Tree Of Life - Vanilla Bean
Tree House Brewing Company

Luxury in taste is reimagined in beer form. Tree House departs from their hoppy ways for just a moment to devise a barleywine with vanilla and barrel aging for an ultimate delight for the senses,

Dark, port-like and viscous upon its pour, the nearly still ale swirls in the glass with brandy legging before enticing the nose with a plethora of savory malt built around dark and dried fruit, vinous tones and sherry wine. Expectedly sweet, a creamy coat of molasses, honey, chocolate and brown sugar all wrapped in the sweetness of heavy cream. An explosion of dark fruit brings figs, dates, raisins, plumbs and prunes all kept together with savory fortified Madeira wine. Bourbon spice follows to chase the flavors into a warming finish of caramel, vanilla, coconut and charred oak for extra measure.

Full bodied, chewy and truly decadent, the complexity, charm and enormity of the ale makes it a standout.

 

 

 

 

 

Part of this is barrel aged, but they don't say how much. Sometimes I get a fair amount of barrel character from their blends, but not this one. Maybe just a little whiskey? Vanilla beans aren't among my favorite additions, but I have greatly enjoyed some stouts and barleywines with vanilla. This one just doesn't work for me though. It's pretty good up front with toffee, molasses, and strong but well incorporated vanilla. The vanilla builds in intensity, giving off a vanilla icing on a grocery store sheet cake vibe before a plastic note kicks in at the finish. Tough to finish this one.

Final thought, I've had 6 other barleywines from TH that were all ranged from very good to outstanding. I look forward to more from them.

 

 

 

12oz. can into Tree House stemware.

Nice oily legs. Near pitch black, almost stout-y. Nose is straight vanilla bean. Sweet, creamy, and aromatic with just the slightest hints of molasses, hazelnut, and brown sugar. A little too much vanilla bean for me here. Beer opens vanilla bean, anise, and brown sugar up front. Huge sweet cream notes in the middle. Thick and super rich with gelatinous brown sugar and molasses. More vanilla towards the finish. A touch too sweet for me. Body is full with low carbonation. Thick, oily and filmy on the palate and goes down gelatinous, filmy, and warm. Goes down smooth and soft with a lingering aftertaste.

This needs something to tone down the overwhelming vanilla presence. A bit too much for me.

Canned Autumn 2022

I love a Tree House Barleywine. Surprisingly, I’ve yet to have the OG Tree Of Life, but I’ve had quite a few of the variants, this one probably beibg the simplest with just vanilla beans added. They’ve done much stranger adjuncted variants of this that are good, so I’m sure this one will hold up as well

Pours a very dark brown with a finger of creamy tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves minimal lacing

The vanilla really plays well with the fruity notes in the nose. I’m picking up on aromas of brown sugar, raisin, vanilla bean, molasses, black cherry, sweet bourbon, leather, toasted oak, caramel, and light coconut

The interplay continues in taste, leading to a ton of subtle complexity and bumping it up a notch. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting black cherry, vanilla bean, toffee, dates, chocolate fudge, toasted oak, earthy whiskey, and light leather. The swallow brings notes of molasses, brown sugar, raisin, sweet vanilla, pecan, toasted oak, sweet bourbon, black cherry, and light caramel

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth and slick beer. Finishes slightly sticky and boozy

This is solid stuff. You can never really go wrong with a TH Barleywine

Pours a dark brown with limited head retention. It looks viscous, out of the can. There's something peculiar in the nose, Yes, of course there is vanilla, but a little bit of sour cherry? There is a hint of something that feels misplaced. Yeah, there's a hint of sour cherry in there, like bourbon soaked sour cherries that are masked in a cloud of vanilla. There's some fudgy chocolate as well. It's hot for sure too. I want to like this more and usually, Tree House's vanilla treatment results in a smooth, decadent experience. However, this, with that sour cherry note, is kind of off putting.

4-26-2023 update: 16 oz can poured into a large red wine glass. I'm bumping up the ratings because this is an insanely complex, delicious, and well-constructed beer. Huge notes of caramel flan, toffee, brown sugar, rum, dried fig, raisin, a hint of bourbon, and wave after wave of unabashed vanilla. The alcohol has mellowed out and this drinks incredibly smooth for such a big (and sweet) beer. I can't comprehend it, but somehow it's not cloying. Simply amazing. The definition of dessert in a glass. Wow!

Original review: 16 oz can poured into a wine glass. This is a very sweet dessert beer, almost like a Pedro Ximénez sherry. Tons of vanilla, dark fruit, sweet malt, bourbon, and oak. Plenty of booze, but it's well-integrated and the beer is shockingly easy to drink for the abv and sweetness. Mouthfeel is thick, palate-coating, and not quite cloying with low carbonation. Overall a good sipper, definitely to be saved for an appropriate occasion for such a big beer. 4.25/4.75/4.25/4.25/4.5 (4.41)

 

L - pours a particulated sandy dark brown. Somehow simultaneously opaque and translucent. Minimal head.

S - fudgy vanilla extract. Toasted caramel sweetness and charred oak. Maybe a splash of Vanilla Coke.

T - starts low and slow with toasted graham crackers drizzled with caramel syrup. Accelerates into a whiskey-fueled woodsy acidity as the booze warms the palate. This time Cherry Coke! Vanilla frosting delicately sprinkled about as a garnish rather than the overly sweet, faux vanilla main attraction that so many vanilla-themed brews fall victim to. Instead, the vanilla contributes more to an earthy, sugary, lightly burnt roastiness that really ties this beer together.

F - sticky and sugary. I can feel it coating my lips and creeping up the edges. This is the kinda shit that finds you waking up at 3am on the couch in a daze, mouth looking like an 8-year-old that got into the fudgsicles. Wiping my lips as we speak.

O - a rich boi. Apart from the fact that you gotta be rich to be affording these $10 cans of beer, this one does deliver a punch perhaps worthy of $10. If we look at the time value of money, I'll spend more time drinking this sipper and enjoying it for longer than two cheaper priced IPAs. Well shit, I think it's worth it?

 

 

 

Good head production, but poor retention - not entirely surprising for the style.

Nose is a touch boozy, with bourbon, caramel, softened leather, grape, chocolate, and vanilla. Reveals relatively little considering the high ABV.

Insanely thick and rich on the palate; one of the chewiest barley wines I’ve ever had. Long finish; very little heat.

On the sweeter side, with big notes of brown sugar, syrup, sweeter bourbon mash, prune, red grape, and tons of vanilla - particularly on the back half.