Tree House (2024)

We hit Deerfield on the way back to NY from an overnight at Schilling/Hill. It always amazes me how much money Tree House must make because my first thought from entering the retail area was how their merch area is larger than some taprooms I've been to.

I have to say as someone that goes to a Tree House location maybe once a year that Tree House has really stepped up their lager game. It's nice having multiple lukr options. This one is Meander Oak.

This seemed really high to me too. I checked an old order from 2022 and paid $10 for 12oz of Persevere and $12 for Normand. I went for a single bottle of Drink of the Gods for $20, but limited myself to just that.

Thanks, this worked out really well. I left my car here overnight and came back the next day to no problems.

 

This is near a repeat buy for me, which I almost never do on their $18+ bottles. Crazy balanced especially given all the adjuncts. BA Hunah would be proud

 

Shared a bottle of Treeside with a friend last night. Really delicious beer. Big barrel presence, super fudgey. I don't know that I'd pay $50 for another bottle, but it was really tasty. My buddy bought it and was nice enough to share it with me. The bottle had the thickest wax cap ever too.

 

Never had Evil Julius before, but got to mix in a 4-pack of cans from the Pru when dropping my BIL off at Logan yesterday. Having one now and holy hell this is drinking way below the ABV, what a delightful beer.

 

I will be swinging through Mass again later this week for hopefully my second stop at TH. Is there anything available right now that I must grab?

My stop last summer I just grabbed a mix of the mainstays since it was my first time, and they were all fantastic. But my favorite was probably Summer, which I guess has Amarillo, Citra, & Magnum and they mention it's "heavily oated".

I'll probably just grab another mix of Hazys mostly, and maybe some cold brew, just wanted to see if there was anything special right now worth snagging or looking out for.

Also hoping to stop at Fidens for the first time on this road trip, so excited to see what they have as well.

 

Ok, so, potentially hot take time. I live about 40 minutes from Fidens. I've gone there a few times and I've brought some beer home. They unquestionably make really good NEIPAs, however, that's also pretty much all they make and all of the beers largely taste / look / feel the same. I've tried some of their stouts and I wasn't impressed. One of the ones I got was badly infected and they never replied to my emails / DMs, for what it's worth too. They're also all about $20.00 - $24.00 for a 4-pack.

If you REALLY want to try them, I'd recommend just getting a single can of a few of their different offerings, but I'd focus most of your budget on Tree House beers, or hell, if you're visiting Deerfield, take a quick drive up to Vermont right over the border and come home with a good amount of Heady, Focal and other VT treasures.

If you're going to be going through the greater-ish Albany area there are also a few great beer bars in the area. The Ruck in Troy. which is divey but generally has a great taplist and incredible wings. Delaware Supply in Albany is a bit more low key with a smaller draft list, but it's very well curated. Then lastly, Saisonnier in Kinderhook, NY. This is the furthest from a highway but it's a personal favorite. Great curated beer selection, a ton of lambics available, and awesome sandwiches. It's also a little more than halfway to Suarez Family Brewing, should you want to come home with some lagers or farmhouse beers.

 

Very helpful info, thank you so much!

Unfortunately, I don't have any time in Albany, I'm actually going out of my way about 45 minutes just to stop by Fidens and grab some cans, wasn't even going to stay for a drink as I've gotta keep moving that day. If it's really not worth it in your opinion, I could just cross that off the list altogether, just do not make it up that way very often and thought it might be worth a little side trip to try this place finally. And I'm actually headed South from Albany so VT won't happen either this time, sadly I am driving right thru the Hudson valley and was considering a quick stop in maybe Beacon or somewhere like that for a bite and a beer, if you have any recommendations in that area?

Sorry I know this is getting into Mid-Atlantic area vs New England I guess. But I'm definitely checking out some of these spots the next time I make it back up that way.

 

If Obercreek is open in Beacon, it's well worth a stop. But they have some odd hours.

 

If you're headed south through Albany then Kinderhook may be on your way. See how far Saisonnier is off of your path. Like I said, Suarez is down that way too, but their hours are pretty limited.

And I wouldn't say that Fidens isn't worth it, just that I personally don't think it lives up to the hype / cache that it has in the area. The beer is definitely very good for the styles that they excel in. I just don't like the lack of variety / flavors.

I haven't spent a ton of time in the Beacon area, unfortunately, so I'm not much help there. There's a decent diner that I can't recall the name of in Hyde Park near the FDR museum, but I wouldn't go out of your way for it.

 

I live in the Hudson valley and just happened to be still subscribed to this thread because of the post I made here a few days ago.

Two best places to grab a bite and a beer in Beacon are Melzingah Taphouse and Draught Industries. Draught will have the better taplist and Mexican food. Melzingah is more gastropub style so a bit more upscale food and their taplist is also no joke. Meyers Old Dutch is also a favorite of mine for smash burgers, but their draft list is several notches below Melzingah and Draught. I also highly recommend pillow and oats brewing right across the street from draught. They do a lot of hazy styles beers because of course they do.

The previously mentioned Obercreek makes the best haze in the mid Hudson valley IMO. They're in Wappingers which is about 15 minutes north of Beacon. They're also only open for 3 hours on Thursday and Friday so pretty hard to hit if you're on a schedule.

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with Matt here and suggest that you go to Fidens if you're on the fence. There's a reason they have the hype. Matt isn't wrong that a lot of their beers taste similar, but they do Citra/Galaxy/Nelson really well. If they have any of the Jasper variants or Vegan/Butcher/Farmer available I suggest you go for it. I know you said you don't have time, but their food is also really good. Highly suggest the curry wings and chicken sandwich if you can manage to do lunch there.

 

Awesome info, thank you so much! A lot to think about here

 

I'll echo that it's almost worth it for the food alone, and the beer is great. But yeah, I agree with the above poster - def worth the stop.

 

nice to see you here bro! i've been on this thread more recently since now we drive through Deerfield all the time on our way to and from southern vermont. although, sometimes we drive through albany, and i never realized that Fidens is there, so I guess that will have to be a stop as well!

I'm all out of my Treehouse Nelson many ways varieties and I need more!

 

As far as the treehouse more traditional lagers go, would you say trail or pizzeria pils is better? I haven’t had either but I’m beginning to realize that while I love all they new aged dry hopped lagers, sometimes a good old fashioned noble hopped pils really hits a different spot. Prepping to buy one of these on my next stop.

enjoying a texture lager from treehouse now which got me thinking. I’m sold on treehouse lagers. I like texture (presumably simcoe that I ordered but the can gives no indication of which). I like texture more than peacharine pils.

 

I loved Pizzeria Pils.

 

Hey man! I guess you have a new home now that the OH thread is deader than dead haha.

I agree that Deerfield is really convenient to get to especially moreso than Charlton if you're heading north. And yeah definitely check out Fidens.

 

The influx of New York ipa factories finally pushed me over the edge of old man yells at beer clouds to get off my lawn - I could not give less of a fuck about brujos or troon or whatever the hype beast of the moment is. But Fidens absolutely rules both as an IPA factory and as a taproom. Huge fan and would easily make any must stop in the northeast list for me. I’m not among the crowd that thinks it puts Tree House to shame, but I have no problem saying they’re of comparable excellence (at least in the hazy IPA dept).

Trail >>>>>>>>>Pizza Pils to me. Love the label on the latter but would prob rate it in the bottom 20% of TH beers I’ve had personally. To each their own!

 

The combination of how good Fiden's beer is, as well as how good their food is...it just pushes it ove rthe edge - absolute must stop.

 

Well it seems like I'm the outlier. I'll show myself out...