Tap Handle #132: Dogfish Head

April 01, 2012

Tap Handle #132: Dogfish Head - Steampunk

Tap size: 12"
Rarity: Rare
Mounting: standard 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

When I first started this blog back in 2011, this tap handle was #1 on my wishlist. Acquiring it at a great price was one of my high moments of collecting. It is an absolutely beautiful tap with a steampunk design (which I love), and is based on a treehouse built in the backyard of the brewery. It is one of the Uber taps - every two years, the brewery releases one of these "Uber" taps as a celebration of beer and art, and distribution is very limited. This tap is the Uber tap from 2010. The front and back are reverse images of each other. One word of caution, however - the gears are very fragile, and if you find one, look the photos over carefully to make sure they aren't broken. Although they are fairly easy to find, demand keeps prices high, even for damaged taps...damaged or undamaged, it is one of the most expensive taps a person can acquire.

Click through to read more about the Dogfish Head Brewery, their signature 60 Minute IPA, and to see more photos of this highly sought-after tap...

Dogfish Head was founded in Rohoboth Beach, Delaware in 1995 by Sam Calagione. The name comes from the town of Dogfish Head, Maine, where Calagione would spend summers as a child. After the first two years they found that they could not keep up with demand and moved to a bigger brewhouse called Dogfish Head Brewings and Eats. It was the first brewpub in Delaware and the smallest commercial brewery in America at the time. Still they could not keep up with demand, so in 2002 they moved the beer production to Milton, Delaware, into an old cannery, although there is still a distillery at the Rohoboth Beach brewhouse. Dogfish Head has brewed over 100 varieties of beer, experimenting with all kinds of strange ingredients. They currently sell twenty varieties in 25 states, and offer many more in the brewpub.

Their signature product is their IPA, but perhaps their most intriguing offerings are called Ancient Ales...these beers a brewed from ancient recipes found from various archaeological sites around the world. These amazing re-creations include Midas Touch Golden Elixir, a strong ale based on residue found on drinking vessels from the tomb of King Midas, dating back to the 8th century BC and containing ingredients including Muscat grapes, honey, and saffron. There's also Chateau Jiahu, a spiced strong ale based on residue from pottery found in the Neolithic village of Jiahu (in central China), dating to the 7th millennium BC, with ingredients such as rice flakes, wildflower honey, hawthorn fruit, and Chrysanthemum flowers (this is the oldest known beer recipe to be brewed in the modern age).

Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA is a powerful East Coast IPA with hints of citrus, cedar, pine, and candied-orange flavors. Food pairing recommendations are spicy foods, pesto, grilled salmon, soy-based dishes, and pizza.