Tap Handle #541: Fairhope - I Drink Therefore I Amber Ale
Rarity: Scarce
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut
Fairhope's pelican mascot that appears on their tap handle was named "Hugh" by some brewery customers and "Chester" by others. The colors and details on this tap are beautiful; the pelican is sitting on a post made to look like wood. The brewery's name is sculpted in raised letters at the top of the sign, while the beer variety appears as a decal under the brewery's name. At the bottom is a metal band with rivets in it. The tap is very rare, in part due to its fragility; I believe I have only seen maybe a half dozen that weren't damaged, and for those taps the price was quite expensive.
Click through to read more about Fairhope Brewing, their I Drink Therefore I Amber Ale, and to see more photos of this majestic tap...
Fairhope Brewing Company was founded in Fairhope, Alabama in 2012 by Brian and Michele Kane, Gabe Harris, Jim Foley, and Dan Murphy. Brian and Michele Kane were graduates of Alabama's and LSU's law schools, respectively. While working in Juneau, Alaska the Kanes became enamored with the area's beer culture, particularly the Alaskan Brewing Company brewpub, and the fact that the state didn't restrict the manufacture and sale of alcohol like Alabama did. The Kanes returned to Alabama, and when the state's laws became more reasonable, they decided that they should start a brewery. After doing some research and composing a business plan, they put out feelers for a brewer. At the same time, Murphy was a layout editor and beer columnist for the local newspaper in Mobile, and as an experienced home brewer, he had been working for years to cultivate a better beer culture in the area. Just as Murphy was about to be laid off from his job, he responded to the Kanes' inquiries. After trying Murphy's home brew, the Kanes were sold. They brought two more owners on board - Harris, president of Free The Hops, and Foley, Brian's law school roommate.
Shortly before the company began brewing, Murphy visited Yellowhammer Brewing and Straight to Ale in Huntsville to learn how to make beer on a commercial scale. Fairhope's first batch of beer was brewed near the end of 2012, and soon after the brewery opened its doors to the public, featuring two
beers: Everyday Ale and Section Street Wheat. There was a line out the door at its soft opening, during which the brewery sold 700-900 beers that night. The tap room sits 60 comfortably, and features longleaf-pine tables made by a Fairhope carpenter and stools crafted by a local welder. The focus on local products extends to the beer itself - a small batch of honey wheat beer that Murphy brewed featured honey harvested from a nearby farm.
In 2014 the brewery began a multi-million dollar expansion, which involved installing new equipment in a larger, adjacent building, and was projected to increase output by about 600%. The expansion also included a bottling line capable of producing 500 cases of beer per day. Finally, label art was developed for the bottles featuring the brewery's pelican mascot, which also appears on its taps. Later that year Fairhope collaborated with Druid City Brewing to make Son of a Peacherman, a dark saison brewed with local peaches. Druid City's brewer was an old college friend of Murphy's.
Currently the brewery has 5 year-round offering, a series of "occasional" beers distributed in many bars and restaurants throughout Baldwin and Mobile Counties, as well as in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Montgomery, Auburn, and Pensacola.
I Drink Therefore I Amber is a malt-forward American Amber Ale that is approachable to the novice craft beer drinker, but complex enough for the beer snob.
Ratebeer weighted average: 3.35 out of 5
Beer Advocate: No Score
Fairhope Brewing Company
914 Nichols Ave
Fairhope, Alabama 36532
Source Material
Fairhope Brewing website
Love the Pelican! Also enjoy that the tap handle can be viewed from the front and back and the pelican head is positioned so it looks basically the same. Thanks for sharing!
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