Tree House Brewing (2022)

Did anyone snag Rainbow? Sold out relatively quickly, bummed I missed out. I’m assuming / hoping they’ll brew it again.

 

Yeah, it's one thing when it's a Milk Stout where I expect that, but RIS? Nahh, give me some more roast

 

lol I don't think Tree House has ever not had that issue of over-milking all their stouts, have they? at this point, it's more of a feature than a bug, in that you should know what you're getting with a TH stout (I don't really care for that "house style" of theirs, personally).

 

I am SUCH not a 'better in Monson' guy, but Double Shot was a much different beer in 2015 than it is now, so much less overwhelmingly sweet. And even Single Shot, which is a milk stout, was pretty tame when they first started making it.

 

OG DS was 7.6% and is now well above 9% I think. Not sure why they felt the need to change it so much. The sweetness overpowers the coffee

 

The overwhelming sweetness might be new, but I do remember a ton of lactose in all the milk stouts (to the degree that they all felt interchangeable) in Monson as well.

 

Same. I still remember my first growler of DS being a religious experience. I think it was 7.5% and was labeled as an "American Stout". Obviously palates change and the first time you have a great beer is almost always going to be the best. But the recipe is clearly very different now. I don't even taste or smell the coffee anymore.

It's the state of craft beer now so I don't blame them. It's just disappointing.

 

Thought triple shot house blend was well balanced with plenty of roast

 

Back then, there was very little in the way of true coffee stouts. Lots of stuff with "coffee" in the name, but the actual flavors were always superficial and sweet, even with the big boi stouts. You never really got that black coffee roast which is what set Double Shot apart so much and made it so damn impressive. Probably the first beer I ever had that actually tasted like coffee (by far the most potent) and it opened so many doors to what is actually possible with coffee in beer.

I still get a lot of coffee in TH stouts (more than other breweries), but you're right, these days it does tend more toward "burnt popcorn" and coffee grounds instead of black coffee. Still enjoyable in a different way, but I do miss the lighter versions of these Double Shots that didn't try to melt your face.

Single Shot could be that beer, but the lactose sweetens it the wrong way. One beer I really enjoy is Vanilla Bean Single Shot since I feel it does a great job harnessing the raw vanilla bean bitterness to temper the lactose a bit, creating a nice balance.

Would love to see Double Shot get the "One" treatment someday!

 

This batch of Green.

Muah.

 

Lets be real here. They can pump out endless new IPAs (other brewers as well), but Green really is as good as it gets

 

Ughhh.

Missed it by few days

 

IMO, a 4 pack at 15.20 is one of the best deals in the industry when it comes to quality / price for an American ipa.

I’ve said it before, but the green family is my favorite in the industry. Vg is my all time favorite ipa.

 

My run yesterday consisted for the first time of more lagers than NEIPA. While my tastes have evolved a bit and I am drinking less Double NEIPAs, it is also a testament to the Tree House lager quality. I bought mix cases of Zatec, Free to Roam, Quaint, Tempo and Idle Mind. I think Tree House lagers are on par with the best of what is around these days. I would still prefer a HF limited beer like Poetica or Memoria, but Tree House can hold its own with the regular HF lagers, Notch, Fox Farm , VonTrapp and Jack Abbys. I still need to get some Suarez lagers in my life. My cheaper alternative is still house lager from Jacks. Are there any missing lagers in Massachusetts I am missing? I have pretty much given up on imports as the price point/freshness is an issue for the better German stuff. I will still get some Pilsner Urquell if it is fresh, but a fresh lager is just as important in my opinion as a fresh NEIPA.

 

Silvaticus

Beyond Mass:

NH: Schilling
Maine: Oxbow

 

Idle Hands

 

Brick & Feather
-Kitten With a Whip
-Transferable Skillsets

Berkshire Brewing
-Czech Style Lager

Vanished Valley
-Clarity

CT
Counterweight
-Workhorse Pils
-Ein Helles

Beer’d
-Connecticut Casual

East Rock
-Black Lager

NEBCo
-Elm City Lager

Twelve Percent Beer Project
-“Snappy” House Lager

 

East rock is my favorite lager brewery. Right behind them would be Fox Farm and Hills farmstead. Then right behind them is fine trap. All the great breweries. However von Trapp and East rock beers are much cheaper than the other two and the quality is there.

 

Same. My last several TH runs have all included at least two different lager orders. Idle Mind is pretty damn good, and Zatec Harvest was just a great, clean Pilsner (not much you can really do to make it stand out among the other good ones given the style, but it fits in). I totally agree that the lager program has evolved infinitely since the days of just having Trail Magic as the lone offering.

 

Two votes for East Rock and I have not heard of them, so that is definitely one I will czech out.