Tree House (2024)

All very valid points. And def agree with Notch, but given the sheer amount of families and groups I see in Brighton I think it’s safe to say they pull in a ton of just taproom folks.

As for other breweries I think I meant the amount of innovation, consistency and sheer volume treehouse does is above most others. It’s hard for me to think of others without getting into Sierra, Sam, etc. Which to me, operate in a different lane. While I love Trillium I’d say as far as offerings and variety go they’ve kind of hit their comfort zone of what they release and how many brands at a time. It’s just not the same scale.

 

I think this is the one they're talking about.

 

Thanks. That was fun.

 

Tree House is basically on its own planet and I'm not sure much can be compared, relatively speaking. It's basically in Nate and Co.'s hands to fuck things up, and for over a decade they've only done the opposite.

If they were just a NEIPA machine like they were in 2015, then perhaps they'd be in a different spot but the fact they just went out and started brewing legitimately great lagers and lighter beers is pretty much like brewing with a cheat code. And they currently have 37(!!!) different lagers available and I guarantee they are all solid at worst.

It's absurd. I'm just gonna agree with @Jbrews here and enjoy the moment while it lasts.

 

Why is is absurd to agree with me @ScaryEd

 

You know what you did.

 

I just had to take the chance to make a funny with Ed’s wording

 

This is the answer that makes the most sense to me. They aren't building massive breweries on unused industrial parcels, they're developing retail/event properties that will likely only gain value regardless of the breweries fortunes.

It's an impressive American beer story and I'm definitely curious to see how they navigate it going forward.

 

Oh Notch absolutely gets families and regular folk. But when a Stichfass of a Helles or Pils goes in 45 minutes at like 5 pm, it’s not your regular folks kicking that.

Tree House, at least Tewksbury, is definitely kid and family central, but based on the sheer volume of people they attract I’m sure it’s a strong beer geek crowd. Has to be with the Schlenkerla event they held at Deerfield (I really wanted to go to that too).

Personally, to my palate I’ve had beers that ranged from ok to amazing from Tree House. Same as other top tier breweries. So I’ve never really understood the over the top fanfare.

Maybe it’s just me and I’m just an old fart beer geek. Their volume has always been a huge turn off to me. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Prague this summer where it was cozy beer gardens and brew pubs with just a few well made beers on tap. Reminds me of places like Silvaticus.

The whole purchasing drink tickets to sit in an overcrowded atmosphere and sift through riffs of the same styles never really appealed to me.

All that being said, I’ll definitely visit this new Boston tap room when it opens. It was cool to have the beer garden at the Pru this summer.

 

They’re such a unique story. And this new spot will be very successful. Looks like it will be in the Prudential building and it’s a short walk from public transportation. It should be busy every day of the week.

If any brewery could buck the trend of craft beer sales slowing or flattening and be able to keep expanding, it’ll be these guys.

I was surprised when I visited their beer garden at this spot in the summer. It was only on Thursdays, but Thursdays in the city can be busy with the after work crowd. It was fairly tame, but this was of course just one afternoon/night.

 

Oh I definitely agree with this.

Of course I've never traveled overseas so I can't say I understand, but I definitely want to. Belgium is #1 on my list.

 

I wonder if expanding will eventually hit a point of diminishing returns. The entire foundation of their business has been scarcity and the need to go to them to get their product. I'm certain they have very smart people who can present a game tree to them with all possible outcomes for their future. Maybe the NY location is their last massive gamble for a while. Maybe they keep going into Albany or Pennsylvania even. I could also see them throwing a hail mary and opening a spot on the West Coast. Not sure how that would work because Nate and Lauren seem to still be very much involved and that would be quite difficult to continue.

 

Been there too! Brussels and Bruge. Going to Cantillon for the self guided tour is a must for a beer geek in my opinion. Just like going to Pilsner Urquell in Plzen is.

I've been lucky enough to go to Munich (Germany multiple times actually) and Vienna as well. Just need to go to Bamberg, Cologne, Dusseldorf, and London to complete my quest.

I 100% agree with this. I think of when Nightshift tried to go to Pennsylvania. Or when Bissell had to close their Milo location.

But again, no one is Tree House. So if anyone can do it, they can.

 

I'm interested in the brewing facility in Boston. It's seemed that, so far anyway, the Massachusetts strategy was about expanding footprint for sales/distribution (cape, 93, 89, and 84/90 are now covered pretty well). This is the first one that will include brewing, though, right? I wonder what the plans are for that.

 

It's still scarce for people on the rest of the East Coast lol. We're driving up from Baltimore this weekend. It's still a great experience for me. Get there at open, have a few beers while its not crowded, get a few cases to go. We make a trip up every fall, and quite a lot of other out of staters do the same.

 

Yeah, I have a friend who goes up there a couple times a year, so I can place an order the morning of and get it brought back here. Not every beer is a home run, but the ones that are are tough to beat from anyone.

 

I’m here now and it’s super dead. Love it. Drinking a Nervous Energy before I grab my cans and head home. Weekends are tough to get in and out, but you might luck out, as the following weekend will likely be crazy (Thanksgiving)

 

It seems like a 35,000 ft facility IN the Pru? Where would that go?

 

My guess is where Under Armour was right at the Boylston entrance. I believe it’s 2 floors, could potentially have the patio out front and is the only space in the Pru of that size currently vacant. I work in the pru, it would be awesome to have them here but just like the beer garden, not sure I would find myself there all that often given that I live 10 minutes from Tewksbury.

 

I assume he’s referring to this one.