Tree House Brewing Company (September 2016)

I would think Haze+Alter+Sap would bring a bigger crowd than Sap+OM+Dr.J even with the 1 case

EDIT
last weekend was labor day and the lines this week have been minimal, I really can't imagine it being too crazy after the rush dies down

 

Would love some line updates once people start arriving. My life is complicated these days and I can't afford to wait too long for beer... small children wonder where their father has gone and the wife gets angry.

I'm sure there will be J left over for tomorrow. Been jonesin' for Sap tho and Old Man sounds like a tasty change of pace after a summer filled with amazing IPAs.

Thanks and cheers!

 

Man you NE folks are insanely lucky, I so want 8 Julius cans right now!

 

Arrived at 345. Sales started at 3:52. Only getting cans, was out by 4:35. Line wasnt very bad as we left.

 

This old man is quite the surprise. I wasn't expecting to be a fan but I'm really liking this brew. My grandparants (85) even enjoy the stuff. I would like to see this brewed more often.

 

How long is the growler wait on a typical Thursday evening?

 

Had my first TH experience yesterday. Arrived 1.5hrs early for Julius and a growler of Sap.

It smelled like pure poo outside (septic issue or something?), but the area was pretty scenic otherwise. Bummer you can't get any beer on premise to drink or anything.

Their system is really nice with the tickets and growlers and such. Line moved very quick.

Opened a Julius last night and it was OK. A bit green/grassy right now, needs time in the can to condition a bit IMO. Looking forward to my growler of Sap later this week.

 

I got a question for the TH faithful-I have seen people posting about letting beers "rest" or "condition" for a week or two or three before drinking. I personally, haven't had the discipline to wait; i usually crack my first one within 2 minutes of getting home. So my question is this... How many of you think TH hoppy beers should be consumed after a conditioning period?

 

I have some 4 week old Julius in cans in the fridge. To my palate, it tastes very similar to how it tasted the day I bought it. But hard to say without comparing directly to a fresh bottle.

 

Tonight I have had a Julius from 8/2 and a Green from 7/27.

Both cans absolutely fantastic and fresh tasting. Not too much difference from week-old imo.

TH cans hold up really well on a consistent basis for me.

 

It's not really about the hops, it's about the yeast potentially being too young or abundant or having too much bite. For some reason it seems some of us folks in Ohio are a little more sensitive to it than others, as we've been very critical of Hoof Hearted over the past year and it seems pretty evident that they have made some changes since the gripes sprang up.

 

Most people like 2-3 weeks on it. And I agree. There are brews that I prefer fresher but that comes with the opportunity and testing.

 

Green can have a bit of a bite the day of, but after a day or two it mellows and stays pretty strong for several weeks. I had a 5-6 week old Green the other day and it was still quite good, but had fallen off ever so slightly. I find this to be one of Tree House's most consistent and long-lasting beers. Had a rough patch the first few batches after the shortage, but it's been mint ever since.

Julius is another story... I feel this beer varies a LOT batch to batch. Sometimes it's bitter and grassy, and other times it's sugar and juice. The bitter batches are OK the first few days, then improve at around the 2-3 week point. At 4 weeks, they become rather stale. The flavors are there, but it's a little more malty and everything seems muted. I think these are weaker batches. The juicy batches tend to keep their flavor for a bit longer and are stellar the day they're canned, but again, any longer than 5ish weeks and it's stale city. I didn't have this most recent batch, but the one before it was an example of what I consider to be "good Julius".

Alter Ego keeps its character for a while, but I think that's due to the dank, spicy "preserved" nature of it. Like Julius, this also varies from batch to batch, but it seems to be extremes. Most times it's not terribly juicy, but the spice and mosaic is out in full force. The other extreme I've only seen 2, maybe 3 times, and it is an absolute mess of a sticky, sweaty, damp juice bomb and I love it. The batch released with KJ is an example of that. One of my favorite beers when it's brewed like this, but most times it's only okay. Again, beyond 5-6 weeks and it's just stale. A shell of its former self. Haven't been able to hang onto the juice-city batches long enough to test longevity because they're so goddamn delicious.

Haze? Fantastic from the get-go, but this falls off quick. I enjoy this beer, yet it seems heavy on alcohol and only light on juice, but it has a hell of a peach punch up front that I can't get enough of. After 2-3 weeks, the booze starts to consume the peach and it becomes more malty. After a month, it doesn't really taste like much other than sticky alcohol and rind. Depends on the batch, sometimes the punch lasts longer, sometimes the punch isn't really there to begin with. Ages really poorly beyond 1-2 months. Did a side-by-side-by-side-by-side one time with Hazes ranging from 3mo to 2mo to 1mo to 2days and it was honestly shocking. Old Haze is sour, resiny, and yikes. Never in a million years would I have guessed it was Haze.

This was a fun trip down memory lane, but I think it depends on batch to batch. Sometimes the beers age well, sometimes they age poorly, sometimes they need to "condition", sometimes they're begging to be drank right away. It seems the nature of the flavor profiles and how the beers are brewed lend themselves to a lot of volatility in the flavors. I never thought I'd be at this point in my beer drinking life that I'd be able to distinguish differences between batches of the same freakin' beer, but here we are... that's why I think discussing how the beer ages is pointless. You can't say with any degree of certainty how the beer will hold up, because those are your experiences with other batches. These are my experiences, but sometimes I'll grab a batch that defies everything I've experienced (sometimes good, sometimes bad). Those of you who had the most recent AE batch surely can comment that it's almost like a different beer compared to other batches.

I really don't want to say the beers are inconsistent, but they're definitely not the same every time. However, the "inconsistency" is usually some sort of improvement on how the beer normally tastes, if that makes any sense. And it normally tastes amazing. It's almost like the stars occasionally align just right over the brew tank and everything falls into place.

Holy poo, what a wall of text! Really earning my paycheck today...

 

Bright 6pp + tomorrow's run.

 

wanted to give a shout out to tree house. I did a little new england food and beverage tour coming from dc and when I arrived at tree house around 130 last wednesday I paid for a 1/2 case and a teku in under 5 minutes. It was so quick I just sorta stood inside for a minute to soak it in.

 

Just added: Julius at 6/pp.

 

Please no good morning drop please no good morning drop. Can't make it this weekend.

 

When would we know? I guess at opening? I know that historically it is a "silent" release on day 1, right?

 

IF it drops it could be silently any day (but Wednesday) and there's a good chance it will last on tap for at least a week or two with a limit of 1pp

 

Where you line up at the back of the parking lot puts you in the lot and several large septic tanks. You can see the vents in the grass. Poo smell is common, unfortunately