Julius

Tasting Notes

Julius pours with a thick, pillowy haze and leads with an intensely juicy aroma of tangerine, mango, and fresh orange zest — almost like fruit juice concentrate. On the palate, the hop character is lush and tropical without much bitterness to speak of; the malt backbone is soft and slightly bready, giving the beer a full, almost creamy body. The finish is smooth and lingers with stone fruit and a gentle resiny warmth. It's a benchmark example of the New England IPA style, built around softness and aromatic intensity rather than aggressive hop sharpness.

About the Brewery

Tree House Brewing is based in Charlton, Massachusetts, founded in 2011. They've become one of the most sought-after breweries in New England, largely on the strength of their hazy IPAs, which consistently rank among the top-rated beers on enthusiast platforms like Untappd and BeerAdvocate. Their taproom-only distribution model for most of their run created genuine scarcity and a devoted following willing to make the drive to rural central Massachusetts.

Food Pairings

Spicy Thai curry works well because the beer's fruit-forward sweetness tempers heat without clashing. A simple grilled shrimp taco pairs cleanly since the citrus hop character echoes lime and fresh salsa. Aged cheddar or a washed-rind cheese provides a savory, fatty contrast that highlights the beer's softer tropical notes. Chicken satay with peanut sauce plays off the beer's body and mango-adjacent aromatics without overwhelming either. Even a fruit-forward dessert like mango sorbet or a citrus tart can mirror the beer's dominant flavors for a cohesive finish to a meal.

Style Guide

The Hazy IPA — often called New England IPA or NEIPA — is defined by its opaque, juice-like appearance and a hop profile built almost entirely on aroma and flavor rather than bitterness. It originated in Vermont in the mid-2000s, popularized by The Alchemist's Heady Topper, and was refined by a cluster of New England breweries through the 2010s. Unlike West Coast IPAs, which lean dry and resinously bitter, Hazy IPAs use late and dry-hop additions, often with Cryo hops or biotransformation techniques, to produce a soft, full body with tropical and citrus-dominant aromatics. ABVs typically run between 6 and 8 percent.