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Some of America’s Top-Rated Beers Just Got Way Easier to Buy

This highly rated brewery makes some of the world’s best IPAs. You might finally get to try them.

top of orange beer canPhoto by Henry Phillips for Gear Patrol

By Jack Seemer

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Perhaps you know all about Tree House Brewing Company. If not, you should.

The Massachusetts brewery frequently tops roundups on sites like Beer Advocate, where it claims nine out of the top ten spots on its list of the world’s best New England IPAs. Only two of those beers have less than 1,000 ratings. They all have perfect scores.

tree house julius ipa
Julius is Tree House’s flagship IPA. It’s ranked fifth on Beer Advocate‘s list of the best New England IPAs in the world, behind four other Tree House beers.
Photo by Henry Phillips for Gear Patrol

However, as good as the brewery’s IPAs may taste, they’re not exactly easy to buy — unless, of course, you’re one of the 13,000 people living in the small town of Charlton, where Tree House operates it primary facility.

To date, the brewery has mostly limited its beer to direct sales, prompting pilgrimages, long lines and, generally speaking, too little beer to go around.

That’s changing now.

Big in Boston

As of September, Tree House beers are now available for purchase in downtown Boston, the brewery announced on X and Instagram. For now, it will operate a pop-up out of the Prudential Center, with plans for a full beer garden next year.

boston skyline during the day
With a beer garden en route, Tree House will soon set up a permanent home in Boston.
Tree House Brewing Co.

“Tree House is proud to call New England home and even prouder to be a Massachusetts brand,” the statement reads. “With the same passion and optimism that fueled our start in 2011, we’re thrilled to establish a presence in Boston.”

Its beers are available for on-site consumption at the Prudential Center but also to-go from Thursday through Sunday, though the brewery says to expect “rapidly expanding hours” in the near future.

the prudential center in boston
The Boston pop-up is open Thursday through Sunday, with the hours likely to expand in the near future.
Tree House Brewing Co.

For the love of beer

Tree House has given no indiction that it will further increase its distribution to the national level — let alone beyond New England — but the move to set up shop in Boston still represents a significant shift in line with the rest of the industry.

Craft beer producers have grappled with flat and even dwindling sales across the board since 2022, while the pandemic forced many direct-to-consumer brands to distribute their beers beyond the taproom.

cases of beer in a parking garage
For a quick in-and-out experience, the brewery will deliver beer to your car in the garage of the Prudential Center.
Tree House Brewing Co.

Tree House, meanwhile, seems to be doing just fine. The pop-up, as well as the forthcoming beer garden, come across as earnest attempts to simply share its beer with more beer lovers, even passersby.

In fact, the brewery says its staff will even bring its cans to your car in the parking lot of the Prudential Center.

“Based on our trial runs, reaching the Tree House cooler from the Turnpike exit takes about a minute, the most convenient in-and-out experience in Boston,” it says.

Cheers to that.

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