Tap Handle #661: Tabernash

September 30, 2017

Tap Handle #661: Tabernash - Weiss

Tap size: 8.5"
Rarity: hand made, brewery closed, less than 10 seen
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

Here's a tap that appears to be in very rough shape with lots of scratches and scuffs. It's mainly in the highly reflective finish, however - the tap itself is in good condition. It features a black hand holding a glass of beer with the Tabernash logo at the top and the beer variety on the side of the glass, both of which are raised from the glass surface. There is white foam at the top of the glass. Due to the brewery being gone for years, these taps are often very beat up. It's interesting how much this tap resembles Left Hand Brewing's tap, as Left Hand ended up merging with Tabernash. This tap doesn't show up on the secondary market very often, and when it does it goes for much more than you'd think despite the simplicity of the design. In this case, it's simply a matter of scarcity and the reputation of the former brewery driving the price up.

Click through to read more about Tabernash Brewing, their Weiss beer, and to see more photos of this high-reaching tap...

Tabernash Brewing Company was founded in 1993. It's not clear whether their original location was in Denver, Colorado, or Tabernash, a small town west of Denver named after a Ute warrior in the 1870s who had looted Anglo settlements until killed by cowboy "Big Frank" Addison in 1878. A group of 4 men founded Tabernash Brewing, with Mark Lupa as CEO and CFO, and Eric Warner as co-founder and head brewer. Warner had trained in the art and science of brewing at Germany’s oldest brewing school, the Weihenstephan Technical University, and also helped run the Great American Beer Festival and authored several books on brewing. Because of Warner's German training, Tabernash featured a distinct line of Bavarian style beers that won several medals at the Great American Beer Festival and the World Beer Cup. That lineup of beers consisted of three different Weiss beers and several seasonal brews including Oktoberfest and Maibock, and they were producing 8000 barrels per year.

In 1996 their gold medal winning Weiss beer was named "domestic beer of the year" by Malt Advocate magazine. It seemed as if big things were in store for Tabernash. But things began to fall apart quickly. Tabernash was forced to move and ended up sharing a space with Left Hand Brewing in Longmont. The 4 founders could not work out their differences, and in 1998 Tabernash merged with Left Hand, who discontinued the Tabernash line after tweaking the recipes and renaming them to Left Hand varieties. The Tabernash name faded into the history books. Warner moved on to become CEO of Flying Dog, and after that he helped found Karbach Brewing Company.

Tabernash Weiss was brewed in the style of Bavaria's fine wheat beers. A unique top-fermenting Bavarian yeast delivered a refreshing spicy and fruity character with prominent clove, banana and nutmeg accents. Their Weiss was cask-conditioned and traditionally served unfiltered, with yeast still in suspension, lending it a characteristic cloudy, golden appearance. It won a gold medal at the 1994 Great American Beer Festival, and as noted above was named "domestic beer of the year" by Malt Advocate magazine. When Tabernash merged with Left Hand, the beer was tweaked slightly and renamed Left Hand Haystack Wheat, which has since been discontinued.