Slow Burn
Tree House Brewing Company

A: Pours an amber/orange color. While certainly not of the murky/hazy variety of most their NEIPA, its still boarders on the opaque side. A dense white head forms with good retention and lace.
S: A nuanced malty aroma. With baked bread, grains, some caramel sweetness. Just a hint of smoke. Very nice overall.
T: Oh, there it is, that smoke is up front taste wise. Which is wonderfully balanced with the malty character. Baked bread, and there is an English sweet biscuit/cookie kind of flavor and spiciness. Very well done.
M/O: A medium to full body. Moderate carbonation that is ultra smooth. This is like silk. That along with the balance makes this so easy and enjoyable to drink.

Very glad I finally got to try a non NEIPA from Tree House. The balance here is so well done, and very moreish. Its so balanced, that i might actually enjoy a bit more assertive smoke flavor. Though that is really a small gripe. So, its just excellent.

 

 

Picked up a single can at Tree House Brewery in Sandwich, Massachusetts as part of a mixed twelve pack for about forty eight dollars. My three hundred and eighty third brew from these guys. Very unique.

 

Poured from a can into a tree house tulip glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear deep amber-copper color with a large head of just off-white foam. The head has a fantastic level of retention, fading slowly to leave tons of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The smell is rather heavy of a bready malt mixed with notes of dough and a big showing of caramel. Along with these smells comes notes of pumpkin and harvest fruits as well as a bit of toffee. While it is light, there is a bit of smokiness in the nose as well, adding a touch of the rauchbier nature to the brew.
Taste – The taste begins as one may have expected from the nose, with a lightly toasted bready and doughy flavor paired with a strong showing of caramel and toffee. There is a light earthiness that keeps a low profile throughout, as well as some of the pumpkin/gourd that was in the nose as well. The smoke is almost none existent at first, with it showing a very weak presence at the end. Along with the weak smoke, so too does the sweet increase, leaving one with a malty and sweet marzen taste to linger.
Mouthfeel – The body is moderate in carbonation and thickness, suiting the style well.
Overall – Really this is just a Marzen style beer. Very little smoke, which was a bit disappointing because it gave me high and unmet expectations from the description on the can. Although, still a good Marzen overall.

 

16 oz can

pours a dark clear amber color, off-white head. Campfire and toasted malt in the aroma and flavor. the smoke is not overpowering. thin to medium bodied.

Fun coincidence, this was listed as a Märzen as the 11th best of the style and when I changed it to Rauchbier it’s also 11th best of the style. I haven’t had any Tree House smoke in a minute so I’m pretty excited for this one. Let’s crack it open and see what it’s all about

Pours a cloudy brownish copper with 2 fingers of creamy light beige head that slowly fades to a thin ring and leaves minimal lacing

Oh yeah, this is straight up ham water. I’m picking up on aromas of smoked ham, bread crust, caramel, burnt toast, beechwood, black pepper, honey, light orange zest, and caraway seeds

It keeps up the meaty vibes in taste and that’s fine by me. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting beechwood smoke, smoked bacon, brown bread, toffee, brown sugar, earthy hops, raisin, and light honey. The swallow brings notes of bread crust, smoked ham, caramel, rye toast, brown sugar, raisin, oak smoke, herbal hops, and black pepper

A light medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes a tad sticky but the smoke dries it out

Yeah it’s a bit heavy handed (or ham fisted, if you will) but this is a fun super smoky beer

 

 

 

Side pull in a dimple mug in Tewksbury.
Presents clear copper with a dense head of off-white. Plenty of spongy lacing throughout.
Meaty and fairly smokey in the nose, cured meats cooking over a campfire.
Medium bodied with a light chew.
Light to medium smoke on the palate with malt to balance and minimal bitterness.
Finishes fairly dry and malty with fading smoke.
Not as smokey as a typical Bamberg Rauch.

On tap at Tree House Brewing Company in Charlton, MA.

This one pours a golden amber color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like liquid pork, moreso than most smoked beers I’ve had, with some caramel, breadiness, and a touch of hop spice.

A lot of people get liquid meat – bacon, ham, any kind of pork really, from smoked beers, and that’s never been a thing that’s really appeared to my palate, at least with higher quality smoked beers. For whatever reason, however, this beer tastes like a liquid smoked pork chop to me. This is definitely the least of the various extremely high quality marzens/festbiers that Tree House has done. To be fair, I still enjoy this, but the smoking feels a touch heavy handed to my palate.

This is lighter bodied, slightly creamy, with a lighter level of drinkability due to the intense meatiness of this one.

I wanted to like this one a lot more, as Tree House has generally been very adept at smoked beers previously.