Tree House (Charlton) for a Lager Guy

I think their lagers are very good and only getting better. Looking through the list this morning, At Ease (oak aged alt) and Nomad (dark lager) are excellent. I recall Little Fire not being that smoky but that’s a positive for me. I haven’t had the others but I’d give one of the marzens a shot for sure.

 

I don't have much experience with their lagers so I'm eager to hear what people have to say. I am either going on Friday or Monday on the way to or back from the Berkshires. My only experience was with Trail (Magic?) a few years ago and it was decidedly mediocre. I'm gonna tag in @Mikecap too for his input.

 

I'll echo @EnronCFO with the Nomad and At Ease picks. I didn't love the Festbier (I had, I believe, Weinstephaner with me which may have played a role there), but I thought the Vienna Lager was really good. Those are the four I've had.

As for hoppy stuff, I had Autumn, which is a really good DIPA. I can't do their stouts. Way too sweet for me.

 

I think their lagers are outstanding, and if you have the time, it's definitely worth making the trip to try a few out.

I'd recommend getting a couple of drink tickets and enjoying an IPA or Stout on draft with the first one, then visiting the new Classic Styles bar across the brewery and using your second ticket on whatever they have on the side pour tap that day (Nomad was spectacular on this tap on a recent visit).

As for cans, their list will vary but I've found the oak aged lagers to really shine. At Ease is an altbier aged in oak and it's wonderful. Free to Roam is an oak aged helles and it's even better. They don't have it now but maybe you'll get lucky.

I haven't loved the variants on lagers that I've tried (for example, Trail Cascade didn't do it for me, I much preferred the original). But they are making progress with each batch it seems, so it might be worth trying the Wanderer variants they have now if you're into that kind of thing.

 

I haven't had a TH dry-hopped lager, but I think my view on the style/approach is marred by JA Dry-Hopped Post Shift Pilsner. I love regular Post Shift, but the dry-hopped version is garbage. It's just a style I avoid altogether.

 

@AlcahueteJ knows to do lagers THEN IPAs and stouts.

 

Yeah, but at TH one has to drive home afterward, so I prefer to drink the heavier ABV beers first there. It's the same amount of alcohol overall, of course, but I think the timing works better for getting back in shape to drive this way.

 

Unfortunately, soapy and susceptible to acetaldehyde on their worst days: perceptive batch variation at play. Consequently, burned too much to revisit anything recent, or solicit good advice on their lagers. Nonetheless, have been impressed in the past…just don’t be expecting another Silvaticus moment

Considering Idle Hands is reissuing their Munich Dunkel, then perhaps give Rover a try, while in Charlton, before revisiting Brünhilda in Malden

 

My last trip out I bought every available lager except any dry hopped versions. I thought all were good to great. The resources and time Tree House has put into their lager program really shows on these beers.

Quaint
Rustle
Brisk
Whisper
Rover
At Ease
Idle Mind
Right Place

My favorites from that trip were At Ease (oak conditioned Altbier) and Idle Mind (Vienna). At Ease is still available at Charlton (9/14/21 can date).

Good luck. Enjoy.

 

Of what's on now, I've had Nomad, Whisper, and Little Fire. Nomad I think is excellent. The other two were good, though I definitely didn't think Little Fire was smoky enough last year. When they released this batch they said it's smokier than the initial version, which would elevate it to very good in my book. I'm pretty uninterested in dryhopped lagers so I haven't had much of what they have at the moment.

Would retweet the love for Free to Roam - it's as good as any Helles I've ever had save Memoria.

 

Or, better yet, crush a couple low ABV lagers and save the DIPA for drinking at home (sorry, I'm literally writing a story on drunk driving right now and the other tabs opened in my browser are the National Institutes of Health and drunk driving stats). Not a personal attack, I promise!

 

I'm a big fan of their lagers, as others have said in the thread their oak aged stuff is fantastic. I got a pout of Nomad this past weekend and it was fantastic. I'd say about 85% of the way to being as good as Suarez's dark lager.

 

Given what is available now, eliminating the dry hopped versions, which I avoid for the same reason you mentioned, I think the “Keeping it Crisp” mix pack is the way to go for you for to go cans. It covers virtually all the available non-dry hopped lagers available and you avoid having to buy a 4-pack of each since that is the only way they are sold outside of these packs they put together.

And yes, the draft list is an embarrassment of riches. Many of the lagers mentioned above and not currently available to go are available at the Classic Styles Bar. One I didn’t mention that I really enjoyed and have two cans left in the fridge is Right Place, which is the oak conditioned version of Shipshape, Czech Pils.

 

Rustle: festbier
Whisper: Marzen
Brisk: Whisper, but with additional oak conditioning
New one that I can't remember the name of is dry hopped Whisper or Brisk

I thought Rustle was better than Brisk this year. I haven't had Whisper since last year, and I honestly don't remember if I liked it or Brisk better at that time.

 

Unfortunately, I have not been able to visit Tree House. That said, I'd definitely order whatever is on the side pull, as @dele suggested. I do tend to gravitate towards side pulls and cask machines though.

Nomad sounds interesting, but I enjoy dark lagers.

 

I had Little Fire on tap at the Sandwich location and it was plenty smoky. I think it is one of their best beers in any style. Whisper is the best of their marzens. I also really enjoy Nomad. Their lager game is very good.

 

Not much to add - good comments above. I’ve also skipped the dry-hopped stuff. Rover was solid, not my favorite of theirs. The oak-aged stuff, like others have said, is very good. Free to Roam was fantastic, I also enjoyed Trailbreaker.