Tree House to grow Charlton headquarters by 30%

Hours-long lines are common at Tree House Brewing's Charlton headquarters, as it is the only place the company sells its beer.

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By Zachary Comeau

Craft beer maker Tree House Brewing Co. is planning a 16,000-square-foot expansion of its 52,000-square-foot headquarters in Charlton.

The brewery moved from Monson to its current location last July to accommodate the long lines of beer drinkers waiting to get their share of its colorful cans. The new facility still attracts large crowds looking to buy limited quantities of beer, and the expansion is meant to enhance the customer experience.

The new 16,000 square feet will include brewery operations and retail space, a number of open pergolas and landscaping, and a second bar about double the size of the existing bar to service customers inside and outside.

A second bar increases the potential for servicing growlers, the brewery said.

“The new can sale area will be above our canning line, where guests will be able to take in the beautiful sights, sounds, and smells of fresh beer coming off of the Tree House canning line in a uniquely intimate experience that blurs the line between retail and the production floor,” wrote co-founder Nate Lanier, in a post on the brewery's website.

The idea for relocating the can sales area will enable the brewery to route guests around the outdoor pavilion, where the brewery plans to construct a timber awning to protect guests from the elements when lines form, which happens on almost a daily basis.

Another added benefit of relocating and expanding the can sale area is the potential to offer drafts during all open hours. Currently, drafts are only offered a handful of hours each week.

The project includes a private function room and large open public space.

The brewery, 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.

Commitment to sustainability

The brewery's rapid growth is necessitating a number of dramatic steps to be more energy efficient, Lanier wrote. Within two years, the brewery plans to generate 40 percent of its energy needs through onsite renewables and 100 percent within five years. The brewery has pledged to reduce the amount of harmful elements it discharges into the town's wastewater system to below a standard household within two years. The brewery uses about three gallons of water to produce one gallon of beer, below the global average of five gallons.

New varieties of beer

In its new space, the brewery introduced new beers and has taken previously limited release beers and has made them more available. The brewery is working with more consistent, hand-selected raw materials, allowing the brewery's week-to-week variety to expand on what the brewery previously provided.

New beer is on the way, Lanier said.

“Other projects, in the works for nearly six years, will soon begin to bear fruit. The flexibility of two large production breweries will afford us the opportunity to frequently introduce new offerings and produce challenging beers of great complexity,” he wrote.