It is no secret that I love Tree House and I attribute a lot of the growth of this community to the Massachusetts brewery. After seeing what they had been canning last week - I had to make a visit. Isn’t it fun to visit a brewery when you already have their beer in your fridge? I think we can all say that we all buy beers we don’t truly need. Nevertheless, this beer was one of the beers in my fridge when I made the trip. After I returned - I decided to give it a crack.
The Haze family receives a lot of love and praise from beer lovers. We all lost our minds when this beer was released this Spring. Very Hazy was always in the conversation for the best beer Tree House made. A DDH version of Very Hazy would surely make its way into Tree House’s “best of” list. For me, my favorite line from Tree House is Green. However, there is always something special about a fresh haze. Haze is full of sweet, juicy mangos and peaches. I prefer the herbaceous nature and hop profile better in Green, but I cannot deny the fact that Haze is a fruit smoothie.
At 8.8% ABV - Very HHHazyyy sits at the top of the ABV chain for Tree House IPA’s with Emperor Julius. Compared to many modern-day breweries - Tree House doesn’t make a big IPA. And I love that. Tree House has always been the king of fluffy and juicy IPAs - not big, thick, and dense. Even though this beer is big in terms of Tree House ABV - it still had that fluffy quality. The aroma flew out of the glass and hit me right in the face. Really, a beautiful nose. The place where this beer fell off for me - was flavor. It was obvious that this is very much hop saturated - and there was some hop and alcohol burn. As I let it sit and warm up - the harshness increased. Don’t get me wrong - I love big, hop-forward beers… but I don’t think it is where Tree House shines. I think Tree House’s sweet spot is closer to JJJULIUSSS! and Gggreennn!. Both of those beers sit below 8% and offer everything you would want out of a Tree House beer.
If you have an extra in the back of the fridge - I may advise you to let it sit. Tree House beers have a phenomenal shelf life and this beer may ripen in the can. Sadly, I don’t have another and will never know if the profile will change. Next time this beer is released - I will be sure to get it, even though I wasn’t head over heels for it. This is because brewers are always looking to make their beers better. Some of the best beers you drink today are nothing like they were when they first came out.
Did you drink this beer? Shoot me a message - as I want to know what you all thought. Until next time. Cheers! - Jake