Tree House Farm Brewery — Attraction in Woodstock

This review is for a visit in Dec 2021. Appointment policies were in place due to COVID, but normal operations would not have resulted in a different review.

To start, the property is on beautiful grounds in middle of nowhere Woodstock, CT. The grounds were well kept but totally dead sans a single Treehouse employee in the taproom. I had ordered a slew of their apple and raspberry ciders for pickup. The taproom attendant asked if I’d like to enjoy a draft cider — no, no I do not want to enjoy a pour in their cold and totally empty barn.

I’ll start with the taste. Each and every cider was dry as all hell with little or no fruit flavor - picture your favorite cider mixed 1:1 with water. If that wasn’t bad enough there was no discernible flavor profile differences in the classic apple vs the apple with raspberry vs the apple with tawny port barrel vs apple with coconut.

Next the price. Spent Just over $80 for a ~4 wine bottle equivalent. Not a total ripoff but far from a bargain for a 2nd year hobby operation. What irked me the most was the deceptive photos on the website that lacked a reference object to show the minuscule bottle size.

The brand has grown too big, too fast and has forsaken quality over profits. This isn’t some startup home brewer trying to make a living, but instead a megamillion dollar operation masquerading subpar cider as premium cider with the Treehouse logo. Find your cider...

Tucked back amongst gently rolling hills is one of the most tranquil places you've never been. The property is beautiful, the old barn/tap room with the press inside is super cool, and the Adirondack chairs sprinkled around the property offer the perfect seats to enjoy a beverage and the view.

You have to make online reservations, which initially is annoying, but once you get there you understand why. Keeping the amount of people manageable enhances the experience and keeps lines short. If you have ever been to the brewery you know about long lines!

On to the ciders! I went in knowing most artisanal ciders are really not for me. The two on tap were ok, but we quickly moved on to beer😁. The Woodstock IPA was great, not too hoppy, not overly juicy, just very well balanced and easy on the palate. The pilsner, as you would expect was crisp, clean, and easy drinking. Both were perfect for the warm sunny day that we enjoyed there. Honestly, we can't wait to go back with friends to share the...

Picked up an online order here. First time ordering here, but have been to Charlton dozens of times. The beer is second to none, but this cider is easily the worst I've ever had, and I've had home-made all the way up to mass-market. Very little flavor, and what flavor it did have was not pleasant. I really wanted to like this cider, but I can't. I literally liked the local plain cider that had begun to turn in my fridge more than I liked this.

Hopefully they are still formulating recipes, and a second visit will prove a better experience. I'll give it a second try next Summer, but not spending a drive that long until we can go topless/doorless because the drive and grounds are very nice, and I expect them to be fantastic when warm out.

Beer: Treehouse virtually all others Cider: Holmberg (& virtually all others) Treehouse

Edit 1: I will update once I have tried more of the coders I bought, and again after a...