Treehouse, is it worth the hype?

June 28, 2017

Its late summer 2016, Otto and I are headed to Treehouse brewing in rural Massachusetts, 72 miles west of Boston.
Treehouse has been a sought after beer on IG for sometime now so I was pretty psyched to get my hands on some. 

We pack our folding chairs and a cooler, essential gear for waiting in line at Treehouse, and I get the wild idea that we could tailgate while we wait so I pack the cooler with a couple IPAs. People tailgate at other can releases we've been to so I thought this wold be a normal thing.

Well, I was wrong on that one!
When we get there its light misting rain but not bad, we post up in line with our chairs and settle in. When you get into the Treehouse parking lot there is a sign making it very clear you are not allowed to drink there, like at all, like EVER!
So my tailgating dream was shattered but whats worse is that I was so hoping to enjoy the fresh Treehouse beer as soon as we got it right there at a picnic table, but apparently that wasn't happening. 

Did they forget to renew their wet zone cert? Perhaps the town has some unusual regulations? Im not sure, nor was I interested enough to look it up, it was off-putting for sure.
We sat in the rain for over 2 hours, in silence, the crowd wasn't too social, sober at 8am...

The doors opened slightly early and we all shuffled in. Treehouse, during release days, has only 2 styles, they don't really tell you what they are until that week. On this day we received Alter Ego and Haze. We then drove the 2 hours back to Otto's grandmothers house.

The Verdict

Once at a place where we are allowed to drink the beer we tried each, pouring them into tulip glasses.
**Sigh** Both were good, don't get me wrong, but not nearly worth they hype that people have placed on it. I did enjoy the Haze far more than the Alter Ego, but neither are worth a trade or waiting in line in the rain, in silence, sober for 2 hours. 
I want to mention that I can put the effort aside and still judge the beer based on it alone and still, its just not worth it.

I should also mention here that these beers oxidized incredibly quickly, less than 3 weeks after canning they took on the cardboard taste. Its sad, and should really be unacceptable by the beer community. I think that perhaps people don't know what this flavor is and think that its supposed to be there? Im not sure, but its sad.

Its especially sad when there are so many other beers that deserve attention and this is the one people are going nuts over

Its especially sad when there are so many other beers that deserve attention and this is the one people are going nuts over, I'm not even sure they can taste it themselves! Clearly if taste was the determining factor this beer is not worthy.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BK5sVu4hcgk/?taken-by=erinessex

Now, it is worth noting that the "best treehouse beer" is supposed to be Julius, which we have not had.
Alter Ego, however is characterized by the brewer as "The base beer is exactly the same, but the dry hop is altered tremendously. The result is a beer with all the deliciousness of the base beer with a layer of added citrusy complexity. Like devil Julius or something. A real treat!"
So read into that what you will. I think I still need to try the Julius in order to put the final nail in the "Treehouse Hype" coffin, but my opinion right now stands, Treehouse is indeed WAY over hyped.

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