Modern stouts are more caked up than a Pixar mom, but it wasn’t always this way. “Mexican” stouts were the darling of the mid-2010s allocation age. Starting with Huna, on to Mexican Cake, Bomb! On and on the spice must flow. When youre pulled by the hips to the edge of the bed and see that churro glistening, ancho chilis are ablaze.

Allocations create the perception of value, especially in the age before internet sales. The creaky joints of beer nerds in a DMV style line, chondromalacia pressing against those Brooks soles. Running shoes that have never been run in acquiring Mexican stouts for landlock dudes who have only been to Cancun on a cruise. These stouts offered an experience that had to be shared, throttled to limit supply. You could have your abuelita on draft but possession is nine tenths of a beer nerd’s self esteem.

Leaving with something validates the experience. You have that ancho chili dominion to try to recreate verisimilitude with friends of being at the brewery, and in serving the bottle, you are celebrated. It’s a weird transfer of hubris from creator to purchaser. Wren house has refined this experience in the modern era from Olmec to today.

No one stands in lines anymore and the quality of beer in general is better. The spice is more restrained, the cacao nibs structure rather than provide a Cocoa Puffs chalky dominance. Barrel now dries and provides a chaperone to the snickerdoodle underpinnings. Without the constraints of allocations, the beer itself has to stand on its own merits.

In an era where essentially everything is guaranteed, the era of limits were more precious. Opening a faded DL Muerte and trying to grasp the threads of an unwraveling sweater that kept your insides chocolatey warm like ganache is hard to explain.

Onsite pours only pours hold so much value because it causes the drinker to be accountable for the moment. With my time potentially allocated to less than 1pp, I hope others recognize that the true magic always lies in that next round, knowing this discrete draft is all you ever get.