Brews News: Tree House Anniversary Bash, Back Barn Opens in B-Spa, Mixed Breed Planning Malta Location

SARATOGA SPRINGS — As wintertime hibernation ends and Saratogians dream of spring, local breweries are ready to start pouring.

Tree House, the wildly popular brewer acclaimed for its IPAs, will host a one-year anniversary party at its Saratoga location on Saturday, March 7. The event will include a pizza special (pepperoni pies with chipotle-lime sauce) and live music performed by Rich Ortiz and Matt Evans. In a social media announcement, Tree House also teased that the first week of March would be “very special” with (presumably) future announcements to come. 

The Tree House taproom has become a live music hotspot of late, hosting artists on Friday nights from 6 to 9 p.m. Caity Gallagher played there on Feb. 27 and will return on March 27. Jimmi Justin Music, Russ Kennedy, John Stack, and Pat O’Connor are also slated for shows during March and April.

In other brews news, Back Barn Brewing officially opened the doors of its new Ballston Spa location (the historic Abner Doubleday House that was formerly the home of Real McCoy) on Feb. 28. The brewer also teased that it’s “planning to celebrate throughout March so stay tuned.” Back Barn is a farm brewery based out of a renovated barn in Delanson, a village in Schenectady County about 50 miles southwest of Saratoga.

Malta is also replacing one brewery with another. The Albany Business Review reported last week that Mixed Breed would take over the former home of Unified Beerworks, which closed its doors around the end of last year following seven years in business. Mixed Breed hopes to open its new taproom and restaurant in Malta by mid-April. Renovations are already underway.