Tap Handle #161: Panther Brewing - Three Stooges Beer

This is the crown jewel of my collection. It's the most costly and rare tap that I own. The detail in the sculpted faces is excellent, and this is a large, heavy tap, probably about 14" in length.

Panther Brewing was founded in 1998 in Westwood, Mass. by Dewey Parsons and Mike Herbert. Parsons, who served as company president, owned a food distribution firm in Foxboro, Mass., for 15 years and operated several liquor stores throughout the Boston area. Lifelong Stooges fans, Parsons and Herbert struck a deal with the company that handled all licensing related to the comedy trio. The beer however, was never brewed in Westwood, and instead was contract brewed at the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre, PA. Later, they switched to a different contract brewer FX Matt in Utica, NY (brewers of Saranac). Ultimately Panther Brewing ceased operations sometime between 2002-2003, mostly due to poor reviews. People bought it for the novelty of the Stooges, and did not repeat purchase.

Three Stooges beer was a pale lager that reviewers described as skunky, tasting of carbonated corn and dirty dishwater. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 1.95 out of 5.

Since Panther Brewing is defunct, there is no web page link.