Staff writer
With competition due to Rolf’s Pub and the Claddagh located nearby campus, the Augie’s Advisory Committee is looking for ways to attract students to Augie’s Pub and get them to socialize safely on campus. In years past Augies menu consisted of strictly beer and wine. The committee has worked hard to expand the menu, with a recent addition of food and more drink choices. Adding food to the menu at Augies will give it more of a sit down restaurant type of feeling. This might be just what they need to win over the crowd.
Recently, a pub menu was created that guests can pay for with cash, credit, or their mack bucks. Due to the high velocity during sports games, Augies staff makes it possible so that pub goers don’t need to miss a second of a game. Their staff will timely deliver the food right to your table in Augies, you don’t even have to move. The menu consists of everyone’s favorite game time snacks such as burgers, chicken fingers, wings, appetizers, salads, and an assortment of candies. This menu is offered Thursdays 8pm-10pm, Friday and Saturday 8pm-12am. The prices are very reasonable and these options should help bring in a hungry crowd.
“New improvements such as drink varieties are also on the rise” said Ryan Lamore, manager of operating for Augies Pub. For Halloween weekend Augies offered a drink called the “Headless Horseman” which was made up of two beers, half Blue Moon Pumpkin and half Guinness.
Lamore researches the best beers that are available on tap, “We also recently conducted an Autumn Beer Tasting,” said Lamore. With the difficult timing of winter break, the Autumn Beer Tasting will also replace the occasional winter tasting. A Spring tasting will be conducted once it is the necessary time.
The vendors he uses are Merrimack Valley Distributing Co., August A. Busch Co., and Seaboard Distributors. Lamore says that the way the tasting is done is by picking up 10 different selections. Recently, he did 5 Pumpkin Beers and 5 Oktoberfest Beers. “I pour a two ounce sample of each beer, but I don’t let them know what they are, so they can only go by sight, smell, taste. They rate each beer and then at the end they vote for which one they thought was the best, and that is what we serve on tap as the seasonal selection”.
The 10 tasted beers that they had to choose from were: Wolaver’s Pumpkin Ale, Wachusett Pumpkin Ale, Post Road Pumpkin Ale, Jack-O-Traveler Pumpkin Shandy, Woodchuck Hard Cider Private Reserve Pumpkin, Ayinger Oktober Fest-Marzen, Brooklyn Oktoberfest, Sam Adams Octoberfest, Wachusett Octoberfest Ale, and Mayflower Autumn Wheat Ale. The top 3 choices that were picked out of these options were #1 Jack-O-Traveler Pumpkin Shandy, which is currently being served at Augies. The #2 pick was Wolaver’s Pumpkin Ale, and #3 was Woodchuck Hard Cider Private Reserve Pumpkin.
If you’re looking for something to get excited about, there are potential possibilities of future Mojito Mocktails or Margaritas made with wine. However, Lamore says these plans have not yet been finalized. Augies certainly has some exciting upcoming events and additions in store.