Tree House Brewing Company (August 2017)

For sure - but this is even more egregious since you can't currently go on to Tree House's website and order a 4-pack to be delivered at the brewery's prices.

 

It's really amazing. Tree House will state the hops they used in the Curiosity beer, and yet people are still asserting that it's a test batch of In Perpetuity because the label is kinda similar even though the hops don't line up at all. It was painful to read the comments on the last couple Curiosities to come out of Monson.

 

I've wondered about this too. I haven't brewed too much beer, but I chalked it up to Nate being very experienced and skilled in brewing beer to the point where he knows what the beer will taste like before brewing, even at such a large scale. I'm sure there are surprises along the way, but he can reasonably expect a decent beer when all is said and done.

That said, I wouldn't be surprised if he's brewing small test batches to weed out the good from the bad Curiosities.

 

Green is my favorite and I haven't tried sap yet.........damn I wish I could make the trip today

 

Yep, people perceive what they want. C36 and C37 were claimed to be failed regulars, yet the hops were different than their regulars. You could smell it and taste the difference, yet people still had it in their minds that it was a core beer gone awry.

People are just stupid, that's all.

 

So out of the 40 curiosities has their never been similar hops to their core beers? How many hop varieties are their and how many combinations can you make?

 

Just because a beer has the same hops as another beer doesn't mean they'll taste the same.

 

Traffic really kills my TH trips. It's just awful.

 

I completely agree. Which is why I don't think it's outrageous to think that a bad batch of a core beer could turn into a curiosity. I do think C's are generally one off experiments. But if I was Nate and faced with a 1000 case bad of off Julius and had 3 choices - put out an off batch (still delicious), dump it, or make it a curiosity I would choose the latter.

Edit: to counter my own argument they did just release a "supposed off batch" Julius and didn't make it a curiosity.............

 

Let me know how it is the Friday before Labor day weekend.

 

So... don't labels have to go through a government approval process? Or did I imagine that? Because I would think that there simply wouldn't be enough time between identifying that a core beer isn't up to quality standards and the packaging / labeling with a new label.

 

They've had the labels pre-made for a long time for the Curiosity series.

Notice the only two curiosity's to drop at Charlton (39 & 40) both say "Brewed in Monson"? That suggests the labels are over two months old and that even they don't know when they're dropping the C Series.

Plot thickens.

 

Nice observation. I had made a lengthy, rambling post a few weeks back wondering about how they handled the Curiosity beers and if the labels had any relevance to the beers inside. It didn't seem possible that they could get labels on the fly so it's likely they were designed and approved in advance.

Still don't know if Nate tries to brew the beer to fit the mood established by the label or if he just brews whatever the hell strikes his fancy and slaps on the Curiosity label that's next in line.

Or all Curiosities to date have been "bad batches".

 

Correction: C40 does say Charlton

 

Perhaps the hops were different or perhaps they were in addition to ones that were already present. I am sure the label descriptors are not strictly ingredient lists. I am not saying my palette is the sharpest, but if say I made 500 cases of not quite Julius beer that tasted delicious but wasn't quite there yet what could i reasonably do with it.

 

Non-distributed beer does not need label approval.

 

For what it's worth cracked an 8/24 Julius can (not seeing any of the issues before cracking), and was pretty shocked at the muted flavors. Told my wife it was the worst beer of the night (then immediately checked here and other places to make sure I wasn't crazy). Bad batch for sure, one of the first I've had since they started canning.

 

Had a question for the TH veterans. Was planning on making a trip there this Friday and was wondering if they typically have food trucks every day (and if they are typically there before opening hours) or if that's typically only weekends. Going with the family (and testing the wife's patience) so if no food options there what would be a good restaurant in the area.

 

Yeah, I drank the rest of them tonight. Swing and a miss.

 

Went yesterday and had an amazing time. Walked in at 3:40 - zero line - repeat zero. Walked right up n got cans. Asked if pours were coming as it was chill. They said probably around 4. Hung out a few minutes and sure enough - got to enjoy a pour. Sat outside with my buddy, perfect weather and enjoyed a Alter Ego draft. Great vibe - people chillin and lottsa conversation going on. Extremely enjoyable experience.