TREE HOUSE PALES
Gerry recently came into possession of a number of beers from a single brewery - Tree House Brewing in Charlton, MA. He judiciously choose a lovely selection of their Pale Ales and we decided that this month we'd concentrate our mighty taste-budshttps://www.treehousebrew.com/ for a peek at all the the beers they have to offer. We were able to obtain some of the pale ales that they can, however at the brewery they have a wide array of beers they rotate on tap. If you're in the area, stop in and tell them the BOTB Guys sent you!
on our new Pales from Tree House. Check out their web site at:
LIGHTS ON PALE ALE
TREE HOUSE BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: BREWER: Tree House Brewing, Charlton, MA; STYLE: American Pale Ale; ABV: 5.3%
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Lights On was originally brewed to celebrate the opening of our brewery in Monson. Over the last two years it has become a celebrated and important part of core
line-up - our house Pale Ale. It offers everything we love about our beer in a concise package. It pours a gorgeous hazy orange in the glass, releasing an aroma filled with a bounty of sweet fresh citrus fruit. We taste papaya, guava, and mango - a fresh and distinctive flavor that's wholly Tree House. Buoyed by a fluffy mouthfeel and a delicate finish, Lights On is a beer we find perfect for any occasion."
line-up - our house Pale Ale. It offers everything we love about our beer in a concise package. It pours a gorgeous hazy orange in the glass, releasing an aroma filled with a bounty of sweet fresh citrus fruit. We taste papaya, guava, and mango - a fresh and distinctive flavor that's wholly Tree House. Buoyed by a fluffy mouthfeel and a delicate finish, Lights On is a beer we find perfect for any occasion."
COLOR: Unfiltered hazy wheat
POUR: Decent head with nice carbonation
AROMA: Citrus, fruity
BODY: Light
TASTE:Muted, tropical fruit taste. Very drinkable
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Between I Could Drink This and Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS:"A decent summer ale; Boat beer; Tropical overtones, conjuring tropical images; I could drink that - it's delightful, good ending; Nice easy-drinker with a kind of summer-y taste."
ALTER EGO IPA
TREE HOUSE BREWING
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Alter Ego is a member of the Julius family, taking the base of Julius and adding a tremendous amount of Mosaic to the dry hop with a kiss of Amarillo. What results is a beer with all the deliciousness of Julius with a pungent additional layer of citrusy complexity. Over time, Alter Ego has become a truly singular member of the Tree House family.
COLOR: Hazy unfiltered golden
POUR: Decent Head
AROMA: Pine
BODY: Medium
TASTE: Tropical fruit, grapefruit, pineapple nicely balanced with caramel malt.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Patio with a good book beer; Clean; Caramel malt in there keeps it balanced; I like this beer; Nice mouthfeel; I like that it doesn't go overboard on the fruit taste, that solid malt really helps keep it grounded, so to speak."
GREEN IPA
TREE HOUSE BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: STYLE: American IPA; BREWER: Tree House Brewing, Charlton, MA; HOPS: American and Australian; ABV: 7.5%
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Our cross-continental IPA! Made with Australian and American hops, this tropical heavy IPA opens up in the glass with notes of hugely flavorful notes of lemon-lime, pineapple, orange sorbet, and tangerine. It has a soft but pointed bitterness and a rich, velvety mouth feel. Intensely kettle and dry hopped yet balanced and flavorful, Green is a beloved crew favorite here at Tree House!"
COLOR: Unfiltered hazy golden
POUR: Bit beyond Decent Head, somewhat more carbonated
AROMA: No big aroma
BODY: Bit beyond Medium
TASTE: Tends toward the sweet, bit of butterscotch with sweet citrus fruit notes.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: I Could Drink This!
COMMENTS: "A nice taste on the finish; Delicious; Different kind of an IPA; I liked Alter Ego better; No strong over-riding notes; A bit sweet for my taste, I like a little more bitter bite to it, but it's okay."
HURRICANE DOUBLE
THE BEER FACTS: STYLE: Double IPA; BREWER: Tree House Brewing, Charlton, MA; HOPS: Citra, Simcoe; ABV: 7.7%
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Hurricane is a Double IPA featuring intense kettle and dry hop doses of primarily Citra & Simcoe hops. A pungent aroma of earthy citrus gives way to a beer rich with complexity, conjuring perceptions of papaya, melon, mandarin orange, and stone fruit. By applying years of focused brewing execution, we are able to craft Hurricane - a beer that is neither abrasive or harsh, and features tirelessly refined characteristics."
COLOR: Hazy golden
POUR: Decent head with solid carbonation
AROMA: Citus-y
BODY: Bit beyond medium
TASTE: Between balanced and bittier - not over the top. Orange zest flavor.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Stronger than the other IPAs; Bitter in front, lingers; It's all about the hops, not the malt; Nice beer; Surprisingly light for a double; Like the others from this brewery, big on the tropical, citrus hops taste."
BRIGHT DOUBLE
TREE HOUSE BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: STYLE: Double IPA; BREWER: Tree House Brewing, Charlton, MA; HOPS: Mosaic; ABV: 7.8%
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Bright was created to be a clean and elegant showcase for one of our favorite hops - Mosaic! It is crafted with a simple malt bill and fermented with clean American Ale yeast to create a flavor profile that is more a function of its vibrant fresh ingredients that an expression of yeast character... She is dry, soft, and adequately bittered resulting in a very approachable yet pungent Double IPA.
COLOR: Unfiltered Golden
POUR: Decent Head, less carbonated than some of the others
AROMA: Not a strong aroma, perhaps a bit grassy, hay.
BODY: Full
TASTE: Citrus, grapefruit, orange zest, with nice bitter bite.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "My favorite of the lot; They don't brew aroma, but lots of taste; A nice balance of East Coast and West Coast IPAs; Again, I appreciate that solid malt backbone in there, balances that citrus / grapefruit flavor; Yeah they complement each other nicely."
HAZE
TREE HOUSE BREWING
THE BEER FACTS: STYLE: Double IPA; BREWER: Tree House Brewing, Charlton, MA; ABV: 8.2%.
WHAT THE BREWER SAYS: "Our Double IPA! We smell a ton of peach on the nose with complimentary notes of orange and passionfruit. The flavor is similar with a blast of citrus fruit & peach quickly followed by a bounty of tropical fruit. A lingering and pleasant saturated hop oil finish awaits....A real juice bomb of a beer.
COLOR: Milkshake thick unfiltered orange-ish
POUR: Decent head - thick and creamy with significant lacing
AROMA: Subtle pine and citrus
BODY: Full
TASTE: Big tropical fruit, orange, hints of apricot and a bit of pine bitterness
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS: Near Can't Get Enough!
COMMENTS: "Another winner as far as I'm concerned; Again there's that big tropical fruit presence; You wouldn't know it was 8% ABV - the alcohol is not front and center like it is with some Doubles - that's either good or bad depending on your preference, I guess; I get little hints of pineapple in there; Very tasty beer; I don't have a problem with any of these Tree House beers, unless they're gone!"
OUR PICKS
These were all excellent beers, but if you're keeping score:
Our Favorite was Bright Double IPA - we felt it was a great East Coast meets West Coast - giving us the best of both coasts.
Alter Ego was right there, perhaps a close second by a nose. Both of these scored a "Can't Get Enough!" from all of us.
Here's a look at the Holiday brews we enjoyed in December. We didn't review, just enjoyed.
Slante,
The BOTB Guys
