Tap Handle #639: Big Rock - Buzzard Breath Ale

January 08, 2017

Tap Handle #639: Big Rock - Buzzard Breath Ale

Tap size: 10"
Rarity: less than 10 seen, beer retired, hand-made
Mounting: 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

Here's a tap that I previewed in my recent anniversary post, and it is one of my favorite taps. It features a buzzard dressed as a cowboy, ready to draw the frosty cold bottles of Buzzard Breath Ale in his holster. The familiar Big Rock logo appears above the buzzard, and the carved "stone" base is also a common feature of Big Rock taps. The Buzzard Breath Ale logo is painted to resemble a sign nailed to the rocks. Another sign appears on the back, bearing only the word "Buzzard". The buzzard itself is somewhat of a bas relief style, as it cannot be see from the back. The colors are bright and beautiful on this tap, and the whimsical theme makes it outstanding, and to me, highly desirable. I have never seen this tap on the secondary market, only a lucite version with a copy of the label inside it.

For more about Big Rock Brewing, see this post.

Click through to read more about Big Rock's Buzzard Breath Ale and to see more photos of this standoffish tap...

Buzzard Breath Ale was an amber ale contracted brewed by Big Rock for Bottlescrew Bill's Old English Pub and its adjoining restaurant, Buzzard's Cowboy Cuisine, in as their house beer, around 200-2005. It was a blend of some of Big Rock's existing beers at the time. Between 2005 and 2006, Wild Rose Brewing took over production, and still produces it today, so the Big Rock version is long out of production.