Why no Trillium/Tree House collaborations?

It's more of a function of Tree House not really doing any collaborations at all. I can only find 3 collaborations total on the internet. One with Lawson's (Yaaarghh), one with TG (David), and one with Sierra Nevada surprisingly (East meets West). All of those collaborations seem to be 2 to 3 years old except for the SN one which I imagine Tree House was very loosely involved in.

 

They did one other with Lawson's also - Shhhhhh!, which was on tap around the time of their 3rd Anniversary if I recall correctly. Brendan also brewed a collab at Heater Allen (Sassy Bock) at some point, but it was only released at Heater Allen. Those are the only others I can think of off-hand.

 

Was wondering the same exact thing. Seeing the list of breweries going to Trillium's Field Day, how they are all mentioned as being "friends", and Tree House not being in attendance got me thinking both breweries might not care for each other. I mean they seem like a perfect fit when it comes to a collaboration, whether it's their beer quality, close proximity to one another, or target audience. Seems like Trill loves to party with others and TH keeps to themselves. I won't lie though, a friendly (or even unfriendly) personal rivalry would be pretty awesome. Would be interested in seeing more contentious vibes as opposed to the usual chill/relaxed ones.

 

There’s still time, they might get announced later for the field day maybe.

 

There was a beer brewed with Creature Comforts that I don’t believe was released or hasn’t been released yet. Think it was a mixed fermentation beer.

 

I think they like each other just fine.

 

There was also Vagabond with Mike Saboe, though I guess some would consider it not technically a collab since it was during one of his fallings out with Toppling Goliath. Regardless it was one of my favorite Tree House IPAs ever.

 

I've met Dean a few times and anyone who's met him knows he's crazy and affable enough. I'm not sure if he's the primary owner and / or decision-maker when it comes to things like collaborations, but I have always thought collaborations come down to somewhat of a personality thing. Maybe some brewers aren't as sociable as others, or maybe some don't like to give up their own proprietary brewing methods, etc. I used to do a lot of homebrewing and for me, it was always a Friday / Saturday night solo Zen project - I liked to concentrate, study the process, smell and soak in the different aromas along the way, and drink a few beers. I know everyone says beer drinking, and seemingly brewing, should be a sociable process - and no doubt - interaction with others can and does help to improve the outcomes, but whatever works for you. So in Tree House's case, maybe one of those apply?

On a separate matter - did JC ever write that essay on collaborations?

 

I also think that they know if they did a collaboration, it would be a shit show of epic proportions

 

I can already see the many page thread debating whether it tastes more like a TH or a Trill. Whose malt bill was it? Whose yeast? Who sourced the hops? Or, would it turn out like an all-star band with all of the talent but less soul than the original.

The SN collab didn't strike me as anything close to a TH beer. It could have been a commercial choice to collaborate, a personal connection and/or just a payback for the path that SN blazed in the craft beer world.

 

Trillium, also doesn't like the word "vibes"

 

If they do a collab IPA, it should be called King Kongress.

 

A couple years ago they both posted the same "Ermagherd" meme on the bottom on their cans (Fort Point and Julius) on the same day. That took coordination. Take that for what it's worth.

They're both super successful breweries, they both don't need to distribute, and they occupy separate parts of the state. Trillium has Boston + greater metro and Tree House has the middle of the state and easy access by CT. My sense is they're not in much competition w/ one another.

 

Once TH can conquer the lines issue they definitely will be more competitive. The only reason more of my money gets directed to Trillium is due to the commitment it can be to go to TH. Yes, I know that certain times are easier then others at TH but with Trillium its almost a given in and out for cans. Outside of the release here and there or busy Saturday.

It will have a much more direct impact once they both are operating at the same efficiency.

 

Which is why they should do the Allagash/Cantillon/Russian River thing where they make a collaboration brew and keep it all for themselves. The freak out would be glorious.

 

For me the geography / distance will always be the most significant factor. Even if you could walk in to Treehouse with no lines any time, I can walk to Trillium Fort Point in less than ten minutes from my office; Treehouse will always be a 2+ hour commitment for us nerds who live in the city. I am quite looking forward to making my first trip to the new brewery (haven't been since Monson) later this summer; the prospect of buying a case+ rather than a handful of cans makes the idea of the drive (and the lines) much more palatable.

 

It's a "we see no need to do this because we are Tree House and we do not do that" thing.

With the exception of the beer camp collab, Tree House has their brand control on absolute lockdown for the last three years, to the point where they are possibly the largest brewery/brand in the country without a single active draft account. Every drop has been sold through Monson or Charlton for the last couple years.

Their web site used to say "Due to extreme demand here at the brewery, shipments to our draft accounts have become extremely rare in the short term. We are working to fix this in a big way because we love draft beer" and now says "given the extreme demand at the brewery, our beer is no longer available on draft outside the brewery." Whether this is for QC purposes or to maintain the "you can only get it (even draft) at the brewery" mystique, it's still very unique in craft beer at any level.

Guessing this isolationist policy applies to collaborations, too. Why muddy the brand with an unnecessary collaboration? And while I agree with the sentiment that most collabs are unreasonably hyped (other half, cough cough), it's nice to see places involved in the local/regional brew community.

 

The real question is, why not collaboration brew with Budweiser and Miller?