Tree House (2025)

They wouldn’t be milk stouts if they removed the lactose. Milk stouts have kinda been their thing and would probably upset a lot of their customer base to change. With the level of variety they’ve hit you could see more RIS and other stouts consistently. I thought Half Truth was great earlier this year.

 

Hey gang. Probably a question you’ve answered a million times but I didn’t see anything recent enough so I feel compelled to ask…

Taking a long drive with a friend from Chicagoland to stock up for New Year’s Eve and Q1 Planning on a few days between Christmas and New Years and have a few questions.

We’ve been to Charlton a handful of times and of course loved it, but, nowhere else. How is the selection and vibes at Deerfield and Tewksbury? How’s the general scene for just hanging around town there? Meaning like nice pubs or just general places to have good food and good beer. We’re only going to be around 2-3 days tops so we are sticking to one spot.


Where would you all pick? Thanks in advance

 

Yeah I missed that one. I just think they would all be improved if they weren’t milk stouts. Never had a stout and thought “man, I wish this had lactose”

 

Honestly I would recommend the one in Saratoga Springs. It’s closer to you (not much but every mile counts on a long trip), is really well laid out, and has an extensive can selection. Plus the town (5 miles up the road) has plenty of bars and restaurants.

 

Hey, if you make Albany/Saratoga your home base, you can take a quick trip to Suarez, which IMO is easily one of the top 3 with lagers in the Northeast. Plus there's Fiden's in Albany.

 

I would also suggest giving Saratoga a shot. I havent been yet but pics of the space look awesome and Saratoga is a quaint little city with tons of other food/drink options. A quick check shows their can selection is pretty solid. Like Charlton, there's not much else in Deerfield itself (except Yankee Candle). Greenfield to the North and Northampton/Amherst to the south would be where you'd want to hang. Tewksbury is a beautiful space. Never checked out the surrounding area but it's greater Boston so, traffic aside, there should be plenty to do.

 

Honest answer, there isn’t much great in Tewksbury or around it. It’s about 30-45 min from Boston depending on traffic and kind of just a suburban run of the mill area and town. It’s sort of a town you live or work in. But before Treehouse moved in, you had no reason to go there if you don’t live there. I at one point was someone who was going into an office there a bit when needed.

Deerfield is at least a little more scenic being Western, MA(actual Western MA) But again, aside from the Yankee candle factory there really is nothing. I lived in the area many years ago. Northampton however, is not all that far and a fun little town. Maybe a 25 minute drive. But the entire area is essentially college area. Avoid Springfield and I can’t say much good about Holyoke.

If adventurous for driving and parking, the Boston location at the Prudential would offer a similar to go list and a pretty well curated tap list. And then obviously your bar and food options are limitless at that point.

Good luck!

 

Drinking a Plover right now. It’s decent. Mild, fruity English tea on the nose and up-front in flavor. Finishes with a black pepper note that lingers. Malt flavor iand minerality are practically non-existent. Not saying it’s terrible, just that it’s OK. What Suarez has done with the style is light years ahead of this. Fox Farm also makes a superior version. Anyway, when Treehouse does this again, I’m sure they will make improvements.

On another note, I had a pour of Enduring Belief, the Rye Lager, and wow. It’s got a mouth-watering bitterness. A very, very nice beer.

 

Thanks, guys. Saratoga wasn’t even on the radar and now that you’ve all said it and we’ve looked at spots, I think this is the place

 

Making a difference in the world….

 

Just FYI - I think Suarez is closing for a month for a “winter break”.

 

Saratoga Treehouse has an added bonus of a decent hotel (Homewood Suites) right next door within walking distance.

 

They’ll own it by 2027

 

Suites by Tree House

 

Double Tree House

 

Blast from the past from the Google machine.

 

Ah, the days of single can orders... Tremendous.

 

damnit..out done by a Rags fan.

 

2 weeks before the shut down. Crazy.

I miss the comically big order cards that took you the entire time waiting to write in the amount you wanted for each offering, changing the numbers multiple times as you went down the list.

 

Amazing to just think of where they were 5 years back and 5 years forward from that point in time. Still such incredible growth and they keep moving.