Hello! My name is Bob, and apparently I can’t spell the word “draught”. As penance for my illiteracy, I am writing this month’s Amory’s Tomb Newsletter. Here’s what’s happening at the Tomb:
Old Friends (And by Friends, I Mean Beers) Are Back!
Two classic Amory’s Tomb beers are back! First up is The Golden Rule, an American IPA.
The Golden Rule is more-or-less Amory’s Tomb’s house IPA. When they first opened in 2017 it seemed like it was always on tap. And then in our current “Beer Garden Only” era The Golden Rule disappeared, supplanted by beers either with “Wizard” in their name or just plane weird names. Now, finally, the OG AT IPA is back!
The Golden Rule contains what may be my top 3 favorite hops: Citra, Simcoe and Amarillo. I’d describe it as hoppy, but not obnoxious about it. You better believe I grabbed one as soon as it popped up on the menu! I heartily recommend it as an accompaniment to Perico’s Tacos on Fridays and Saturdays!
As if the return of The Golden Rule isn’t enough, Amory’s Tomb has just released it’s perennial fall offering, Broken Latch! Broken Latch is a farmhouse-inspired rustic lager made with local grain and malts from Blue Ox Malthouse, Valley Malt and Aurora Mills. It contains Czech Saaz hops to provide a balance to the bread and lightly toasted malt profile.
Enough of the technical talk! To me, Broken Latch tastes like the love child of Man Bun Lager and a Marzen-style Oktoberfest beer. It’s a great beer for those early fall activities - sitting around a fire on a cool evening, watching football, or eating raclette on Thursdays at the Beer Garden. Remember, every Thursday this fall is Raclette Thursday, with Ben’s Raclette (except for this Thursday, September 26th).
Both The Golden Rule and Broken Latch are currently available in 16 oz cans in the Beer Garden, and I am told they will be on tap soon, too!
Pink Boots Society Collab
Would you believe a 3rd new release from AT is available now? This one is called Enraptured, and it’s Amory’s Tomb’s 2024 Pink Boots Society collaboration. Enraptured is a rustic farmhouse ale brewed with 100% Northeast Grown grain, New Zealand Motueka hops and Staghorn Sumac. It was fermented in stainless steel with AT’s house saison blend, and conditioned with a rose hip and hibiscus simple syrup.
Wait, so it’s a farmhouse ale with sumac, rose hip and hibiscus? That has to be the most Amory’s Tomb sounding beer ever! I can’t wait to get my hands on one. It’ll be available in 12oz cans in the Beer Garden while supplies last. And you’ll want to check out the cans because the label is really gnarly and almost perfect for the upcoming Halloween season, without a hint of any sumac, rose hip, or hibiscus to be found!
Taco Fridays + Friday Night Garden Parties!
You probably already know that Taco Fridays in the Beer Garden are the hottest event in Maynard. Now Friday nights in the Beer Garden have been amped up further with Friday Night Garden Parties, featuring a rotating series of DJs and dance music every Friday night in September and October! It’s the Metrowest’s only Open Air Dance Night!
First they arranged to have Pericos Tacos every Friday. Now they have DJ parties. What will Allen and Rick add to Friday nights next? Lasers? It’s got to be lasers, right? Either that or weekly Nest of Infection concerts.
Maynard Fest October 5th
The annual Maynard Fest is on October 5th from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Maynard Fest may be my favorite community event of the calendar. Around 120 vendors will be lining the streets in the center of Maynard selling food and crafts for this family-friendly event. Walking around on Maynard Day really gives you a sense for the vibrancy of our local community.
Maynard Fest is great, but sometimes you need a break from all the face-painting, balloon blowing and hot dog eating. Fortunately, your favorite farmhouse ale emphasizing local beer garden will be open for when you need a break, so stop in!
Julio’s Falltober Fest October 5th
For beer lovers of a certain age (ahem…) there was a time when Julio’s Liquor in Westborough was easily the best place to go for good beer in the entire state. There was many a Friday where I would rush to pick up a fresh growler of Pilgrim Ale from Old Harbor Brewing Company of Hudson (RIP!) before they ran out.
The craft beer world has exploded in size and diversity since those days. But even with the seemingly infinite number of options available, Julio’s continues to have a great beer selection, as well as wine and spirits.
And on October 5th Julio’s is hosting Falltober Fest from 2:00 to 3:30pm. Over 25 beer brewers and cider fermenters will be pouring samples onsite. And of course since you are reading this in the newsletter, Amory’s Tomb will be among the the brewers sharing their beer.
You have to buy tickets ahead of time for this one. More details can be found in the event calendar on Julio’s website:
To recap, on October 5th Maynard Fest runs from 9:00 to 3:00 and Julio’s Falltober Fest runs from 2:00 to 3:30. That means it’s totally feasible to go to Maynard Fest in the morning then zip out to Westborough for Falltober Fest at 2:00pm You can do both! Just sayin’!
Dead Sparrow Society Inaugural Season Finale September 28th
Dead Sparrow Society is AT’s experimental subscription beer series. On Saturday, September 28 the final 2 beers of the 2023-24 season will be released. There will be casks available for members too! If you are in the DSS check for an email directly from Allen and Rick!
DSS has been a lot of fun this past year, and all the releases have been really great. The 2024-25 version of the DSS is fully subscribed, but Allen and Rick definitely want to add names to the waitlist. Sometimes people drop out during the year, and also from one year to the next there will always be a bit of turnover. If you are not in the DSS already, I can’t recommend heavily enough that you get your name on that waitlist!
Poll Results - “Draught” Trounces “Draft”
I’ve written about the controversy surrounding the spelling of what comes out of the beer tap (is it “draught” or “draft”?) for the past couple of newsletters. Briefly, Allen says “draught” in order to distinguish it from other things (conscription, gusts of wind) that are pronounced “draft”. And I say what comes out of a tap ought to be spelled “draft” because, given the choice, I prefer not to spell things the way the King of England says I should. Also, I like typing less letters.
To settle this raging conflict, we put the question to a vote last month. The results are in and…I got routed. 14 people voted for “Draught” vs only 10 for “Draft”. (Note, 3 people voted that they didn’t care, and one inexplicably voted for “B-E-E-R”.)
Oh sure, I could point out that the small sample size (28 votes in total) means that the results of this poll are not at all statistically significant. I could claim that there is obviously a silent majority out there who favors “draft”. I could note that the type of person who sensibly prefers to not type the 3 key strokes of “ugh” when the single keystroke of “f” works just fine likely won’t bother with the extra clicks to fill out a silly brewery newsletter poll.
But no, I know when I am licked! I surrender! I still can’t believe there are even 14 people out there who have forgotten the brave patriots fought a revolution 250 years ago for the right to spell words as we please! What would Samuel Adams (the actual revolutionary, not the beer) say?
Oh well, I concede to the majority, and will drown my sorrows with a draught of Maynard ESB.
I weep for our nation.
That’s all for now! It’s a busy fall at Amory’s Tomb! See you on the dance floor!
