Hold On To Sunshine
Tree House Brewing Company

 

Can from Jeff, thanks for the hookup!
Inky black with a huge frothy creamy light tan head that slowly recedes. Rich milk chocolate and creamed coffee with bits of licorice and dark fruits. Pretty nice!

Poured from 16oz can into pint glass in February 2023, that I purchased at their brewery in Charlton, MA. There is a date of Winter 2023 on the bottom of the can, and I drank this about 1 month after I purchased it.

Appearance: Very dark black with 1-finger head. The head was dark brown, and disappeared after a minute. It left only a little lacing on the glass, and no head remained after a minute.

Smell: Strong mix of aromas filled the room as soon as the can was opened. Roasted coffee, caramel, and chocolate aromas. Not much hop style citrus or pine aromas.

Taste: There is taste of coffee, chocolate, and licorice. Also, some vanilla, peanut butter, and roasted malt flavors. They are more balanced than I expected from the aroma. Flavors are very bold. There is a strong alcohol presence that matches 7.6% advertised. A sweet chocolate, and vanilla aftertaste with edge of coffee, that is really enjoyable.

Mouth-feel: Very thick, but with an extremely smooth and creamy body.

This is a very good Porter, and one of the best Porters I have ever drank. It has a variety of flavors that adds a nice complexity to the beer. The balance of flavors is outstanding. The flavors of coffee and roasted malt nicely balance the bitter coffee with the sweet chocolate and caramel flavors. This is even better than the Tree House Cartharsis Porter, which is very good. This is very smooth and enjoyable to drink. I have enjoyed all the beers I've bought at Tree House, and I would buy this again.

 

Dark brown with a half finger of audibly fizzy dark khaki head that quickly settles into a lasting crown. No real lacing.

Roast peanuts, peanut butter, roasted malt and quality breakfast blend coffee in the aroma.

The taste spotlights peanut butter, very light chocolate and caramel and some roastiness from the complementary coffee.

Creamy, full bodied feel with a mouth-coating oiliness and light zip to the carbonation.

Peanut beers aren’t my thing, but this is a very nicely made one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 oz can, no date on the bottom

pours an opaque inky black color, thick tan colored head. big chocolate peanut butter aroma. similar taste, like a Reese's peanut butter cup. not really any coffee detected. fairly sweet, definitely a dessert beer. full bodied, slick mouthfeel

16 oz can poured into a pint glass. Pours black with a nice head. Nice peanut butter backbone running through this, to compliment the overrriding chocolate flavor. Reminds me of an imperfect peanut better cup. Very enjoyable stout.

 

 

6 months old. Can to tumbler.

Look: Pours pitch black with a full but patchy dark brown head that dissipates quickly. A lot of very fine floaters visible.

Smell: Peanut butter and milk chocolate combined with some roasty hints. Almonds and tobacco appear as the beer warms.

Taste: Peanuts, chocolate and coffee. Slightly sweet, somehow roasty and minimally bitter.

Feel: Creamy and oily with a clearly present carbonation. Quite smooth.

Overall: No barrel-aging, no double digit ABV, but still a fantastic stout with a classic flavor combination. All flavors are incorporated very nicely resulting in a great balance and a smooth drinkability. There are plenty of chocolaty peanut butter stouts out there but this is clearly the best one I‘ve had so far.

 

Viscous and oily looking with light brown foam that settles into a thick ring with a few patches of lacing. Chocolate malts, lactose, Cocoa, and a bit of dry roasted peanuts. I’m not a huge fan of lactose in general, but here it does ok. Well carbonated and creamy. Overall really tasty, but not mind blowing in any way. I would definitely buy it regularly if it was available in my area.

16 oz can poured into a tulip pint glass. Pours pitch black with a surprisingly large mocha head. Good retention. Aroma and flavor feature dark chocolate, creamy peanut butter, dark roasted malts, bitter coffee, vanilla, and some earthy hop presence. This has to be the perfect peanut butter cup beer: not too sweet, real peanut butter flavor, not too strong abv-wise. Mouthfeel is thick, creamy, and not boozy. Overall it's a shockingly good beer and a real treat to drink.

 

 

16oz can received as a gift from a friend. Indicates YEAR THREE on the can with a date of 1/7/22, so this is being consumed at just after 3 months.

Look: Pours out very dark brown almost black with a deep brown colored, frothy head. The head dissipates pretty quickly but leaves a thin layer behind. Looks stunning.

Smell: The aroma is wonderful. This smells like a dark chocolate peanut butter cup. Notes of roasted hazelnuts and charcoally coffee also. There's even a subtle green bell pepper and licorice aroma on the finish, which is very interesting for a milk stout.

Taste: Interesting. It is much sweeter than I was expecting. And that's appropriate, because this is a milk stout. I think it's just that from the nose, I expected it to be not as sweet as it is. The mouth mirrors the nose, but perhaps the peanut butter flavor on the palate is much more subtle than in the aroma. Also, a lot of the sweetness is perceived to have an artificial sweetener vibe that is less than ideal for me. The finish is long and has a nice roasty, charcoally chocolate/coffee flavor.

Feel: Mouthfeel is relatively thick. This is smooth and chewy. Carbonation is spot on. Really nice.

Overall: This is my first Tree House beer that was not a New England IPA. This beer reminds me a lot of another peanut butter milk stout that I enjoyed: Gunner's Daughter from Mast Landing. One of the differences is that Gunner's Daughter does not have coffee and that Hold On To Sunshine is higher ABV. Overall, this is a really great coffee milk stout. It was hard to choose between a 4.25 and 4.5 overall; in the end, I gave it a 4.25 because the artificial sweetener taste knocks it down slightly for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 ounce can in a tulip stout glass. Exactly 30 days since canned.

Opaque black crude oil color with a near 3f dark tan cap. A ring remains and leaves splashes of lacing. A beauty.

Smoky roasted malt aroma with peanut butter, chocolate, and fresh roasted coffee.

It tastes like a peanut butter, chocolate, and roasted coffee mix over a campfire. Nice.

Palate friendly full body and flavors. No sign of its 7.6% abv. Very rich and roasted.

Before opening, I let this sit for an hour after removing from the fridge. The temperature enhanced its aroma and feel. Rich and creamy peanuts and chocolate. Not built for every day drinking but so good.

Excellent, but Treehouse does offer some slightly better stouts lMO.