Tap Handle #333: The Great Beer Company

November 01, 2013

Tap Handle #333: The Great Beer Company - Hollywood Brunette

Tap size: 11.75"
Rarity: Very Rare
Mounting: standard 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

Every so often I get a tap that becomes an instant favorite. This tap is one of them. It's a stunner that drew rave reviews from my friends when I showed it to them. It features a woman dressed for the Hollywood Red Carpet; she's wearing a swanky dress, along with pearls and gloves, with her hands clasped behind her back. The brewery name and beer variety appears just below her, using a classic serial movie design. Below that is the brewery insignia, with a larger version appearing on the backside. There are similar variations of the tap featuring a blonde and a redhead, with different hair and dress colors and a different name. The tap is very rare; only a few have shown up on the secondary market, and the price was quite expensive.

Click through to read more about The Great Beer Company, their Hollywood Blonde (I can't find any info on a Brunette variety), and to see more photos of this fashionable tap...

The Great Beer Company was founded in 2002 in Chatsworth, California by Jim Rich Jr., Steve Casselman, and Abbie Rich. Rich Jr. was a TV producer who came from a family of brewers. For their first beer, Hollywood Blonde, he turned to a UCLA medical scientist to become brewmaster and develop Hollywood Blonde, a Kolsch-style beer, that was contract brewed through the Coast Range brewery. However, it is now contract brewed by Skyscraper Brewing Company. Brunette and Red varieties have been under development, but it's not clear what the status of them is, as only the Blonde is listed on their website, so I'll profile the Blonde.

Hollywood Blonde is a Kolsch style beer that combines the rich full flavor of an ale with the delicate softness of a fine lager. The brewing process gives this shimmering golden beer a subtle but distinctive hop finish to complement its rich smooth maltiness. Recommended food pairings are lighter fare such as seafood and salads. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 2.72 out of 5.