Tree Of Promise
Tree House Brewing Company

 

 

No bottling date. Bottle to tumbler.

Look: Pours a very dark, almost black brown. No head. No lacing. No floaters.

Smell: Bourbon barrel booziness and caramels sweetness. A bit fruity. Plums I guess.

Taste: Very sweet. Molasses, caramel, vanilla. Milk chocolate. Candied plums. Just a slight bitterness.

Feel: Thick, oily and sticky.

Overall: Even though the sweet notes are dominating here, this is a perfectly balanced hybrid showcasing all its parts very nicely. The sweetness is very nuanced with sugary/caramelly notes up front and a candied fruity finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Black with a half finger of mocha head that quickly dissipates into a lasting crown. Modest lacing.

Sweet, bourbon-forward aroma with cherry, vanilla and caramel notes and some leather and fairly strong cocoa beneath.

The taste starts with a strong cherry cough syrup flavor. Nice caramel mid-palate, along with some prune and even fortified wine. Semi-bitter cocoa provides a solid foundation underneath. Touch of alcohol heat, too.

Full bodied feel just shy of chewy, with good carbonation.

Seems like it will be too sweet and medicinal at first, but the cocoa base provides some nice balance. A great sipper.

Blackish dark brown still pour, no head. Rich maple, toffee and caramel all represented in the nose, with big bourbon, toasty oak, molasses, brown sugar, prune, and vanillins. Taste follows suit, but adds huge dark fruit to go with the prune and subtle dark nuttiness, almost has a dessert wine finish. Feel is very thick though, syrup viscosity makes it a little unwieldy. Not super heavy, barrel warmth helps elevate a bit too. Super decadent, a dessert to share on a cold night by the fire

 

 

 

 

Good head production and retention, especially considering the ABV, blend, and barrel aging.

Wonderful aroma that somehow promises everything within the blend, and more. Bourbon and oak, carrying notes of sweet mash, booze, and vanilla. Huge malty barleywine, with notes of toffee, cherry, and caramel. A smooth, sweet imperial stout, imparting notes of molasses, chocolate, toast, red grape, and light char. It's all there, and it's difficult to say if it even leans toward stout or barleywine; each sniff leads me to the opposite conclusion.

Somehow, the notes sets the bar super high, and it delivers on the palate. Chocolate, bourbon, caramel, toffee, vanilla; finishes like a chocolate cherry cordial.

Thick, rich, creamy, and smooth on the palate. Despite clearly being a big beer, there's absolutely no harshness.

 

So this is new territory for Tree House huh? A blended strong ale with 60% stout and 40% barleywine. The only other beer similar to this (that I’ve reviewed) that I can recall was Boulevard’s 30th anniversary beer. That was really good stuff, so I’m hoping we get the same vibe with this one here. Let’s stop wasting time and crack it open

Pours completely pitch black with just a finger of dark tan that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

Yeah, the nose here really presents a best of both worlds thing, just as expected. I’m picking up on aromas of dark chocolate, roasty coffee, sticky caramel, medjool dates, brown sugar, toffee, and light black cherry

This is quite complex in taste as well, with a bit of a boozy character. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting juicy raisin, sticky caramel, dark chocolate, buttery oak, smooth vanilla, and a touch of boozy smoke. The swallow brings notes of medjool dates, earthy bourbon, milk chocolate, lightly acidic coffee, buttery oak, and light walnut

A medium full body pairs with very gentle carbonation, resulting in a super rich and silky beer. Finishes neutral but trends dry in the aftertaste

This is a wonderful blended beer, though to me it leans more towards a barleywine even though there’s less of it in the blend. I’ll definitely pick this one up again if I see it