Tap Handle #683: Newcastle - Vikings Amber Ale

February 20, 2018

Tap Handle #683: Newcastle - Vikings Amber Ale

Tap size: 11.5"
Rarity: beer and tap both no longer produced
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

Newcastle had this tap made to commemorate the third season of the acclaimed series Vikings on the History Channel. It began circulating in late 2014 and by mid 2015 it was no longer being produced. Featuring a ship's prow carved in the shape of a wooden dragon, it also contains shields (including one with the History Channel logo) and a pile of spears. A large sign at the bottom in the shape of a "V" bears the Vikings television show logo, while at the top another sign has the name of the brewery and beer, as well as the same Vikings logo found at the bottom. The front and back of the tap are identical to each other, so I have reduced the number of photos taken. Although they only occasionally appear on the secondary market, they generally sell for a reasonable price.

The History Channel's Vikings features the adventures of a Ragnar Lothbrok: the greatest hero of his age. The series tells the saga of Ragnar's band of Viking brothers and his family as he rises to become King of the Viking tribes. As well as being a fearless warrior, Ragnar embodies the Norse traditions of devotion to the gods: legend has it that he was a direct descendant of Odin, the god of war and warriors. Vikings is currently in its fifth season.

For more about Newcastle, see this post.

Click through to read more about Newcastle's Viking Amber Ale and to see more photos of this epic tap...

Vikings Amber Ale was an amber beer that owed its color to a full blend of roasted malts providing full bodied flavor, curbed by a slight, pleasant bitterness from aromatic German Hallertau Magnum hops. The beer was the second in Newcastle’s Collaboration Series, which had the English brewer partnering with other great European breweries to deliver unique beers for Americans to enjoy. Newcastle Vikings Amber Ale came from Brand Brewery, the oldest brewery in the Netherlands, founded in 1340. The brewery is in the southern-most part of the country, a region where actual Vikings are said to have roamed between 800 and 900 A.D. Vikings Amber Ale was available in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania before it was retired in mid-2015.