Tap Handle # 715: Lake Monster

February 24, 2019

Tap Handle # 715: Lake Monster - Murmur Milk Stout

Tap size: 11"
Rarity: less than 10 seen, fragile
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

This Lake Monster profile is well overdue, as I had misplaced my original that I picked up a few years ago and have not been able to locate it. Fortunately I was able to pick up another copy and give the tap (and the brewery) its due. At the top of the tap is a large square signage area with the name of the brewery on both sides. The artwork bearing the brewery's name has to be some of the coolest art ever put on a tap. I'm not sure what the shaft of the tap is supposed to be...perhaps a wooden pier? An oval sign on each side allows a label to be placed for the beer variety. But perhaps the most striking feature is the tentacle that wraps around the shaft of the tap. All the little suckers on the tentacle are a great piece of detailing. All the edges of signs and tentacles on the tap protrude out enough to make damage a possibility, usually in the form of chips. The tap has come up on the secondary market occasionally, and although the earlier ones were affordable, a well-used tap now commands a price of around $100 (or even more for a pristine copy).

Click through to read more about Lake Monster Brewing, their Murmur Milk Stout, and to see more photos of this monstrous tap...

Lake Monster Brewing was founded in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2013 by Matt Zanetti, his brother-in-law Jeremy Maynor, and Matt Lange. Zanetti, whose father was a former vineyard manager, was in real estate while Maynor had a MBA in marketing, and both had a passion for craft beer, with Zanetti going so far as to put in 90 hop plants with his father's help. Lange got started homebrewing with his college roommates, entered some contests, won a few, and then started spending money and time on it. Although he had an English literature degree, brewing seemed more feasible than writing. He became an assistant brewer at Ale Asylum in Madison, Wisconsin, but later left to start his own distillery, which didn't work as well as he had hoped. It was during this time (in 2011) when a new law was passed in Minnesota that allowed small craft breweries to sell pints on site. Zanetti and Maynor were looking to capitalize on the new law when a mutual friend introduced them to Lange. The three clicked and moved forward with plans to open a brewery. They had worked up a list of 80-90 names when a local area artist and illustrator that was a friend of Maynor's came up with the Lake Monster name and artwork.

Lake Monster debuted in 2013. They contracted with Sand Creek Brewing in Black River Falls, Wisconsin to brew and bottle Empty Rowboat IPA and Calhoun Claw Pilsner, which was distributed to about 50 liquor stores and 25 to 30 bars and restaurants in the Twin Cities area. Zanetti had used his real estate connections to become the first tenant in a large renovation of a 100-year-old railroad exchange warehouse that was most recently a former King Koil Mattress Factory. Unfortunately it took well over a year of repairs before the brewery could set up. The building was completely overhauled with all new amenities, wiring, plumbing, and parking. The brewery inhabits 10,000 square feet, with 3000 of that devoted to a tap room that seats 150 people, with another 1000 square feet of patio space. The tap room features high ceilings, a large rectangular bar made of light colored wood, and a small space furnished with some toys and books for entertaining kids. The rest of the square footage is devoted to the 15 barrel brew system, which allowed the brewery to expand production from 1,200 barrels a year to 3,500, with lots of room for growth.

Lake Monster had six beers for their opening: a Munich-style dunkel made with wild rice, an oatmeal milk stout, a session IPA, a sour brown, and Calhoun Claw and Empty Rowboat. The have since settled on 5 year-round beers with several seasonals. Their beers are typically true to style with an experimental slant, and they've used some of the hops from Zanetti 's family farm that were planted before the brewery was even conceived. Their packaged products were contract brewed until 2016, when Lake Monster added their own canning line to their St. Paul facility.

Lake Monster's Murmur is an oatmeal milk stout made with the addition of lactose to add a full body and mouthfeel. It is a dark, roasty ale with notes of chocolate and coffee.