Tap Handle #676: Great Northern Brewing - Minott's Black Star Golden Lager

December 30, 2017

Tap Handle #676: Great Northern Brewing - Minott's Black Star Golden Lager

Tap size: 13.25" tall, 5.25" deep
Rarity: beer no longer produced, tap no longer produced, fragile
Mounting: custom 3/8" large ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

Old style on left, new style on right

This Black Star tap is one incredible piece of artwork. At a massive 13.25" tall, it resembles a bronze sculpting of a cowboy riding a bucking bronco, holding his cowboy hat in one hand and grasping the reins with the other. With a depth of 5.25", at may cause mounting problems for some people. The three sided base is also impressive, with the brewery's name sculpted in raised letters around the outside of each circle and a round label inside. Very few of these started appearing on the secondary market around 2006-07, after the first run of the beer ended. In 2012 they began popping up again as the second run of the beer was coming to an end. The newer taps are slightly different; when viewed from the side with the horse's head to the left, the labels cannot fully be seen, while newer taps allow the label to be seen in full from this same angle (see photo above right). Occasionally an older tap still pops up for sale; mine is the older version, and was purchased in 2014. There was a black label used for their Black Star Black Lager and a red label was used for their Black Star Export. Additionally, a third tap was produced with a longer base and a smaller rider on top of the tap; these are also from the beer's second run period (see photo to right). With lots of small edges all over the tap, they were extremely prone to paint loss and damage across all models, with the most common being broken ears and tail on the horse, broken cowboy hat, or cracks from stress. In fact, I would have profiled this tap long ago, but I had asked Kelly to restore and repaint three broken pieces before I was ready to photograph it. Mine does show some wear on the labels and around the base and lettering, but overall it's nevertheless quite an impressive tap. The newer versions still appear on the secondary market with great frequency, but they are often well over $100 even when damaged.

3rd tap style produced

Click through to read more about Great Northern Brewing Company, their Minott's Black Star Golden Lager, and to see more photos of this art-gallery-worthy tap...

Great Northern Brewing Company was founded in Whitefish, Montana in 1994 by Minott Wessinger. The great-great grandson of brewing pioneer Henry Weinhard, Wessinger had dreamed of creating his own traditional European pilsner like his great-great grandfather had once made, and Wessinger started construction on a brewery in 1994 in order to realize that dream. The city of Whitefish was chosen due to its rugged beauty, pristine water source, and its resort town atmosphere, as it is close to Whitefish Lake, and features skiing on nearby Big Mountain and hiking in Glacier Park. By 1995, Minott had completed one of the most state-of-the-art breweries, for its size, in the entire country. Designed by world-renowned architect Joe Escherick, the brewery boasts the title of being the tallest building in Whitefish, three stories high and utilizing a "gravity flow" system. The new brewery was 15,000 square feet, with a 20 barrel brew house and a capacity of 4,500 barrels per year. Black Star Golden Lager was the first beer to be brewed and sold.

After 7 years of brewing Black Star, Wessinger decided to stop brewing beer in order to pursue other projects. In 2002, the brewery was sold to Dennis Konopatzke, and Great Northern continued to produce their other beers, while Wessinger retained the rights and recipe for Black Star. In 2009, what used to be the brewery’s tasting room became the Black Star Draught House, which had a separate license from the actual brewery that allowed it to serve food, as well as wine and beer. Patrons could choose from a selection of Great Northern beers in the draught house, along with a wine list. There was also a sandwich menu with a soup of the day. With the separate license, the draught house was able to stay open later, and frequently hosted live music.

Black Star Golden Lager was unavailable for nearly eight years until Wessinger and Great Northern started production again in 2010. Wessinger, who was running a beverage marketing company called the McKenzie River Corporation, based out of San Francisco, felt that the time was right to reintroduce the beer. However, after only 3 years of production, Black Star Double Hopped Golden Lager was shelved in 2013. Black Star sought to cut into the traditional macro-adjunct-lager market by providing a beer with better flavor and quality, but retaining a similar price point. Twenty-four ounce cans, for example, retailed for approximately $1.99. Most of the production had taken place under contract in Wisconsin, with Great Northern producing Black Star for the draft market in Montana. According to the brewery, Wessinger decided once more to focus on other projects, and retained the rights to Black Star after production was ceased.

During the second run of Black Star, the brewery created the Black Star Beer Barter. First held in 2011, the event was so popular it was brought back for a second year in 2012. Held outside the brewery in February, contestants traveled in from as far as the South Pacific and Portland, Oregon to compete for their chance at a year’s supply of Black Star beer (52 cases). With over 1000 people attended, entries were as diverse as a 1970 Volkswagon dubbed “the ultimate party bus”; "The Black Star Barrel Barneys" who barrel jumped and back flipped over kegs of Black Star beer on skateboards; the "Working Women of Whitefish" who rode in on donkeys as “hot pieces of ass”; a glass eating/beer chugging phenomenon; and a fire dancer from the Cook Islands who swung two fiery batons around his head and shirtless body (despite the icy cold). The contest ended in a three-way tie between the “Ultimate Party Bus,” the fire dancer, and the pro skateboarders' beer stunts.

In 2014 the brewery expanded by adding three 100-barrel tanks, and in 2016 they installed a custom-made 100-barrel fermentation tank. Standing at 23 feet tall, the tank spans the height of the brewery’s ceiling, and the previously existing 40-barrel tank was removed. A hole was cut in the brewery’s roof so the tank could be ferried down to the brewery floor with the crane. Engineered by Portland, Oregon-based Pioneer Tank and Vessel, the new tank is used to brew their flagship beers, as well as open production for more seasonal options. The expansion boosted its annual production capacity to more than 8,000 barrels, allowing the brewery to keep up with increasing demand for their flagship beers, their Bushwhack Series, and their Weathervane Seasonals. Great Northern Brewing now distributes in five states throughout the West, and has developed partnerships with major retail grocery chains and Glacier Restaurant Group, operators of the MacKenzie River Pizza restaurants.

Minott's Black Star Golden Lager was a double hopped (dry hopped) unique American lager based on traditional European Pilsners, with a crisp refreshing body and lots of taste. Black Star was made with Bavarian Mittelfrüh and Czech Saaz hops and two row malt. Hops were added in the kettle and then again before finishing for aromatic quality.