Tree House (2024)

Vindicated! Hah.

 

I think Fiden’s is quite good, but also massively overhyped, so I’m with you. I do think it’s definitely worth a stop though for someone in Albany. Their buffalo wings are dope.

 

I’m just curious if anyone on here has had Troon? I feel like the way those beers look, the flavor and mouthfeel could go six different ways. But yeah, Fidens was pretty decent from what I’ve tried. But as said above, nothing earth shattering. I wouldn’t totally derail a route just to go there.

 

To be a little fair, Perservere was a blended stout and only a portion was barrel aged. $22 is kind of annoying for the 12oz BA ones, though.

 

Not to give them any ideas, but I've found that in a lot of cases, the blended ones are as good or better. Would take Persist or Moher Mocha over Truth any day, and not just because of the adjuncts.

 

So just to follow up, I DID decide to make the stop up to Fidens this week and I don't regret it. Beautiful place they've got, and the food was as good as advertised. Got the Bahn Mi and it was exceptional, as were the fries. Only had one draft but was very impressed by it, not quite Tree House level to me but very close. If TH sets the bar, this felt like 99th percentile type of quality. Grabbed a few cans to bring home, excited to try some of their others.

I also stopped at Tree House in Charlton, to bring this back on topic. My 2nd time ever visiting, and that place just continues to feel really special to me. Not only is the space just perfect, and the people working there awesome, but this is still hands down my favorite beer in the world. sometimes it feels like people have cooled on Hazys, but it's still by far the most interesting and enjoyable beer to me and i love everything they're doing in that area. so much so that i haven't really tried any of their other styles and don't see a need to given my limited access.

I hope everyone who is in close proximity to their places still appreciates what they're doing over there the way us outsiders do. In some ways it's probably good I don't live closer to a place like Tree House because I'd be broke and probably weigh a lot more! But thinking I'll keep making at least one annual trek up there while I keep waiting for a place closer to me to start brewing beer that is even in the same ballpark quality-wise.

I also made it to Armsby Abbey for the first time this trip, and while I enjoyed it and had a fun day in Worcester (an underrated town?), I probably wouldn't go out of my way to stop there again in the future.

 

I've had a lot of Troon. I started going there not long after they opened in like 2017 I think, back when they only did growler fills. Their IPAs tend to be about 9% and are really kind of unique. They pour a super hazy bright yellow-gold. Very green and herbal, with a strong passionfruit note. Fairly bitter. A lot of their beers are very similar, but the best ones are some of my favorite beers ever. If you're ever in the area near Princeton, NJ, you can always get four or five of their beers on tap at the Brick Farm Tavern on the same property as Troon.

 

Pretty much this. Their NEIPA's are better than most other breweries, but their pricing just makes it a tough buy, especially when so many of their beers are so similar. As I believe someone else said in this thread (or maybe it's somewhere else...) I'm curious what happens to them when Tree House opens up in Saratoga. It's a decent distance apart, but still. I'm thinking they'll be good because they're still mostly hyperlocal.

 

Sounds like a great trip...other than Armsby Abbey? Curious to hear what the experience was here.

 

Armsby’s taplist is astonishing but in my experience in the last few years is that everything else is hit or miss.

 

Oh to be clear, it was fine. I think maybe my expectations were a little high on it because it gets talked about in such reverence here. I enjoyed my meal well enough and the service was fine, definitely the kind of place I'd return to if I was local. Just probably expected a little too much.

In hindsight, I guess it probably gets recommended so often primarily for the Hill Farmstead on tap (and the nice selection of belgian bottles). Which is nice and all, but even some places in PA get that, so it's not a complete novelty.

I don't want to make it sound like I'm putting the place down at all, just expected something else I suppose. It looks a lot bigger from the pictures online, for starters! But it was very cozy. And the mussels were good!

 

Same. It seems they really lean heavily on the same hop combinations with minor tweaks. Citra + Southern Hemisphere hops and that yeast they use that makes everything taste like dirt and acorns. Works extremely well with Nelson, which they use with reckless abandon.

But I digress.

 

Also I legitimately hate Fire Lily. I swear this can't have been brewed by Tree House. At least weaker IPA's like Timberline still have that unique yet recognizable TH flavor, but Fire Lily is just a sad excuse for a Tree House beer. Bland and watery.

Again don't even get me started on the pricing BS on this one.

 

Fidens will be just fine. Capital district in NY is fast becoming a beer destination: TH, Fidens, Wayard Lane, Suarez Family. I love TH, but will tell you that a handful of other breweries have caught up, including Fidens.
Can’t wait for Saratoga, and my first stop on the Northway will be Fidens.
Btw: got 3 cases of variety TH products this July, some were phenomenal , others were just Aariight.

 

I already made a post about this beer a few pages back. It was fucking disgusting. I had grabbed a sample at Tewksbury but when I cracked a can at home realized they have given me the wrong beer sample. I like the sample so I grabbed cans. I poured all of my Lilly out. Fucking horrible and was put off by the price and money wasted.

Rare for me to get bummed at them, but that beer was terrible.

 

Stopped last Thursday for cans on my way back from VT. Just cracked my first Green. 10-21-2024 batch. It’s legit terrible. Bad off flavor. I picked up Sap and Julius also and they were great. Anybody else have issues with the 10-21 Green? First off flavored beer i have had from Tree House in years. Very surprised. And disappointed.

 

Galaxy is just not a good hop anymore. Don't care what anyone else has to say. It tastes nothing like it used to

 

What's the scene like at Tree House Sandwich this time of year? I'll be on the Cape this weekend and I'd like to get what will probably be my only chance in the forseeable future to try Tree House beer. But I'll also have two (teenage-ish) kids with me and I'm trying to be strategic.

If I were to say, come for pizza at like 7 on a Friday would there be a chance of 3 of us getting a table? How crazy would it be? Or am I better off just trying to order some cans for their curbside pickup thing?