Are Trillium and Tree House really THAT good?

[Rob2010SS]

I see a lot of posts on social media about these 2 breweries and their offerings that they put out. There is a lot of hype around how good they are and that they're "some of the best". Is the hype real? Are they really THAT good?

Below is a list of offerings. If you could pick (4) cans out of this list, what would they be and why? The ones in bold are what I think I'd pick. The only one I think I'd miss out on is the Totes McGoats Creamsicle. That one sounds right up my alley.

Would you pick all Trillium and Tree House or would you pick others from this list?


Trillium Fort Point
TH Green
TH Hurricane
Trillium Skimpy Sparrow
Trillium Triple Seasaw Raspberry
Lic Automatic Work Untitled 4
Chatham Bombogenesis
Artisanal passionfruit sour
Trillium Pilsner
TH Bright w/ Citra
TH Haze
Artisanal Picture Day #3
Industrial Wrench
Artisanal Totes McGoates Creamsicle
TH Super Sap
TH Pride and Purpose
TH Eureka

 

[CascadesBrewer]

I have never had one. Do they distribute at all?

I feel like it is hard for breweries like this to live up to the hype. I am not a guy to wait in line for hours, but I have been to some pretty well regarded breweries. Most of the time I think they fall short...but I acknowledge that it is hard to evaluate such a brewery based on the bias and preconceived ideas that comes along with the hype.

For example, I would not say that Westvleteren 12 is the best beer in the world...but hanging out in their beer garden drinking a flight of Westvleteren beers is toward the top of my list of brewery visits. Driving to the local store to get a pack of St Bernardus 12 is just not the same.

I live in a county with 33 breweries and some of them put out incredible beers on a consistent basis. Some of them put out decent beers in a great atmosphere. Are they as good as Trillium and Tree House? I suspect they are close, but unless their Imperial Raspberry Saison gets a 100 rating, you will never hear of them.

 

[Rob2010SS]

I have never had one. Do they distribute at all?

I feel like it is hard for breweries like this to live up to the hype. I am not a guy to wait in line for hours, but I have been to some pretty well regarded breweries. Most of the time I think they fall short...but I acknowledge that it is hard to evaluate such a brewery based on the bias and preconceived ideas that comes along with the hype.

For example, I would not say that Westvleteren 12 is the best beer in the world...but hanging out in their beer garden drinking a flight of Westvleteren beers is toward the top of my list of brewery visits. Driving to the local store to get a pack of St Bernardus 12 is just not the same.

I live in a county with 33 breweries and some of them put out incredible beers on a consistent basis. Some of them put out decent beers in a great atmosphere. Are they as good as Trillium and Tree House? I suspect they are close, but unless their Imperial Raspberry Saison gets a 100 rating, you will never hear of them.

No I don't believe they distribute. I was reading Tree Houses Website and they work off of a ticketing system. Apparently you have to buy tickets to get their beer...? I think you can only get their stuff locally, which I am not. They're on the east coast.

That's kind of where I'm at. I think they fall short to the hype usually. I will say though that when you have A REALLY good beer, it smacks you in the face pretty obviously. I thought I have had some really good NEIPAs previously but then I had Le Jus from Alarmist brewing just recently. By far the best example of a NEIPA I've had to date.

Just trying to get a feel for these two breweries from ppl who have had them before I blow my free beer choices on them.

 

[shoreman]

They both make good beers and were on the forefront of NEIPAs back years ago. Since every brewery tackles these right now and they are generally made with the same 4-5 hops, my guess is you won't be super-duper impressed.

Julius and Fort Point are worth trying if you haven't had them just to experience a few beers that really created a style (just like Heady Topper is).

I would recommend trying some of Trilliums Dry Hopped saisons though, really good.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Agreed if you are a juice wolf you will like Treehouse but IMO they are a one-trick pony, hazy IPA's. Trillium does a wider variety at a high level but I am sure on the west coast or midwest or wherever there are other breweries doing similar styles/quality. It seems like the Northeast tends to get hyped up more maybe because most people can't get their beers.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I'm a big fan of NEIPAs. I also have a good friend who flies out east and ships back a dozen or more boxes of tree house and trillium about 4 times a year. I've had most of those and I just drank DDH melcher street and Gay Head Lighthouse on Sunday.

I've got super sap, julius, haze and green in the fridge right now. Doppleganger is probably my favorite TH beer.

I think they are fantastic examples of the style. That being said, the style is pretty ubiquitous these days and there are breweries all over the country making excellent examples. In the midwest, Toppling Goliath, Pulpit rock, Narrow Gauge, Barntown are all brewing prime examples. In colorado, Weldwerks makes excellent NEIPAs. Those are just a few. There are a lot of mediocre examples, but some exploration should reveal really good versions all over the country.

TH and trillium are iconic and worth trying if you can get them, but they're not nearly as above and beyond as they were 5 years ago. I think if Heady Topper as the grandfather of the style, but it's pretty uninspiring compared to what's available these days. It was amazing when it came out, but its been easily surpassed since.

 

[toddo97]

I see a lot of posts on social media about these 2 breweries and their offerings that they put out. There is a lot of hype around how good they are and that they're "some of the best". Is the hype real? Are they really THAT good?

Below is a list of offerings. If you could pick (4) cans out of this list, what would they be and why? The ones in bold are what I think I'd pick. The only one I think I'd miss out on is the Totes McGoats Creamsicle. That one sounds right up my alley.

Would you pick all Trillium and Tree House or would you pick others from this list?


Trillium Fort Point
TH Green
TH Hurricane
Trillium Skimpy Sparrow
Trillium Triple Seasaw Raspberry
Lic Automatic Work Untitled 4
Chatham Bombogenesis
Artisanal passionfruit sour
Trillium Pilsner
TH Bright w/ Citra
TH Haze
Artisanal Picture Day #3
Industrial Wrench
Artisanal Totes McGoates Creamsicle
TH Super Sap
TH Pride and Purpose
TH Eureka

They're both really good, but like what's been said, they don't stand head and shoulders above a lot of other breweries. I go up to Massachusetts once and year and if you ever get a chance to do the TH experience, it's pretty fun as long as it's not freezing. The good thing about having great NEIPAs by others is now I don't end up spending $200-$300 in beer that I can't possibly drink before it starts going downhill. Trillium sours and stouts are really good and TH makes really good stouts as well. I would personally take Haze over Eureka, but you should get a Julius if you can since I think that's what really put TH on the map.

 

[ApolloSimcoe]

Lots of good points being made here. I would like to add that if you can't get any of them fresh, and I mean FRESH then you are missing out. I feel that Trillium is overrated but their beers are very good, they all just seem to be the same to me. TH, I've had a few but refuse to wait hours in line for something that I may not even get.

I still feel that anything by the Alchemist is above and beyond what most copycat breweries are doing. My .02

 

[Rob2010SS]

Thanks for the info everyone! I appreciate it.

This is kind of what I was expecting to hear, that they're good but not that far ahead of everyone else. These 4 are free for me, so I'm still excited to try them.

I have swapped my choice of Eureka for Haze instead.

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Wait...I just realized you listed some Artisanal Brew Works beers? Never seen anyone mention them in the same breath as TH or Trillium but they do good stuff too, got a buddy going through the Northeast?

 

[Rob2010SS]

Wait...I just realized you listed some Artisanal Brew Works beers? Never seen anyone mention them in the same breath as TH or Trillium but they do good stuff too, got a buddy going through the Northeast?

No. Won a giveaway on social media and I get to pick 4 from that list so was getting feedback on them

 

[Andrew Hodgson]

Oh that is pretty cool.

 

[thepicklebrewer]

I was recently at trilliums new location and I was not super impressed with their beer. I have realized I really don't like neipas, but even their other beers weren't all that impressive. I had one of their sours and for the first sip or two it was fine, but the thing was like sucking on a lemon. Plus all their beers are pricey pricey. Just my 2 cents.

 

[brewswithshoes]

Been to both. TH way more than Trillium. I personally think TH makes some of the best NEIPAs out there. Green and Very Green are my favorites, but Julius and Hurricane are also top notch. Agree that if you can get them fresh (I.e. at the source) they can’t be beat. When there I usually get their stouts for drafts and they are phenomenal. Trillium was OK but I won’t go out of my way to go back. I cloned their Citra saison as that one was really good.

TH does have long lines, but if you time your visit to about 60 to 90 minutes until close. You’ll have a short line with plenty of time to buy cans and get your 2 limit of drafts. It’s an easy process but lines can get crazy if a special release or at opening time.

If you get up that way try to also find some Focal Banger from Alchemist at a package store. Incredible stuff.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

No. Won a giveaway on social media and I get to pick 4 from that list so was getting feedback on them

Ahh...that is pretty cool. It is definitely cool to try out these hyped breweries, even just to say that you tried them.

I would also throw some respect their way if these breweries were on the cutting edge of defining the NEIPA style (I don't know enough about them to say if that is true)...vs the current wave of copycat brewers.