Tree House Brewing Company (September 2016)

Oh, the irony

 

I wasn't knocking mules. I've used my wife. She also likes beer but more a sour and Belgian fan. And you are right I prob judged book by cover and should know better

 

I am interested in trying some Tree House offerings and am looking into trading for some. I have a couple questions related to this - sorry in advance if this is fairly basic, but I am pretty much entirely new to TH.

Obviously, it is better to drink hoppy beers fresh - I am interested in how TH beers generally hold up. Would there be a noticeable drop off if I traded for something released more than a month ago? Also, I am hoping to share some of the beers in a couple months - wondering if it would be markedly better to trade for something fresher closer to then, or if a recent release (e.g. King Julius) would still be ok then.

Also, do TH cans include date stamps?

 

Obviously, it is better to drink hoppy beers fresh - I am interested in how TH beers generally hold up. Would there be a noticeable drop off if I traded for something released more than a month ago? Also, I am hoping to share some of the beers in a couple months - wondering if it would be markedly better to trade for something fresher closer to then, or if a recent release (e.g. King Julius) would still be ok then.

Also, do TH cans include date stamps?[/QUOTE]
They do have date stamp on bottom. Some people will probably say that you want to have it within 3 weeks tops.

 

I've also heard people say that they like to let their beers rest. I've heard people tell me that they don't notice a drop off in growlers after a month. With taste everything is subjective. A month or two wouldn't bother me with a can. I don't have the willpower to test that out though.

In cans I've had at least two week old dopple and fresh dopple back to back and never saw a difference.

 

I wouldn't trade for an IPA and hold onto it because you want to share it in a few months. There's most certainly a drop off. I wouldn't let it get past 6 weeks old, personally.

 

In my limited experience with them - their beers do hold up better than any other IPAs. But I wouldn't trade now for something a few months from now as was mentioned above. Just wait til your share is closer and trade then. They'll have something awesome in a few months as well

 

I would highly recommend drinking things like Very Hazy, Doppelgänger, and Jjjuliusss as fresh as possible--the dry hopping on these beers just doesn't last long.

The regular offerings are just fine 6-8 weeks out IME.

 

Thanks very much to all for the input - really appreciate it. I've been quite interested in trying KJ for some time - may try to trade for it now and then try for another trade in a couple months for something fresher then.

Another quick question - is there a good way to keep track of release dates and pricing for prior releases? I saw that KJ was $4.75 a can - is the pricing of other cans similar or is there some variance?

 

I don't pay super close attention but regular IPAs go for $3.75, and the price goes up with additional alcohol or dry-hopping.

As for release dates, there's a BA poster who's been keeping really close track and has put together a great spreadsheet, but historical releases don't predict future trends. TH is on record as stating that their brewing schedule is somewhat random. I do think the change of season will result in more frequent releases of non-PA/IPA beers.

 

Hi all - I have never been to tree house before and Im driving from Boston to Hartford on Wed. I could take a detour and hit Tree house around 4pm or so on Wednesday. Do they usually have cans for sale still at that time? I would hate to drive over there and not get anything.

 

Tough call. It depends on what's available. Wednesdays in August went like this:

8/31 - 4:30 sold out
8/24 - 5:15sold out
8/17 - 4:00 sold out
8/10 - didn't sell out by closing at 6pm
8/3 - 4:00 sold out

 

Depending on what gets released, you could be cutting it extremely close if you arrive at or after 4 on a wednesday. The last 2 months, Wednesdays have been selling out around 4. Get there at 3 or earlier and you should be golden with minimal wait time.

 

Thanks for the tips...I guess I will just have to drive fast to try and make it by 3!

 

If you follow them on Twitter they send out updates as to how much is left, etc

 

i think Brimfield has their fair/antique shows this week Sept 6-11 so that could add some additional traffic on 20. I haven't gone to Tree House during the fair weeks, though. anyone know for sure if it's a pain?

 

I believe the official TH recommendation is to drive to the Palmer exit on the pike and come in from that direction. I've driven through the fair once or twice and didn't find it to be *that* bad but YMMV.

 

I've seen non-moving, bumper-to-bumper traffic from Brimfield literally all the way through to the Sturbridge Pike ramp, like end of the world type traffic. It was completely crazy.

 

Tree House BrewingCo ‏@TreeHouseBrewCo 4 minutes ago
Alter Ego speeding down the canning line this morning! Available tomorrow, 6 cans PP. http://Treehousebrew.Com/on-tap

 

If you have any questions about pricing, post here and we'll give you something +/- $0.25 usually.

Interesting note: KJ was $4.50 for the previous (and only) two can releases around late 2015 & early 2016.