if you could only

If you want to avoid lines then yes late afternoon is better (I was in/out at TH on Saturday with both cans and growlers in under 10 minutes upon arriving past 5:30). However if you want to be safe then arriving at opening would give you the best probability of getting everything that you want (remember there will most likely be a long line as well). I'd venture to say that there will always be something in the late afternoon hours that's worth checking out (Double Shot stout, whatever is the new addition to the week, etc.)

 

Shot has been on tap for close to 4 weeks now (and I don't believe it's slowing down at all)….stouts last….Julius was on tap for close to 3 weeks as well and it just recently kicked. I'd expect it to be in cans/on tap relatively soon (if not this week). Good luck! There's honestly nothing like TH beer that i've encountered in the US via many trades etc.

 

If that's the priority, I'd suggest getting there about an hour before open. I've gotten there around that time (from NYC) and been out by 5:15 with cans & 5 growlers.

 

I hope you mean home by 5:15...otherwise you waited on line for 6 hours?

 

MA has wonderful IPAs. And if you had actually mentioned that in your post I would have echoed others and said pick Tree House or Trillium. You certainly are a sour guy.

 

If its sours you are looking for JA is doing a great job lately. Their Sour Berliner is on shelves now, very tasty. They also always have a Sour Project on in the tap room. In addition this summer they are bottle releasing a bunch or sour variants. Framingham Lager was taken and Brett was added along with a hunch of different fruits. Also S&D was soured should be an interesting one. They just released Smoke and Machete as well, BA with cocoa nibs, cinnamon, and peppers. In addition they have Excess IPL. Which the lager version of all these nuvo juice bombs.

 

Weekday.

 

This debate will probably never be settled. While I like both TH and Trillium, for me the the time commitment and available options tip the scales in Trillium's favor. When factoring everything in (drive, wait, etc.), the 1.5 hours for Trillium is so so much better than 3-4+ than TH (I live 35-50 mins from Boston depending on traffic and 50 mins from TH) -- especially with a 1 YO at home.

I'm also content with living a mile from Jack's Abby!

 

I've had many more of Trillium's beers (I'd wager I've tried 90+% of their offerings), but everything I've had from Treehouse has been excellent as well. It's really about proximity for me. Trillium is a 10 minute walk from my office; I can be back with bottles in under 30 minutes round trip and get a nice short walk in. Treehouse is a 90 minute drive, making it a 4-5 hour affair with growler wait times. Factor in the cost of gas and the ~13 mpg I get in my ridiculous car and Trillium is my favorite hands down. But they both make awesome beers and we are lucky to have them, Jack's Abby, CBC, and others in our backyard.

 

Neither has a tasting room. Coming from New York, probably up I-84 what you should do is stop at Treehouse, proceed up 290 to Worcester and go to Wormtown, which has a nice new tasting room and great beers. Then head to Armsby Abby to get some Hill Farmstead or something else great plus food, and then you can head back. What's the value of Hill Farmstead on tap without going to Vermont?

Once Trillium opens up in Canton, that will likely be first choice. Jack's Abby is great but there is rarely anything in the tasting room you can't pick up in most liquor stores and it's a pain to get to.

 

hmm... if my tastes are any indicator, i'd say the results of this hypothetical throwdown don't bode well for your tradebait. i don't think singlecut is in the same league as other half, but that's just me.

 

I liked Singlecut a lot. I think I had Shuggie. I likened it to Lunch.

 

no dis on singlecut really, but other half is excellent when they're on.

 

Fairly regularly but there's a lot more to TH than Julius. I'd plan on going any weekend you can, you'll definitely come away with some killer stuff whether or not Julius is available.

 

Getting Julius cans is going to require some timing. They seem to be pumping it out pretty regularly now to the point that it seems like it might be available every week, but which day is a gamble especially for cans.