Tap Handle #581: Cape Ann Brewing - Fisherman's Navigator

March 14, 2016

Tap Handle #581: Cape Ann Brewing - Fisherman's Navigator

Tap size: 10"
Rarity: Rare
Mounting: standard 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

This Fisherman's tap made by Cape Ann Brewing is notable for its 3-D effect, as the fisherman figure leans out over the front of tap. He holds a ship's wheel and two harpoons are placed on each side of him. The beer variety is actually a magnet, and there is a piece of metal attached to the tap that allows it to be changed to another beer variety if desired. The word "Fisherman's" appears at the top, and "Glouchester MA" runs down the front - both are in raised letters. The back is fairly plain, except for the screw head that attaches the fisherman figure to the rest of the tap. These taps appear in a variety of colors and can be found regularly on the secondary market for a reasonable price.

Click through to read more about Cape Ann and their Fisherman's Navigator, and to see more photos of this resilient tap...

Cape Ann Brewing Company was founded in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 2002 by Jeremy Goldberg. Goldberg had been working as a bond broker on Wall Street, but after witnessing the tragic events of 9/11, he began to rethink where his life was headed. He quit his job and moved to Miami, where he and some friends decided to make a documentary about craft beer in the United States. The film, American Beer, chronicled the adventures and the many beers experienced by the team as they made their way from Maine to California, visiting 38 breweries in 40 days. After the adventure, which included interviewing American brewing entrepreneurs and experiencing some of the world’s best beers, Goldberg wanted to start a brewery. With help from his brother-in-law Michael Beaton, who owned a warehouse in Gloucester where the brewery would eventually be located, and father Michael Goldberg, plans for Cape Ann Brewing were started six months after the trip. Gloucester is home to America’s oldest seaport, so their beer lineup paid homage to the town’s fishing heritage. In 2004 Cape Ann Brewing released their flagship beer, Fisherman’s Brew, an American Amber Lager.

They started off bottling their own beer, but they had to contract brew some of it due to demand. It soon became evident that the packaged beer coming out of their contracting partners wasn't the same as the draft beer they were producing. Feeling their brand was suffering, in 2014 they purchased and installed a new canning facility in a building near the brewery, and eliminated the contract packaging.

They have three year-round beers as well as seasonal offerings, with a portion of sales donated to the Northeast Seafood Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to working with government regulation and environmental concerns to preserve the long-term health of the fishery resources, fishing communities and the fishing industry. Distribution of Cape Ann's beers includes Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire. They offer guided tours at the brewery upon request.

A winter seasonal, Fisherman’s Navigator is a German-style doppel-bock of exceptional quality, flavors and body. With a toasty biscuit-like malt backbone, it’s unlike any beer you’ve had while managing to remain strictly within a centuries old style.