it’s gone for good.
Just how celebrated is BBT? As of October 28, the BBT Van Winkle 2023 edition sat fifth on Untappd’s worldwide list of highest-rated beers, scoring 4.75 out of 5 across more than 3,800 ratings. Two more editions — Beer : Barrel : Time Rye 2020 and the original 2017 release — also made that global list.
Four recipes, one beer
The name says it all: BBT is an imperial stout aged in bourbon barrels. Unlike many of today’s big stouts, it uses no adjuncts — no vanilla beans, chocolate, coconut, or coffee added in. Whatever flavors show up in the glass come from the beer itself, the barrels, and the time spent aging.
For 2026, Side Project blended four stout recipes — O.W.K., Vibes, Omega, and Threnody II — aged between 17 and 37 months in barrels that previously held Willett Family Estate Bourbon, Willett Bourbon, Wild Turkey 8 Year, Artifact, and Four Roses 10 Year.
Each recipe carries its own backstory. O.W.K. has appeared in past releases featuring Ugandan vanilla and long bourbon-barrel aging. Vibes forms the base of Coconut Vibes, while Omega is brewed with seven different malts. Threnody II has previously shown up as a bourbon barrel-aged stout finished with coffee and vanilla.
None of those extras are in BBT 2026. Instead, the brewery leans on its base recipes and barrel choices to draw out notes of coconut, chocolate, roasted coffee, toffee, caramel, and vanilla.
Side Project founder and brewer Cory King says the whole brewing team gathered in the barrel warehouse over the summer to taste the barrels being considered for this year’s blend. The barrels that made the final cut, he says in a video announcing the release, were chosen because they could stand on their own — full of flavor without any additions. He describes the beer as a showcase of “the beer we brew, the barrels we carefully select, and the time we invest to allow them to age, mature, and develop.”
More than just BBT
The 2026 edition is the 10th release of BBT, which King says began more than a decade ago as a draft-only pour at special events in Side Project’s tasting rooms. Today it’s the brewery’s biggest stout release of the year.
“As the years have progressed, we have continually pushed ourselves and our beers to best bring these two impactful and truly bold characteristics together harmoniously,” King says, referring to American bourbon and imperial stout.
This year’s package also includes two more beers: Rye Beer : Barrel : Time 2026, a blend of four stout recipes aged 13 to 29 months in rye whiskey barrels, and Oude Fermier from Pinot Noir Puncheons Vintage 2025, a Missouri saison aged 16 months in oak. King says the additions give a fuller picture of the brewery as a whole.
Founded by King and Karen Ivers, Side Project poured its first beer in 2013 and has since earned international acclaim, including a previous No. 2 ranking among the world’s best brewers from RateBeer.
How to get BBT 2026
Online preorders begin Sunday, November 1, at 10 a.m. through Side Project Brewing’s website. Bottle pickups begin Black Friday, November 27, in Maplewood. Fans can also get an early taste during The Cellar’s 12th anniversary celebration on November 5.
Side Project is planning another barrel-aged release for Black Friday, plus special draft offerings throughout the holiday weekend. Pricing and bottle limits have not yet been announced.
