Tree House (2021)

When I hit TH I stock up bcs its over an hr drive. So I regularly drink cans from them that are 2-3 months old not really a big deal imho. Ive never had a can from them that got drained poured bcs of quality issues. I can not say the same from other breweries in NE.

 

I have never poured a three month old Tree House beer, but that's not the point. The point is that when we are paying the Treehouse premium we had better know what we are getting. If someone comes from several hours away and drops five hundred dollars (because they only get by every 4 months or so) only to find out those beers are already 2 months old.... Now they gotta slam those 8%+ IPAs a four pack a night to drink them while they are still within the premium quality range. That's bullshit. If I am paying for a premium product that loses it's premium after a certain amount of time then the customer needs to be informed about what the heck is going on with the dates. That's all we are saying. No one is questioning Tree House's ability to brew top shelf shit. No one is saying that their beers automatically fall off a cliff after a month or so (although depending on the batch they can and do). What we are saying is that transparency is important ESPECIALLY when you are paying $5+ a can.

 

Are we talking about Treehouse Pre School or Tree House Brewing Company?

 

So no substantive responses just cheap shots. Figures in this thread.

 

Lazy response from the tone police. Such a troll.

 

Substantive dialogue is often lacking in this thread- @7irondave is usually a positive contributor, so I would suggest moderation in jumping in with a troll tag. I doubt he, and definitely myself, would disagree about wanting better transparency about canning dates from TH. Also- yo! Tree House- It is time to brew some Blue and Bright with Nelson.

 

So was it likewise bullshit for all those months Fox Farm was not listing can dates on their website, or did that only become the new standard now? I think you got perfectly fair substantive responses from @Rysk22 and @agreenman19 on the previous page regarding the number of barrels produced and the supply and demand problem for Tree vs significantly smaller breweries like Fox. I also think if you're going to drive hundreds of miles and drop $500+ on beer, it would be a good idea to do some of your own research ahead of such an undertaking. I don't disagree that listing dates online would be nice but I also don't think it's anywhere near a wide enough practice that failing to do so is especially annoying or disqualifying in the current market. Hell, The Alchemist didn't even begin dating their cans until last year.

As usual, I do enjoy the contrast between this forum from ~2014-2016, when it felt like every brewery that was not Tree House was criticized for not being sufficiently like Tree House to now where Tree House gets criticized for not mimicking every positive quality of other breweries. Hell, sometimes these criticisms were even over the exact same thing (e.g., why don't breweries like NEBCO cut off distro and copy the Tree House model in 2015 to why doesn't Tree House distribute today).

 

Yes, and I agreed with their response. I understand the position that TH is in, but that doesn't negate the feeling that many have, i.e. that it would be nice for them to be a little more transparent about how old their product is. Again, as stated above, this is specifically because of the volume they produce and the fall off over time. Listen I am not saying no one should patronize Tree House...I am just arguing for more transparency....why am I getting such pushback?

Maybe you could point me to the requisite resources to conduct this research. Please note that not everyone uses social media nor should they be required to when the brewery has a perfectly fine website. Even if I was inclined to use social media there is no guarantee of the dates as I believe has been noted before (correct me if I am wrong here): in the past TH has dropped a beer on their social media implying it was a fresh drop only for folks to find out they were getting old beer. So please tell me where I can find a date. Also, one would think that TH would want folks to easily, and with confidence, drop hundreds of dollars into their business with out having to do a bunch of prerequisite research beyond the page they are purchasing it from.

Again not saying that I or anyone else should not patronize TH and even if I was I doubt my singular voice on this, let's be honest, niche website would make much of a difference. So please take my arguments and opinions for what they are worth.

I mean not really? Given the low volume they put out and how quickly they go through it relative to larger operations. But they've started to do it anyways which one has to respect.

 

I mean for me, it's because you just asked for a more substantive response on this page and also because IMO the extent of the reaction isn't warranted since Tree House isn't uniquely bad in this respect. I looked at the online sites for a few comparable breweries that people could likewise spend hundreds of dollars at and didn't see dates at all for The Alchemist, Lawson's, Trillium, Tired Hands, and Foam either.

I believe they have used Twitter to indicate fresh drops of core beers again recently (here for instance) and I would also check Untappd and Tree House Facebook groups for the beers I'm interested to see if can dates have been posted. And if I felt I had insufficient information from either of those, I simply wouldn't commit to driving hundreds of miles and spending $500+ on beer; you say you shouldn't have to if a business wants your money but I think it sounds like reckless spending if you don't.

They're different on volume (and I think that makes it a silly apples-to-oranges comparison in the first place), but a person could still have easily driven there and spent hundreds of dollars without canning dates just the same.

 

I've been praising Tree House IPAs' longevity and their ability to hold up (when kept cold) for ages now. I also give questionable tips to Subway employees by putting the cash in their apron pockets - You think I'm spending $500 on hops?

You got the wrong guy, buddy man.

 

I like turtles

 

all the way down....

 

Terrapin, pretty good beers...

 

Nate - The bottles are fun, I hope you keep this in the regular rotation. Cheers!

 

I don’t disagree that more transparency on their site re: dates would be more customer friendly.

I will argue though, that the Treehouse premium isn’t really a thing anymore. The intensity and concentration of flavor is virtually unmatched versus many other NE D/IPAs for the same price. I had a $19 four pack of Grimm Afterimage recently that was really good. Still comes in a shade or two below something like Beginners Mind or Mega Treat, which fall in roughly the same price range.

And that’s not to say there aren’t good NEIPAs for less. Fresh Pick is just about the best deal going for the style.

But I’ve bought enough $16-20 four packs off the shelf to think that if anything, Treehouse is a bargain luxury.

 

I wasn't aware that businesses had to be "uniquely bad" about transparency (or anything else for that matter) for it to be a valid object of criticism. Either way, if other breweries are being criticized for this I would only be aware about it in the threads I subscribe to and read regularly. I only read about breweries I patronize, and last time I checked this is the Tree House 2021 thread so I don't understand why I am required to be aware of how every other brewery in the NE is criticized on this forum before making said criticism in the appropriate thread. If your problem with my comment was not one of substance but rather the tone and/or "the extent" of how I expressed my opinion then all I can say is that I am sorry my word choices and tone offended your sensibilities.

I haven't been specifically for the reasons detailed above. For me personally this was never a problem until the last year or two. Now with the variety packs and lack of choice I am even less likely to do so. It sucks because I love Tree House, but like you said it's not worth the risk and time sink required trying to figure out if I am going to get the beer under a month old. If I have a friend who goes and gets some fresh TH I will do a trade.

Given that I've already made my point engaging with this thread any further seems to be a waste of time. Cheers.