Tap Handle #316: Kokanee Sasquatch Footprint

This is a tap that Kelly has owned for years, and he decided that it should become part of the collection. It features a six-toed footprint that ties in to Kokanee's use of Sasquatch in their marketing. Kokanee makes several different figural taps, from snowboards to wood signs. This is a very rare tap, I've only seen 1 or 2 others.

Kokanee is named after the Kokanee Glacier, and traces its origins to the Columbia Brewery. Located in Creston, British Columbia, the Columbia Brewery was once a part of the Fort Steele Brewery, which was opened in 1898 by brewmaster Albert Mutz. In 1901 the Fort Steele brewery relocated to Fernie where it later became known as the Fernie/Fort Steele brewery. This was one of four breweries operating in the Kootenay area at this time. The other active breweries were Cranbrook, Nelson, and Trail. In the late 1950s, these breweries were combined under one name, Interior Breweries, and were later combined yet again to a central location of Creston. Creston became the ideal location because of its excellent water source and was in the heart of the geographical market.

In 1959 Interior Breweries began producing their beer in the newly built brewery in Creston. It was at this time that the Kokanee brand was introduced and marketed to locals. In 1972, Interior Breweries became known as the Columbia Brewing Company and launched provincial distribution of its beer. In 1974, Columbia Brewing Company was purchased by the Labatt Brewing Company, with plans on expanding the Columbia market. The Columbia Brewing Company was renamed in 1993 to Columbia Brewery. Labatt was then bought by Interbrew (which later became AB-InBev). The Columbia Brewery brewed three varieties of Kokanee, as well as Wildcat and Alexander Keith's, and in 2012 Labatt announced that Budweiser would be brewed there after investing $1.4 million to increase capacity. Kokanee is also brewed at Labatt's Edmonton plant.

Since Labatt took over the brewery in 1974 with expansion in mind, Kokanee has become noted for its marketing, including the use of Sasquatch, the Kokanee Ranger (who pursued Sasquatch), and the Glacier Girls (who the Kokanee Ranger recruited to help capture Sasquatch). In an online promotion, fans voted on killing off the Kokanee Ranger, although his ghost appeared in subsequent ads. Another promotion was held for the Ranger's replacement, and fans chose Glacier and Fresh, a Starsky and Hutch type buddy duo, who beat out a foul-mouthed goat, a day trader, and Ma Ranger (the Kokanee Ranger's mother) among others. In 2013, a full length feature film was released by Kokanee titled "The Movie Out Here", and featured many of Kokanee's ad characters.

Kokanee is a pale lager that is smooth, clean and lightly hopped. It is brewed with mountain stream fed water and a blend of 3 malts and features a unique combination of superior Western-grown North American hops. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 2.11 out of 5.

Kokanee Offical Website