Hello! My name is Bob, and I still have a couple of cans of that great 6th Anniversary Brett IPA, “Broadcast Interrupted”, in my refrigerator. That qualifies me to write this month’s Amory’s Tomb Newsletter! Here’s the latest from the Tomb:
Celebrating Perico’s Anniversary on Cinco de Mayo!
Yup, you read that right, Perico’s is celebrating their first year in business with a very special Cinco de Mayo celebration at the Amory’s Tomb Beer Garden! We will be opening from noon to 8:00 pm on 5/5/25 with a special lineup of treats from Victor and crew. Expect Man Bun Micheladas made with Victor’s own recipe (hot beers are coming back soon too, I promise!), delicious tacos, tortas and an all around great celebration!
Call in sick now, and we’ll see you there!
Farm Road is Back!
The weather must be getting warmer out now because Allen and Rick have just brought back Farm Road. They describe it as a “bright and delicate farmhouse ale brewed with 100% New England grown barley, oats and wheat, Merrimack Valley wildflower honey, and dried lemon peel. Delicate lemon and floral aromas wash over a biscuity grist and finish with a touch of phenolic spice.”
Amory’s Tomb makes great farmhouse ales. Since you subscribe to this newsletter, you likely already knew that! But not everyone likes farmhouse ales, or has even tasted one. Farm Road is a great beer to use to introduce the uninitiated to the style. It’s really quite approachable and goes well with food, especially tacos and raclette.
So if you have a friend who is a farmhouse skeptic or whose lips have never touched a farmhouse beer, bring them down to the Beer Garden and buy them a Farm Road! Sixteen ounce cans were released last weekend in the Beer Garden, and no doubt it’ll be on draught soon.
Maynard New England Bitter Available Now, and It’s More Local Than Ever!
Another new beer was released in the Beer Garden last weekend!
Maynard’s New England Bitter is the close cousin of Amory’s Tomb mainstay Maynard’s Finest Extra Special Bitter. What’s the difference, you ask?
Both versions are amber-hued pub ales brewed with Blue Ox Malthouse
Pale, Munich and Crystal malts and William Crisp Brown malt. But this new batch was brewed exclusively with Massachusetts-grown Magnum, Crystal and Teamaker hops from Four Star Farms in Northfield, Massachusetts. Hence the name New England Bitter!
I’ll be honest with you. For a long time, the Extra Special Bitter might have been my least favorite beer style. Part of the problem is the name. There’s nothing “bitter” about an ESB. And I’d never had an ESB that I would in any way have considered special, let alone extra special. ESB’s always seemed pretty bland and flavorless to me.
But Maynard ESB opened my eyes to the possibilities. I first had it on draught in the old taproom and it immediately became a go-to for me! So now I can’t wait to try the New England version. Allen describes its flavors as “nutty toasted malt and praline supported by notes of candied grapefruit peel, spiced orange and black tea”. This actually sounds like a pretty apt description of Maynard ESB to me!
If you are like I was, and think ESB’s taste like muddy water, challenge your assumptions by having a Maynard’s New England Bitter. It’s available now in cans in the Beer Garden and, like Farm Road, will also be on tap soon.
Maynard 2025 Spring ArtWalk Saturday, May 3rd
The Maynard Business Alliance is sponsoring its 11th annual Spring ArtWalk on Saturday, May 3rd from 4:00 - 7:30pm. There will be a concert in Memorial Park from 4:00 - 5:00 and then from 5:00 to 7:30 a number of business in town will be sponsoring activities and performances.
And you’d better believe Amory’s Tomb’s Beer Garden will be open for ArtWalk! Perico’s Tacos will be there. Their tacos are amazing, of course, but next time you order take a glance at the pork adobada rotating on a stick in their truck. What beauty!
Ben’s Raclette will be in the Beer Garden for ArtWalk from 12-4pm as well! If you ask me, melted cheese is one of the highest forms of art that humans have ever created!
If 2 yummy food options are not enough for you, Amory’s Tomb will have a number of special performances that night as well, including remote performance from artwalk mainstay, DJ Paul Michael Jeffries, a lean-house/generative sound exploration from rotating crew members, and some proper dance music to close out the evening.
PINTwood Derby Saturday May 10 - Register & Get Your Kit Now!
Yes, you read that right. Amory’s Tomb is hosting an Adult (21+) Pinewood Derby on Saturday, May 10th, to raise funds for Scouting America. In case you are unfamiliar, the Pinewood Derby is a Scout function where the scouts receive a standardized wood car kit, make a little car, decorate it, then race it against fellow Scouts.
I did the Pinewood Derby 3 times when I was in the (then) Cub Scouts. I even received a trophy the first year for finishing 2nd place. The concept of “participation trophies” didn’t exist when I was a kid, so that was the only trophy I received as a child! I can still clearly describe those 3 cars to you. What memories!
Of course, it was my dad who really built those Pinewood Derby cars. Oh, I might of done a little sanding and some base painting. Maybe I nailed the wheels on. But it was my dad who designed the cars, operated the saws, added the weights and did the detail work.
Maybe you either had a parent who did most the work on your Pinewood Derby car as a kid, or maybe you have done it more recently for your child, only to see them hog all the glory!
Or maybe you never heard of the Pinewood Derby but now that you’ve read about it, it sounds like fun.
Whatever your motivation, here’s your chance to legitimately build a Pinewood Derby car for yourself and race it against others. You can register for the Amory’s Tomb Pinewood Derby here:
Once you register, you can pick up your kit at Amory’s Tomb anytime before May 10th. To make your car, you follow the rules provided in the kit.
On May 10th, the weigh-in will be between Noon and 1:00pm. Racing will be between 1:30pm and 3:00pm.
The award categories are “Overall Speed, Safest Driver and Best in Show”. Speed makes sense. Overall Speed is self-explanatory, and Best in Show refers to the best looking car. I have no idea what “Safest Driver” means. They didn’t have “Safest Driver” when I was growing up!
Winners will be awarded trophies…and beer! They definitely weren’t awarding beer when I was growing up!
This sounds like a lot of fun to either participate in (if you have handy skills) or to simply watch (if you are like me, and should not be trusted with an electric saw.) Register now!
Follow Up From Last Month #1: Game Don’t Change
Last month, I wrote about Amory’s Tomb’s new IPA, Game Don’t Change. In case you don’t recall, AT describes Game Don’t Change as “made with barley and wheat from Blue Ox Malthouse and Aurora Mills & Farm organic oats alongside Simcoe® and Whakatū Kōura thiol enriched hops from New Zealand’s Pikimai Hops.”
Wow! I recognize at least some of those words! Allen says it has “Bright notes of floral citrus, lime zest and melon rind backed by resinous and earthy pine.” Sounds good to me!
Game Don’t Change is now available on draught at the Beer Garden and, shockingly, is also available in cans to-go.
Follow-Up From Last Month #2: What’s the Deal With The Roman Numerals?
In the previous newsletter, I went into a long discourse on Amory’s Tomb’s Roman Numeral numbering system for its saisons, with Saison XVII: Petit Klassique being the most recent entry. I wondered how different saisons received their numerals, and speculated on the reasons why certain Roman Numerals had been released while others have not.
Well, I got to the bottom of what is going on. It turns out they just pick whatever number they think looks good when they brew a new beer!
There’s no system. There’s no secret book of recipes with only some released. There is no tie to obscure pagan numerical tradition or anything. There is no method at all to Allen and Rick’s numbering system, and any attempt to derive meaning from their numbers is futile.
That bleak, unsatisfying answer causes me to want to drink even more Petit Klassique. Wait. Maybe that’s just what they want me to think! Maybe Allen and Rick gave me a depressing, existential answer to a) make me want to drink more beer and b) throw me off the scent of whatever secret they are hiding with these Roman Numeral beers!
I am sure that is it! Maybe this thing is bigger than Allen and Rick! Maybe there’s a whole secret society of people who use Roman Numerals to secretly signal their nefarious plots to their co-conspirators! Who else uses Roman Numerals when they clearly don’t need to? The National Football League! Aha! There’s layers to this, people! [Note - the rest of this paragraph has been redacted by the editors.]
Taco + DJ Dance Party Fridays are Coming in May
If you’ve been to the Beer Garden in recent weeks you already know that Perico’s Tacos are back on Fridays (and most Saturdays too) serving up their amazing tacos!
The latest news is that DJ Party Fridays will also be coming back some time in May. Allen and Rick still need to work out the exact details, but the Metrowest’s only open air dance party will be resuming in the next month! Watch AT’s social media for details.
And that wraps up this month’s newsletter. I still can’t get much of a taproom update out of Allen. I do have one comment, though. If you are one of the (no doubt many) tech billionaires who read this newsletter and are looking for a new business to “disrupt”, may I suggest sprinkler system repair? Surely there’s a better way!
See you at the Beer Garden! I will be cheering for the blue car!