Tree House Brewing's expansion gets town approval

Photo/File TreeHouse Brewing Co. in Charlton regularly has hours-long lines for its beer.

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By Zachary Comeau

Tree House Brewing Co. has only been operating in Charlton for about a year, but it is gearing up for another expansion after the Charlton Planning Board approved its plans for a 16,000-square-foot addition.

Much of the concern at the brewery and Wednesday’s Planning Board hearing has been about traffic going into and out of the Route 20 site. David Faist of McClure Engineering, on behalf of the brewery, told the board that a traffic study is being finalized and it will be included in a Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act filing for the project.

Route 20 is a state road and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will have the final say on any traffic signal for the brewery’s entrance.

“(We’re) working with the DOT to come up with a solution,” Faist said.

The approval, which came Wednesday, allows the internationally recognized brewery to add retail space, more outdoor areas and a second bar to offer pours of the brewery’s mouth-watering beverages. The brewery is also planning to offer growler fills with the addition of the new bar.

Guests, which routinely form an hours-long line to enter the brewery, will be rerouted to protect guests from New England’s elements.

Another added benefit of the expansion, the brewery wrote on its blog earlier this year, is the possibility to offer draughts during all open hours. Currently, beverages can only be consumed onsite a handful of hours each week.

The brewery, which opened last July on 68 acres of land, will soon open a series of new trails Co-founder Damien Goudreau has been constructing with his father. The trails -- for mountain bikers or walkers -- connect to neighboring Capen Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.

More plans include an orchard of fruit trees, curating the brewery's own beehives and opening about five acres for hop fields and open space.