• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • 5 DOUBLE-U’S
    • MASTHEAD
    • DISTRIBUTION
    • ADVERTISE
    • SUBMISSIONS
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Boston's Only Newspaper

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

HONEST PINT: LEGENDARY BOSTON HARDCORE ROCKER TEAMS UP WITH BLUE HILLS BREWERY FOR FIRST CRAFT BEER PROJECT

Written by DAN MCCARTHY Posted September 23, 2015 Filed Under: COLUMNS, Honest Pint, Honest Pint, LIFESTYLE

HP_TreeBeer_728

Novel passion projects in the beer world tend to have charming backstories associated with their birth.

 

Take, for instance, the story of how Tree Beer, the brand new Blue Hills Brewery offering, came about. And if you ask Dave Tree, band member of legendary Boston hardcore group Tree, it comes down to a fateful day at a preschool bus stop.

 

“My brother’s son has a buddy at preschool, and that kid’s father shows up one day to drop off his kid while wearing a Tree t-shirt,” says Tree. “My brother says, ‘Hey, that’s my brother’s band,’ and the guy turns out to work for Blue Hills Brewery, and I called him that day and was in the brewery by end of week.”

 

That Blue Hills Brewery employee turned out to be Jim O’Neil, director of operations for the brewery, who was keen to chat about what kind of beer they would potentially collaborate on. If a Tree beer was going to exist, named after the band, the two of them wanted to make sure it was something they both liked and could stand behind as both craft beer aficionados and general beer drinkers.

 

“I always wanted to do a beer with a band,” says O’Neil. “Smuttynose did a beer with Scissorfight out of Portsmouth, NH. Many people have asked me when we’re doing a beer with a band, [so] maybe it was fate I had my Tree shirt on that day.”

 

HP_TreeBeerFlyer_300And now that Tree and O’Neil have spent the last month working on the project, with an earlier iteration coming out with a massive 8 percent APV (“I wanted to make it 9 percent and bars were like, “9 percent beer? I don’t know dude…’”), they’ve come up with a Kolsch-style brew that’s a tweaked spin on a previous version Blue Hills Brewery had been making. After Tree conducted taste tests and even had some sample trial kegs at a few recent art shows (Tree’s artistry and design eye graces the logo and label for the beer itself), the two brought the APV down while still keeping some punch (7.5 percent) and tweaked the recipe, resulting in a Kolsch flavor profile with a light, hoppy finish.

 

“We don’t want to trick people; we had a taste-testing here in the art gallery after we got the tester keg, and everyone liked the high APV, but a lot of people wanted to bring down the APV and the hops,” says Tree. “The brewery wanted that too. I’m not normally in the [brewing] seat, but it’s nice to be on both sides of the keg now. We tried to design a beer that’s for the masses but still a craft beer.”

 

Tree and his new band See This World will be performing at the annual Boston Freedom Rally on Boston Common this weekend, where kegs of Tree Beer will be on-site for people to try out the new brew firsthand. Additionally, O’Neil says he’s working through Tree’s connections at local bars and art shows, but after the Freedom Rally there will be kegs going into local bars throughout the Boston, Cambridge, Somerville, and Allston/Brighton areas during October and November. If things go well, the brewery will plan to start bottling it as well.

 

“People may buy for the novelty at first, should they remember my band Tree,” says Tree. “But after that they’ll buy for the taste. And they’ll like it.”

 

TREE BEER. TASTE IT AT THE 26TH ANNUAL BOSTON FREEDOM RALLY ON BOSTON COMMON 9.26-27. BLUEHILLSBREWERY.COM

 

DAN MCCARTHY

Dan is a freelance journalist and has written for publications including Vice, Esquire, the Daily Beast, Fast Company, Pacific Standard, MEL, Leafly, Thrillist, and DigBoston.

More from author
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    cannabis massachusetts pandemic
    RANGE OF VOICES TESTIFY TO OPEN CANNABIS DISPENSARIES DURING PANDEMIC
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    BIG CHILL: A YAWN OF A CENTENNIAL, DINNER WITH MICHAEL J. FOX, AND THE MICHAEL BENNET PRIMARY TEST
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    THE POLICY POLICE: CANNABIS COP AND GOP COHORT CHALLENGE CANDIDATES AND EDUCATE VOTERS ON WHY DRUGS SHOULD BE LEGAL
  • DAN MCCARTHY
    https://digboston.com/author/dan-mccarthy/
    ACCESS DENIED: BUTTIGIEG PACKS ROOM, BRUISES INDEPENDENT MEDIA EGOS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

Filed Under: COLUMNS, Honest Pint, Honest Pint, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: Blue Hills Brewery, boston freedom rally, canton, craft beer, Dave Tree, Hardcore, Jim O’Neil, Kolsch, MassCann, metal, NORML, pale ale, see this world, tree band, visual art

WHAT’S NEW

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

SOULDIER STORY: JOEL MASSICOT ON MIXING MARTIAL ARTS, DANCE, AND MILITARY INFLUENCES

SHELTER SHOCK

SHELTER SHOCK

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

THE END OF THE WORLD IN AN AIRBNB

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

MEETING THREATS WITH HOPE AND COURAGE

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

TITANIC SHIFTS: DEMS SWAP DECK CHAIRS AMIDST GOP-PROVOKED TSUNAMI

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

NEARLY A YEAR INTO PANDEMIC, MASS CATS ARE STILL SHORT ON FOOD

Primary Sidebar

HEMPIRE FREEDOM PACK 25% OFF

FEATURED EVENT

Most Popular

  • APPOINTED SOMERVILLE OFFICIAL SPURS OUTRAGE WITH TWEETS FROM DC MOB SCENE by MARC LEVY
  • Aerial View Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common. CC BY-SA 4.0 2017 by AbhiSuryawanshi. NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM by MATTHEW ANDREWS
  • VIDEO: COP WHO BRAGGED THAT HE HIT PROTESTERS SHOWS HOW BAD APPLES THRIVE IN BOSTON by CHRIS FARAONE
  • PRISON HORRORS BY THE NUMBERS by SARAH BETANCOURT
  • IT’S HARDER THAN EVER TO FIND A BATHROOM IN BOSTON. WHAT’S THE CITY DOING ABOUT IT? by ZACK HUFFMAN

READ CURRENT MEMBER EDITION

DIG Member 1.9 – 11/26/20

READ CURRENT STREET ISSUE

DIG Year End 2020

Footer

digbos

“Trump was voted out. However, this is not a man “Trump was voted out. However, this is not a mandate for #Biden and #Harris.” https://digboston.com/photos-recap-no-honeymoon-for-biden-rally-in-boston/ #photo #rally #march #left #protest #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM OPINION: IS DISSENT ANTI-NATIONALISM OR PATRIOTISM? #Boston #protest for Indian farmers, Saturday 1/23/21, 12-1 pm at the #Massachusetts State House https://digboston.com/opinion-is-dissent-anti-nationalism-or-patriotism/ #India #politics #food #farmer #protest #justice #solidarity @monica_gill1
HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO A HOW ONE MASS TOWN TOOK EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES TO APPEASE A CONTROVERSIAL COP https://digboston.com/no-justice-how-officials-in-one-mass-town-took-extraordinary-measures-to-appease-a-controversial-cop/ #ArlingtonMA #police #reform #cop #racism #controversy #BlackLivesMatter #Massachusetts
Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for host Ghost kitchens simply don’t have a need for hosts, servers, bartenders, bussers … What happens to those #jobs if virtual kitchens continue to flourish? https://digboston.com/ghost-story-virtual-kitchens-appear-to-be-the-next-big-thing-but-at-what-cost/ #restaurant #labor #work #Boston #Massachusetts #coronavirus #COVID19
“I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan “I don’t think we’re going to wake up on Jan. 7 in the same country we went to bed in on the 6th.” https://digboston.com/former-mass-gubernatorial-candidate-predicted-violence-before-assault-on-capitol/ #politics #Massachusetts #national #Capitol #WashingtonDC #MAGA
RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL http RADICAL AND RELEVANT: THE LIFE OF HARRY BRILL https://digboston.com/radical-and-relevant-the-life-of-harry-brill/ #obituary #organizer #radical #sociologist #democracy #politics @UMassBoston @BklynCollege411 @UCBerkeley #Boston #Massachusetts #NewYorkCity #Berkeley #California
NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON CO NO HONEYMOON FOR BIDEN: 1/20 #PROTEST ON BOSTON COMMON, 4 PM https://digboston.com/no-honeymoon-for-biden-1-20-protest-on-boston-common-4-pm/ #opinion #progressive #left #action #inauguration #Boston #Massachusetts
Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this lat Light and sweet and hoppy, we’re loving this latest incarnation of a #beer that’s been in the making for months. https://digboston.com/video-jacks-abby-x-boston-celtics-pride-and-parquet-hoppy-lager-unboxing-tasting/ #fun #video #review #Boston #Massachusetts
Jostling for position and influence are the disadv Jostling for position and influence are the disadvantaged candidates, existing industry participants, and municipalities … https://digboston.com/the-road-to-home-delivery-pt-5-dogs-in-the-fight-identifying-the-players/ #cannabis #politics #analysis #Massachusetts
The candidates will be interviewed about the upcom The candidates will be interviewed about the upcoming race. https://digboston.com/wu-and-campbell-to-speak-at-mayoral-candidate-webinar/ #politics #mayor #campaign #Boston #Massachusetts
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Submissions

Advertise

Privacy Policy

Customer Service

Distribution

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an e-mail blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: [email protected] To reach Editorial: [email protected] For internship opportunities: [email protected]