WEEKLY ROUNDUP March 18, 2026
Hello! My name is Bob, and I just had oral surgery a couple of days ago! You better believe I could use a draught or four of Double Oak Classic! To distract myself from how my mouth is feeling, I am writing this week’s Amory’s Tomb Newsletter.
Phew! The past week was super-busy with Mass Beer Week events and then the awesome Full Irish Breakfast. Things will be a little more sedate in the Taproom this week, although I would draw your attention to the “unsanctioned” (?) Wurst Nacht on Thursday, March 19th and first return of the new year for Ben’s Raclette during the day on Saturday, March 21st. You can find more details on the AT website calendar or by clicking the hot-links below.
For those craving more of the excitement of the past week, the next big Amory’s Tomb-related event will be occurring in Boston towards the end of March. Here’s more:
FEATURED EVENT
NERAX is Returning to South Boston March 25-28, and Amory’s Tomb is a Sponsor!
NERAX stands for the New England Real Ale Exhibition, which bills itself as the longest running Cask Festival in the United States. It’s been around since 1997, and (according to Allen) is the Gold Standard cask ale event in the US!
The festival runs from Wednesday, March 25 through Saturday, March 28th at the South Boston Lithuanian Club, 368 W Broadway in Boston. There’s one session each evening on Wednesday through Friday, and then two sessions on Saturday.
We’re featuring NERAX in this week’s newsletter because Amory’s Tomb is the glassware sponsor. Their logo will be on the Imperial Pint glasses used during the festival and available for purchase at the event.
Of course, Amory’s Tomb will also have two collaboration beers available at some point during the festival. The first of these will be a collab with Clover Road Brewing. It’s a Black Country style bitter inspired by a beer Allen “fell in love with” (his actual words!) during his trip to the UK last year, Batham’s Bitter. It’s a blond colored, malt forward bitter that uses softer water to bring forward the esters in the beer.
The second collab brew is a smoked golden English ale brewed with Time and Materials Beer Company. It’s brewed with lightly smoked pilsner and maple-smoked pilsner malt, caramel malt and Quebec Riel hops. This one sounds super-interesting to me.
In addition to sponsoring the glassware and brewing two special collaborations, Allen is on the Cellar Team for this event. There’s a ton of work that falls to the Cellar Team in order to set the whole expo up, but once the setup is complete the real work of the Cellar Team begins. That’s because every day the Cellar Team does testing and QC on the each beer to make sure it is at its peak before it’s put on tap.
Oh, did I mention there are roughly 115 different beers? Yes, 115. (Though I will note that “only” 35 - 50 will be available at any one session.) How the cellar team tastes 115 different beers and is still able to distinguish anything is beyond me. I think by about beer 15 my palate would be wrecked and I would be tapping out. Or falling over. Forget the brewers themselves, the Cellar Team sounds like the real heroes of NERAX!
I will freely admit to being a skeptic when it comes to English-style cask beer. Frankly, most of the cask beers I had in London tasted bad or tasted like nothing at all. The fact that they were warm and flat was the least of their problems. Now, I know I mostly went to pubs owned by a well-known chain (we won’t slander them here, but if you’ve been to London you know who I am referring to) and drank their pretty mainstream options. I am sure I was not sampling the best beer, or beer that was cared for in the ideal manner.
NERAX, on the other hand, sounds fantastic! The two Amory’s Tomb collabs alone make it worth your time, but it sounds like there is so much more. As Allen says, this is a traditionalist beer festival with great examples of properly cellared US and UK cask beers. If you are like me, and you think virtually all cask beer is overrated, this might be the festival to change your mind!
You can find much more information on NERAX at their website:
DRAUGHT UPDATE
Have You Had a Broken Latch Lukr Pour Yet?
In case you haven’t noticed, the AT Taproom has a Lukr tap! What’s a Lukr tap, you ask? It’s a Czech-made tap that allows the beer to be poured with an extra thick, creamy head. The faucet is actually set in such a way that one can regulate the amount of foam in the glass - all the way to a glass filled entirely with foam!
“What’s the big deal?”, I hear you asking, “if I want more foam can’t I just shake my glass a bit?” No, it’s not the same thing! The Lukr tap’s foam is so rich and dense that it actually changes the way a beer tastes.
The first beer that comes to mind for a Lukr tap is, of course, a Czech pilsner. But Amory’s Tomb doesn’t have one of those at the moment (Hint, hint, Allen and Rick! Make more Man Bun!) So they’ve put Broken Latch, their rustic amber lager on the Lukr.
And you know what? It tastes great! Broken Latch was already a terrific beer. There’s a reason it is AT’s go-to fall lager. But the Lukr somehow smooths the beer out even more, changing its flavor in subtle ways.
It’s tough to describe, so the best I can do is simply encourage you to try one for yourself next time you are in the Taproom. If you like regular Broken Latch, I think you’ll really like this one. Plus, Broken Latch comes in the dimple mug, which I think is the coolest looking taproom glass!
COMING ATTRACTIONS
Here’s what’s coming soon for Amory’s Tomb
March 19 Wurst Nacht
March 20 Wheat & Water Crafted Doughz
March 21 Ben’s Raclette
March 25-28 NERAX 2026 Festival in Boston
See you at the Tomb! I’ll be the one holding a cold can of Rolling Through Outer Space against my jaw!
