Tree House Brewing Company

Beer pilgrimage! Nearly every time the Tall Man and I drive along route 90, we try to go to Treehouse for our semi-annual (or multi-annual) beer pick up. It's an ideal spot to stop right at the border with Connecticut, and we've recommended it to nearly everyone who drives to visit Boston.

The brewery lives in a large wood-clad building that welcomes you like a retreat center -- which it basically is for its many faithful followers. There's plenty of parking and tons of seating indoors as well as Adirondack chairs outside for warmer days.

It's pretty easy to pick up cans, either by ordering online and selecting a pick up time (the preferred method, especially if you want more than a case of beer) or ordering on site (ok for a case or less). You can also enjoy draft beers or coffee and sit at one of the many tables in their vast space -- just can't open cans there.

I must confess that I don't drink much beer these days, but I can appreciate a good brew and am surrounded by beer lovers. And these beer lovers (including the Tall Man) love love Treehouse. Yes they're known for their IPAs, but we've just stocked up on a bunch of holiday selections for a week's worth of family gatherings. The beers do get kind of expensive per can, but they are crowd pleasers in the best way.

If you don't drink much alcohol like me, though, there's coffee! Treehouse started roasting beans a few years ago and have hot coffee and cold draft lattes (or cans of both). I got a draft oatmilk latte and thoroughly enjoyed the creamy caffeine kick. Love that they have vegan milk! Their straight up coffee is quite good on its own too. We got a four pack of their maple spice lattes to go, which I'll enjoy this week.

I'll also note that while they don't have their own food, there was a food truck outside. It's also a relatively kid friendly place (lots of room to roam), so we weren't the only ones with a little one. Changing tables in both gender bathrooms.

Treehouse is a happy start or conclusion to any road trip. They only sell their beers on location, which for us makes it even more special.

The rating is entirely saved by the property itself. Very dog friendly with an exorbitant amount of space inside, outside with Adirondack chairs everywhere, and a tent of more tables. I wish the outdoor space had more tables as it is literally just dozens of Adirondack chairs so tough to play games or eat. There's a trailhead nearby which is interesting. And the koi pond is a cool addition. Luckily we went midday Thursday, which wasn't the most busy as the reviews of busy days seem like a nightmare.

There are a ton of beer options, especially IPAs. I didn't find any of the beers that interesting and it's tough when there are really zero descriptions of the beers on the extensive menu. Taste-wise, everything was very fine. I'm not sure why everything has such incredible ratings on Untappd and felt bad disagreeing with a lot of them. Found it difficult to get a glasses of water, which is counterintuitive to their stance on limiting drinks to three per person. To that end, this is an interesting concept as they mark off your bracelet until you've reached three drinks. Unsure if this limits people to three drinks or encourages them to get three drinks when they wouldn't have normally?

Finally, the service was a real bummer. With so many employees, I assumed people would be into advocating for the beer. The first bartender seemed confused when asked what was popular and gave one recommendation. Sorry to that guy for traveling from out of state to visit such a well recommended establishment and looking for guidance. The second was equally curt and disinterested in helping us. Maybe they're used to just large crowds and moving people along? Either way, worth trying if you have a dog and want to spend time outside but if looking for good beer and anything else may want to look around.

Boy this place does some business! We've been to the South Deerfield location, but this is the first time we are here. It's pretty impressive how much business they do here.
We came here around noon on a Saturday and the parking lot was almost full on the first parking area. Big outdoor space and open space inside with lots of wooden picnic tables and high top tables/chairs. You pick your own seats and there are beer stations where you order (one side the traditional beers, the other side IPAs & Stouts). Each person is limited to 3 drinks only, no tasting portions. Sooo many choices of beer! They are known for their IPAs, but personally I love stouts, porters, and browns. I tried the Passion fruit IPA (actually not bad for IPA), the Grizzly Bear brown (tasted more like a porter, I liked it), and the Chocolate imperial stout (yum). Everything was solid. I also love that it's super family and dog friendly.
They also had a winter outdoor bar under a heated tent. But the bar there serves only mixed drinks. Oh and they don't serve food but does have 2 food trucks outside for food options. So come prepared and you can also pack/bring your own food too, especially if you have little ones.
Of course the beer is not cheap, but it's a really solid brewery and we'll definitely be back to taste more yummy beer!

Awesome selection of brews, complex is huge! Food trucks out front, coffee brewery, the pickup area is great fast and efficient. Order online walk to the back give your name and order number and you they bring it out to you. Large seating area inside and outside beautiful grounds all around. Very impressive.

I am more of a lager person than an IPA enthusiast. I live near the I-210 in LA, close to the Miller Coors factory in Irwindale. You can see the big canister every time you drive by on the I-210. So, I usually drink Miller Lite, which I consider a local beer.

Coco has repeatedly told me about Tree House IPA. She recounted how she and her sister-in-law brought her mother to Charlton to buy the IPA during a snowy winter day. She described the excellent taste of the beer and the fun trips they made from New York State to Charlton, MA. According to her, Tree House is the best IPA in the world.

This time, Coco brought me to visit her mother for her 80th birthday celebration. Coco's sister-in-law, Jiajia, mentioned that there would be some seasonal special flavors before Thanksgiving. The day before Thanksgiving, I ordered the "All Crispies, All the Time!" pack online, which contains 24 different flavored cans, 22 tall cans, and two normal-sized cans. Jiajia drove Coco, her mother, and me from New Windsor to Charlton. We crossed the Hudson River, passing through Southbury, Middlebury, Waterbury, Southington, Farmington, and Hartford, Connecticut. We then crossed the Connecticut River, headed northeast, and passed through Vernon, Tolland, then Union, entering Massachusetts. After passing Sturbridge, we reached Charlton, MA.

Without GPS, you would definitely miss the entrance, which is on a plain road without any obvious markers. Fortunately, Jiajia, an old hand at this route, knew the way well. It took several minutes to drive from the entrance to the parking lot of the brewery. The facility combines a bar lodge with the manufacturing area without any strict partitions, which would be prohibited by China's food safety laws. For me, it's okay; I like having the opportunity to see the canisters. My graduate major is Packaging Engineering, so I'm familiar with the details of making cans from aluminum rolls, filling the beer, adding the can cover, and sealing it. I was eager to see the process.

The factory part wasn't operational at that time, of course, since it was 6 pm the day before Thanksgiving. The hall was lively but not too crowded. We went to the counter for pickup; there was no waiting. Jiajia had pre-ordered four packs, Coco's mother and I had one pack each. In total, we got 24x6, six cases put on a trailer, and the workers helped us load them into the car. I realized that my variety pack didn't include their famous cans, so I walked to the kiosk and ordered their famous orange Julius and Green.

We had a three-hour drive back, so I decided not to drink any craft beer on site. There was no food in the hall, but there were two food trucks outside, one selling tempura, which looked very delicious. The fried onion rings and chicken wings didn't look as good as the prawn tempura, probably from another food truck.

At 11:30 pm the night before Thanksgiving, we finished our dinner, and Jiajia was too tired to chat, so she drove back to her home. I was left with more than 50 cans of IPA, and I'm not an IPA lover. I shared a can of Green with Coco, using the two new beer glasses we bought at the brewery. The beer was a hazy bright amber color and looked very beautiful.

The taste was amazing; for me, the less bitter, the better. It tasted like juice but wasn't sweet. Green is an American IPA with 7.5% ABV. I opened it first, thinking it would have less alcohol than the Julius. Green typically implies it's greener than orange, and Julius comes in an orange-colored can, right? Later, I found out Julius is 6.8% ABV and is juicier than Green. Green has a citrus flavor, and Julius combines mango, peach, passionfruit, and citrus juice. Oh, now I know why they call it Green - I guess all the tangerines were green before turning other colors.

On Thanksgiving Day, I cooked dinner. Coco's mother couldn't consume alcohol for health reasons, and Jiajia doesn't drink alcohol at all. Fortunately, the pack Coco's mother bought was the Holiday Hero Mix, which includes 24 cans but also contains eight non-alcoholic drinks: two kinds of seltzer and two kinds of coffee, two cans each. I tried a sip of the Monochrome Blend Cold Brew coffee, the best cold brew I've ever had in the United States. It's fresh and clear, tasting more like Japanese charcoal-roasted coffee, or at least it has an oriental coffee flavor.

All the cans in my pack were labeled with stickers. I found that only Julius, King Julius, Julius Machine, and Green had printed cans, probably because these best-selling items were pre-printed. Most of the rest had sticker labels.

Two days after Thanksgiving, Coco and I had enjoyed more than a dozen Tree House IPAs, none of which were bitter. Most were turbid and had a juicy flavor. I liked all of them; so far, I haven't found one I dislike.

We're heading back to LA soon, and I hope there's a chance to visit Tree House next year. The New Year is coming.

Five stars for the beer. Probably some of the best craft beers on the planet. The venue is also incredibly beautiful.

So why 4 stars and not 5? I had to remove a star to account for the ridiculous rules of this brewery.

The place is like a state park with beautiful grounds. There is a fish pond, waterfalls, hiking trails, fire pits, and plenty of places to enjoy the outdoors. The brewery itself is 53k square feet!

However, there is a strict 3 beer limit per person that is subject to change at any time to 2 or even one, a confusing ordering system, and you'll have to decide which bar to go to for your beer as they only offer some at one bar and others at the other.

The main business here I believe is the cans to go. People travel from all over the US to stock up. This is yet another bizarre process. You scan a QR code or use a kiosk to place your to go order and pay. Then, you walk to the back of the brewery and check-in. Your beer is brought out and an employee validates the order with you. After you receive your order they lend you a dolly or hand truck to bring the beer to your car. If you watch the parking lot you'll see people rolling out with 10-20 cases of the coveted liquid gold, likely on a mission for friends and family to bring back this addictive and delicious fermented juice.

My 2nd favorite of the treehouse locations - this one has a gorgeous sprawling outdoor area with fountains, sunny seats, and a shaded pavilion. Love that they're dog friendly! Indoors you can view the brewing stuff, which is cool too.

Beers are always plentiful and out of this world - now they have cocktails and seltzers too. I loved the mai tai in a jar and grabbed a few to go. They often have food trucks, we loved the bacon one and of course ice cream!

Service is as fast as it can be with as busy as they are on weekends! I always stop by when I'm in the area.

This brewery is one of the best I've been to, it's huge and beautiful inside and out. On a Saturday afternoon it was pretty busy but there's plenty of seating so it wasn't too hard to find a spot for our group of 6. They had food trucks, donuts for sale and live music. There's two beer lines, one for lagers and another for IPAs/stouts. If you're into these types of beers you'll love it here but I'm more into fruity sours. Nonetheless I was able to find cocktails that I enjoyed, one was a spiked frozen matcha cocktail and the other a coquito for the holiday season, both were delicious! Unfortunately they don't offer flights. There was also an outside lodge beautifully decorated with lights for a cozy winter ambiance where they had a menu of spiked hot chocolate and lattes. It's BYOF and even dog friendly! Highly recommend!

Not sure why I never thought to leave a review for Tree House Brewing prior to now as I've been a regular since 2016. Since then there's only a handful of their brews I haven't had the chance to try. Like Pokémon, you have to catch 'em all ;)

The thing I enjoy the most about THBC besides the delicious beer is their dedication to improving. They constantly reinvest and reinvent their spaces to streamline the experience for customers. Years ago, the lines were outrageous and now they're almost nonexistent (Saturdays can still be hectic).

As for the beer, not many breweries can get all the varieties dialed in the way these folks do. I mean nowadays there's a haze shop on every corner but finding a good Pilsner or beligian quad can be difficult without getting imports. These guys can brew just about any style and get it right.

If you're looking for a hazy NEIPA you can't go wrong with haze or very hazy. The hold on to sunshine is an incredible peanut butter milk stout. If you're at the Charlton location, the traditional beer bar on the left offers amazing side pull lagers and ales.

I was at Charlton last night and they are installing all new sod to make the landscape as pristine as the interior as it gets a ton of foot traffic. There's always food trucks and they have a pizza oven that one day they might actually use lol.

This place is basically Disney world for beer. They have some great musical acts and world class sunsets. They're definitely worth the trip!!

Amazing beer. Super clean place. An abundance of seating. The staff are really nice. Must get Julius.