Hello! My name is Bob, and I have driven by Amory Maynard’s crypt hundreds of times. That means I am qualified to write this month’s Amory’s Tomb Brewing Company newsletter. Yes I know it has been considerably less than 30 days since the last “monthly” newsletter. What can I say? These newsletters are like Allen and Rick’s beers - they are ready when they are ready! And here’s the latest:
KETTLE HOLE IS BACK!
Last month it was The Golden Rule, and now this. Kettle Hole, AT’s rustic farmhouse pale ale, is coming back in October! Kettle Hole was literally the first Amory’s Tomb beer I had on the first night the old taproom was officially open, on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2018. It was an Amory’s Tomb staple for a long time, and then it disappeared for the last few years. But now it is back!
Kettle Hole is a crisp and semi-dry farmhouse pale ale brewed with 100% New England grown and malted barley, rye and spelt, and delicately hopped with Czech Saaz and American Loral hops. I think Kettle Hole is a great beer for that friend of yours who really likes IPAs, maybe a little nervous to try saisons, but is at least a little bit farmhouse-curious.
It’s definitely a farmhouse ale, but not at all a crazy funky beer. It’s got a bit of hops in the profile, but again isn’t super-bitter. Basically, it is a terrific introduction to the world of Amory’s Tomb beers, and a welcome addition to the Beer Garden.
Fresh Man Bun On the Way!
I really enjoy Amory’s Tomb’s Man Bun Pilsner. It’s such a refreshing beer, and yet still flavorful. It’s by far the beer I order the most in the Beer Garden because it goes well with tacos and raclette, or just on its own.
I’m not the only one who likes it, though. As Taco Fridays took off as a “thing” this summer and more tacos went flying out of Perico’s truck, I’d see more Man Bun’s flying out of the shed to accompany those tacos. To an outsider like me it seemed as if more Man Buns were being consumed than anything else this summer in the Beer Garden.
While it is great to see so many people enjoying Man Bun, there is a downside to seeing it go so fast. Yes, I have developed an affliction know as Man Bun Anxiety (or MBA for short). I’ve been worrying for months that Amory’s Tomb might run out of it!
Whenever I would express my concern to Allen he’d essentially tell me to put a cork in it. He said they had enough to last until they got around to brewing it again. But such is the curse of MBA that I remained skeptical.
Well, I am happy to report that my MBA is about to be cured! Fresh Man Bun Pilsner is on the way this month! Allen says it is his goal to always have Man Bun available? Perpetual Man Buns? No more MBA? To paraphrase Shoeless Joe Jackson from “Field of Dreams”, is this Heaven? No, it’s the Amory’s Tomb Beer Garden!
Robust Porter Is In Tanks Now, Coming At the End of the Month
There’s no denying it’s getting cooler out. The sun is setting earlier and the earlier darkness in the Beer Garden means it’s the season to enjoy darker beers. Maybe that’s why Allen and Rick are currently brewing another batch of their robust porter named…”Robust Porter”. It’ll be released somewhere around Halloween, plus or minus a week or two.
Robust Porter has a surprisingly straightforward name, and a surprisingly straightforward taste. It’s a 6.3% porter. No fruit, no coffee, no strange spices or botanicals, no bells-and-whistles of any kind. It’s just a really good porter, perfect for this time of year.
“How good?”, you ask. Amory’s Tomb’s Robust Porter was acclaimed as the highest rated English Porter in the state of Massachusetts by the Untappd Community earlier this year!
Under Latch - The Secret Amory’s Tomb Drink Revealed!
Sure, you’ve heard of the Amory’s Tomb specialty offerings Wax Galaxies Shandy and the Man Bun Hot Beer - those are advertised in the Beer Garden. But there’s another beer cocktail that’s DIY and therefore a bit of a secret, until now!
You may have noticed that Amory’s Tomb sells Underberg bitters. Underberg is a digestif, and it comes in little 20ml bottles. It contains alcohol and a bunch of herbs and roots “of the genus gentian”. To me, it tastes like licorice.
Now why does Amory’s Tomb have Underbergs on offer in the Beer Garden? It’s a digestif so I suppose if (or maybe when) you have had one too many tacos you could down one. But the real reason is to dump in a beer, of course!
The beer most commonly combined with Underberg is Broken Latch, hence the name Under Latch. You won’t find Under Latch on the menu, but you can always get a Broken Latch and Underberg yourself, and dump the bitter right in the beer. Whether you like it or not may depend on how much you like the taste of licorice, but it is definitely at least worth an experiment.
Some Beer Garden sickos (and I say this lovingly!) even like to play a game called “Will it Berg?” The idea is to dump Underberg into just about any Amory’s Tomb beer to see if the bitter goes well with it. And I do mean anything. Past experiments have included Under Bun, Maynard’s Extra Special Berg, Under Rabbit and Shadows of Berg. But Under Latch is the cream of the crop of Underberg experiments. If you are feeling really adventurous give it a try!
(Editor’s note - try a berg in a can of moxie for a sessionable gluten free adult Sarsaparilla!)
Alp Blossom Raclette Night
Thursday, October 17th
Ben’s Raclette has been serving up cheesy, yummy goodness every Thursday at the Beer Garden, but on October 17th Ben has something special planned. The cheese he’ll be melting that night is a special Alp Blossom Cheese.
Alp Blossom Cheese is a cow’s milk cheese aged for 6+ months in Bavaria before being coated with a combination of herbs and spices from the surrounding pasture. Ben calls it a “masterpiece”, and it will be available for one night only. Sounds amazing!
Halloween Celebration on November 2nd!
Allen and Rick have big Halloween celebration plans in the Beer Garden for Saturday, November 2nd, presented by Maynard’s local cult movie buff, Screams and Suds. First, DJ Nothing Means Nothing will be in the Garden! He’ll be playing a set of Bruno Mars’ greatest hits. I’m kidding! Just seeing if you are paying attention!
This is Amory’s Tomb, not your run-of-the-mill hazy IPA brewery! DJ Nothing Means Nothing will be spinning a curated selection of metal songs on vinyl. Maybe he’ll even play something from Amory’s Tomb headliner and friends of the beer garden, Karate Steve!
Then Amory’s Tomb will be screening two Giallo films. What are Giallo films? I didn’t know either when Allen told me about it. Apparently, they are Italian Murder Mysteries from the 1960’s and 1970’s and were the precursors to the slasher film genre.
Here’s a link to learn more about them:
https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-giallo-movies/
AT will be screening “Blood and Black Lace” (from 1964) and “Deep Red” (from 1975), both of which are described in the above article.
Should be a fun and very Halloween-y night in the Beer Garden!
Beervana Fest in Providence, Rhode Island on October 19th
Amory’s Tomb will be among the 45+ brewers pouring at the 15th annual Beervana Fest in Providence, Rhode Island, on October 19th. The list of brewers is a bit different from what you see at festivals closer to home, so this one looks interesting.
Tickets can be purchased at Beervana Fest’s website
Taproom Progress? Taproom Progress!
Things are happening inside the taproom. How do I know? Well, one thing that has happened is that the paper has been taken down from the front windows. You better believe I pressed my face against the glass to stare longingly inside like the kids at the department store in the first scene from “A Christmas Story”!
If you look through the window, you can clearly see how the taproom will be laid out when it is all done. Of course, you can also see Allen and Rick won’t be opening the inside next week, but as I said progress is clearly being made.
Specifically, the plumbers have been working inside. Now I know almost nothing about brewing beer, but I would bet the plumbing requirements for brewing beer are quite a bit different from whatever plumbing was needed by the real estate office that previously occupied the space. And I am certain that when we are all consuming beer inside the taproom we are also going to want excellent plumbing!
Seriously, though, Allen and Rick have been waiting for the plumbers to be able to start for a while now, so this is another major milestone on the road to opening the new taproom. I can’t wait!
That’s all for now. Remember, Raclette Thursdays, Taco Fridays, Friday Night Garden Parties and (usually) Taco Saturdays continue through October. See you in the Beer Garden!
