Breweries come in all shapes and sizes, from basement businesses to single rooms where the owner might be pouring beers for customers to restaurants that just happen to include beermaking operations.
And some breweries are true destinations, multipurpose facilities that bring people in for live music, art shows, trivia nights, arcade and board games, corporate functions and more. One spot that seems to fit in this category sits at roughly the gateway to the Berkshires.
While Tree House Brewing Company is known for its always-busy facility in the central Massachusetts town of Charlton (and is becoming increasingly known for its unusual outlet at a golf course in Tewksbury), its location in South Deerfield is like nothing else out there, almost like a museum to all things beer.
The meteoric rise of Tree House is due in part to its many award-winning beers, competing with such upper echelon breweries as Hill Farmstead in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont and being a favorite to those who love juicy New England IPAs, though their offerings are actually more wide-ranging, much like that of Hill Farmstead, whose extraordinary hazy IPAs only scratch the surface there.
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Starting out as a tiny operation in Brimfield in 2011, then moving to space in nearby Monson a couple of years later, Tree House really hit its stride once it opened a new location in Charlton in 2017 and people from Boston (and elsewhere) soon started making the trek to wait in long lines to stock up on a month’s worth of beer.
The company subsequently bought a farm in Woodstock, Connecticut; the building in Deerfield, once home to a publishing company; a facility overlooking Cape Cod Bay in Sandwich; and the entire Tewksbury Country Club. It still maintains a brewery in Monson as well.
Each location of Tree House has a different feel to it, and the fact that the Deerfield facility is housed in an office building could have caused it to have a generic feel. Instead, it’s something unique, because of all the thought that was put into its design.
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Entering the parking lot off Routes 5 and 10 seems much like entering an office park — visitors pass an enormous warehouse/distribution area to the left before arriving at the entrance, which opens up into a merchandise store, a tiny coffee shop and a counter where people purchase beer to go.
Upon first glance, it appears that this might be all there is to the facility, but a walkway to the right with a “taproom” sign leads to the heart of the space, bringing people into a colorful area whose walls are made up of Tree House beer cans, then veering right, down a long walkway with more beer cans built into the walls along with sketches of New England scenes that some of the Tree House cans are known for.
The walkway at Tree House eventually leads to the taproom, which sits far below and looks more like a cafeteria in a corporate building, complete with indoor plants, a little fish pond (yes, a fish pond), and an airy vibe thanks to its soaring ceiling and abundance of light coming in through its many windows.
Seating is a mix of low-top tables and high-tops that use barrels as tables. A counter for ordering beer is on one side while a counter for ordering pizza (more on this in a bit) is on the other, while a large patio is set up just outside the taproom.
Speaking of the outdoors, the Deerfield location of Tree House has a “summer stage” on the lawn outside for live music concerts, including national acts, and it has a “house theater” inside that is also used for live performances. (Another indoor space, called The Julius Room — which can be seen from the walkway leading to the taproom — can be rented out for a variety of events and functions.)
PHOTOS: Inside Deerfield's Tree House Brewing Company
As mentioned earlier, Tree House has made a name for itself partly because of its hazy and citrusy New England IPAs, including some specific beers that are often mentioned as among the best in the nation (Julius is perhaps its best-known, while others include Green and King Julius). These IPAs are very different from your typical West Coast IPAs, which tend to be bitter and intense, and the versions that Tree House puts out are typically even juicier and less bitter than some of the other New England IPAs out there.
But Tree House holds its own when it comes to other beer styles. Its Double Shot stout is a great example, having a near-perfect mix of chocolate and coffee flavors, and the Bear With A Hint Of Coffee is another great choice for those who love coffee-flavored beers.
Other non-IPA options worth checking out include No Surprises (an easy-to-drink Czech pilsner), Free to Roam (a grassy and crisp Helles lager) and Ace in the Hole (a slightly smoky porter).
There has been much chatter about the pizza that Tree House in Deerfield has been serving, and it’s easy to dismiss such talk, because conventional wisdom says that breweries are supposed to put beer first and food second. But the pizza served here (and now in Tewksbury and Sandwich as well) is nothing short of spectacular, even giving the legendary New Haven pizzerias a run for their money.
Unsurprisingly, the people behind the brewery have been influenced by both New Haven-style pizza and New York City-style pizza, and it shows. The charred, blistered, bubbly crust; the crispiness on the bottom and chewiness on the top; the mix of shredded and grated cheeses; and the use of seasonal, locally sourced ingredients all make for pies that may just bring some people here not for the beer but the pizza.
Options include basic cheese, margherita, pepperoni, white pizza and a vodka pizza that is made using house vodka, and all pies are 18 inches, which is more than enough for two people — and to impart a bit of a kick to the pizzas, hot honey can be added to any of them.
It's unusual for a brewery to offer great beers, outstanding food, live music from nationally recognized acts and the possibility of hosting birthday parties, business functions and even weddings, but Tree House in Deerfield is indeed an unusual place. For most, simply grabbing an award-winning beer and a top-tier pizza before or after a trip through the Pioneer Valley or the Berkshires is enough of a draw, making this a must-stop for travelers, and an easy one to boot, as it’s just off I-91 and not all that far from Route 2.
Tree House Brewing Company, 1 Community Place, Deerfield, MA, 01373. treehousebrew.com/visiting-deerfield
