Tree House Brewing (2022)

Disgusting? Genuinely curious what you mean. The beer was bad or mistake in canning made the beer bad or it just tasted bad?

 

Yeah, I can’t say I’ve had a disgusting beer from TH. In fact, I’ve only had once batch, of hundreds, that was way off. It was the batch of VG that they refunded everyone who bought it.

 

Given that these beers aren't cheap, maybe it's too flippant of an attitude, but I've kind of chalked the inconsistency thing up to just part of the deal for all but the small operations. The same conversation is happening in the HF thread right now. I'm sure at some point in the last decade we've had it about Heady, too. If those places can't scale up and throw out 10s on every single batch, I'm inclined to believe it just isn't possible.

I also wonder if there isn't an element of changing tastes to it that gets mistaken for higher standards. I remember having Julius many times where I felt like it was just a kickass citra IPA before I really picked out the TH yeast flavor as the primary reason why it was special. Now I find that if I buy a case of assorted TH, 75% of it is just going to be excellent IPAs and maybe 25% will really lean into the TH-ness of it all. Of course I think those ones are better. But I'm also not sure the ratio was all that different 8 years ago or whenever, I might just be more aware of it.

Fwiw, it's with extremely rare exception that I've encountered anything less than at least good from TH, HF, Alchemist. They're not all 10s, but they're virtually all at least 7s or 8s imo.

 

I don't know what the cause is but I've had cans within a batch where some taste amazing, some have that wretched, undrinkable hop burn, some are somewhere between. I find the worst of that to be disgusting and undrinkable and some of the in between in that category too. I've also had hop particulate that drops out to the bottom of the can and when I unwittingly pour it, it ruins the whole beer. I don't think either of these things are unique to Tree House, but Tree House is also not immune to it.

And it should be said, I have a generally positive view on TH.

 

Well, that batch of VG was very disgusting if you tasted it.

 

I don’t fully agree. It definitely deserves to be refunded, because it wasn’t even close to VG, but I’ve also had worse beer that wasn’t refunded

 

I haven't experience much inconsistency in the quality over the last two years. From 2018-2019 in Charlton, you could tell they were still getting things dialed in.

I will say that I still have a can left from my 4-pack of Curiosity 5 a couple months ago. That has to be one of the worst IPAs they've ever put out. I just can't get myself to open the last can.

 

Curiosity 5 was bad?? I went to TH at the end of June and picked up about 5 cases. Curiosity 5 was the best one of the bunch for me!

 

There was a great post in the Jack's Abby thread last year about their Hoponius Union IPL. They've been making it for like 11, 12 years now, however long JA has existed for. Because of the way people get used to and desensitized to hops, (the brewer called it Lupulin threshold, the decreasing sensitivity to hops over time), they've had to slowly but consistantly keep adding more dry hops just so people wouldn't think they were putting less hops in. As they put it, they now use 4X the dry hops that they used in the original batches, and almost nobody ever noticed. There was no one recipe change, it was just slow, constantly increasing amounts over time.

We can't possibly taste things the same way we did years ago, we're not the same people we were and we've tasted and experienced so much since then. Hell, in one day, you can grab more different beers from TH than you could in an entire year 5-8 years ago.

 

A little off topic…

I plan on stopping by the brewery next Friday around noon or so…. Is it still mobbed most of the time? Will it be too early to have long lines?

Any input would be appreciated

 

Fridays are usually chill compared to saturdays and sundays. You should be fine, minimal lines, plenty of seating, etc

 

I know, weird. I couldn't stand it

 

What was weird to me was that I ordered a case of Green, and all of them had a bit of a metallic taste. The Julius was so much better.

 

It's in vogue to hate on popular stuff, don't forget. I thought C5 was fine and it was actually a nice throwback to reminisce about what the Curiosity series used to be.

Whereas Tree House is more focused on juice and sweetness these days, the older Curiosities featured a lighter, more pithy lemony breadiness with subdued juiciness. That's what they were brewing back then and it's still delicious IMO, even if I prefer some of the juicier stuff. Certainly wouldn't use the word "bad" to describe the latest C5, but I can see why you'd be turned off if you're expecting the envelope-pushing beers of today.

 

I’ve enjoyed the curiosity re makes,

Blueberry brunch is interesting. Another heavy stout, plenty of barrel for a ba blend, coffee upfront, maple and blueberry to follow. Didn’t grab a bottle to go, it’s good, I’m not huge on adjuncts in ba stouts.

 

Is this the right place to ask about Tewksbury? Any ETAs on open? Seems like the “hello” message on the TH site has been up forever…looking forward to something just up Route 38.

 

It’s vague, but does say “Beer-To-Go - Autumn 2022.”

 

From what I can see, they’ve been hiring and training new employees for Tewksbury for a while now. As mentioned, fall 2022 seems to be as specific as anyone can be.

 

For anyone that has been to Sandwich and has made a reservation to get draft pours, can you just buy cans to-go while you're there or do you also need to reserve a time for that as well?

 

Someone who’s been can surly help out. This is the best I can do


See below

 

There is a register where you can put in an order at Sandwich if you're there for your reservation. Couple nice pros to it: it’s open even if pickup hours have ended (ie Sunday night) and doesn’t have the $65 minimum ordering online does. Not as convenient as ordering online as you literally just tell your order to the person running the register, but definitely a nice to have option.

 

The most recent batch of Green is tasting as good as ever. So is VG, but I’m leaning towards the OG nowadays. A quintessential New England ipa, 7.5% @ 15.20$, Galaxy pineapple juiciness. That’s hard to beat. I also miss the 18oz pours of Green at the classics bar.

Went for the rare fruited ipa today, very yellow. Any variation of green with pineapple purée and I’m in.

 

Not hating. It was bad to me. Opinions can be different and none are wrong. If I hated on what was popular, I wouldn't be going to TH regularly, and drinking hazies for the last 4 years.

Someone was up there yestrday and grabbed me Very Yellow. Can't wait to try that one

 

I’ve been reading in different forums that people are not happy about the canning dates being sold…

Is it true that they are selling month old IPAs out of the brewery?

I personally hope not and might stick to only the less common beers when i visit next week if their is validity to this. I’d be pretty upset walking out with 5 week old julius etc…

 

I’ll check random cans in my fridge when I get a chance, but tree house is about the last brewery I’d worry about when it comes to freshness. They sell so much beer.

3/4 of fox farms current ipas to go are about a month or older…

 

Out of 6 ipas in my fridge, the oldest one was canned 23 days ago (very green). Most are within a week or two old.

I find it very hard to believe a batch of Julius would last more than a couple of weeks, let alone a month.

 

Sandwich update…

“A note that reservations are no longer
needed on Monday - Thursday in
Sandwich as we experiment with our
post-summer approach to service &
maintaining a peaceful environment.
We are learning, working incredibly
hard, and evolving the space daily.”

 

Agree. Two out of the four times I had a friend pick me up beer at Charlton Julius was sold out. They turn it over quickly.

 

Damn. They're moving far closer to me and much sooner than I expected.

I must apologize in advance to my bank account. And my liver.

 

The most recent batch of Julius is 9/5 unless they already updated it. So at worst you're looking at 2+ weeks old?

I know it's more of a general statement and I understand where you are coming from.

I don't think I've walked out with any IPA that was older than 2 weeks. But that's purely anecdotal. I do visit once a month roughly and have since Charlton opened, for what it's worth.

 

Yeah, cuts a round trip for me by more than half. Plus, I have a buddy who lives 5 minutes away once that spot opens.

 

I’m most interested to know what they’re doing with the golf course. Nate, if you’re there, I have a podcast you can break this news to.

 

Betting it'll still be playable since there's a golf course superintendent job posted right now.

 

I'm not the most sophisticated guy, but a 5 week old Julius at fifteen bucks a four pack beats the hell out of 99% of the beers out there....

I would also be interested in a blind taste test at 5 weeks old vs. 2 weeks for the folks that take issue with that kind of thing...

 

Might hit Sandwich tomorrow - any IPAs that I should be getting apart from the cores? Not into the fruited options (which seem to account for a large proportion of the menu these days).

Boquete and Focusing Illusion also of interest - any feedback on those bad boys?

Cheers

 

while I can’t speak for Treehouse as it’s been a while… Root and Branch has been my go to and I can tell a clear difference at 5 & 2 weeks… Hill Farmstead is another I feel drops considerably in that time

 

Mother in law and her husband are doing a trip to Cape Cod and I’m hoping they can bring back some cans from Sandwich - thank you for clarifying this point. Does Sandwich sell single cans if you’re ordering from that register or from their in person retail shop? I couldn’t find anything on the website clarifying single cans vs 4-packs.

 

It's essentially the same menu you see online for Sandwich To-Go ordering. In fact, if you are unsure what you want they show you that page to make your selections.

 

Unfortunately singles are the one place where the 2022 TH experience pales in comparison to the pre Covid one, not an option outside of bottles.

 

Bummer! When my wife and I visited Charlton pre-covid, I was so happy to buy singles of everything I wanted and fly it home.

Appreciate the help, cheers!