Tap Handle #736: Furnace Room - Beardmore Kolsch

Tap size:  10.75"
Rarity:  less than 10 seen
Mounting:  custom flared 3/8' ferrule

This is the second of four taps I'm profiling from Furnace Room Brewery. This one features a large blue-faced head, with the most striking aspect being the long blonde beard. The head, which represents a man named George Beardmore, sits on top of a black base, which itself represents the Beardmore water tower in Georgetown, Ontario. As on the previous tap profiled Chicken Man, the Beardmore tap  has a decal on the base bearing the beer name, while the brewery's name appears at the bottom on a label, and the colors appear to be an artistic choice. This one is just slightly more more rare than the Chicken Man, as I have never seen a Beardmore tap on the secondary market, but as I have stated previously, Furnace Room's production brewery has only been open for a year, so it's possible some of these could pop up in the future.

Beardmore Tannery circa 1918

George Beardmore was born in Islington, London, England, on February 16, 1818. At the age of 14 he sailed from Bristol to Canada. He returned to England briefly in 1838, heading back to Canada in 1839 with his younger brother, Joseph, in tow. In 1840 the two brothers built the first stone tannery building in Canada, in Hamilton. The Beardmores worked hard and expanded and created a successful leather business. On the night of July 11, 1840, disaster struck when the tannery was destroyed by fire. Joseph Beardmore's health failed and he returned to England in 1846. He died 6 years later at the age of 33. George was able to re-established himself in Toronto, where he engaged in business as a leather merchant and at the same time continued to supply the trade in Hamilton. He then bought a small tannery at Grand River which was later destroyed by fire. Next, he bought a tannery in Guelph. In 1865 he closed shop in Guelph and headed to Acton, where he purchased the Sessions, Toby and Co. tannery in 1865. His four sons joined him into the business. In 1872 a fire destroyed most of the buildings but the Beardmores were able to rebuild. By 1899, after briefly moving to Muskoka and then returning to Acton, the Beardmore tanneries had a million square feet of floor space, the largest tanning operation in the British Empire. The iconic Beardmore and Co. water tower stood high above the many buildings that covered the 160-acre site.

The Beardmore Tannery was closed in 1986 and most of the buildings were taken down by the Mennonites in 1998. This picture of the Beardmore Tannery water tower (see left) was taken around 1995. The Old Hide House is located in one of Beardmore's warehouses. In 1974 Acton was amalgamated with the Town of Georgetown and incorporated as the Town of Halton Hills.

Beardmore information courtesy of Hidden Ontario: Secrets from Ontario’s Past by Terry Boyle; Halton Images; and www.eureka4you.com.

For more about Furnace Room Brewery, see this post.

Click through to read more about Furnace Room Brewery's Beardmore Kolsch and to see more photos of this iconic tap...

Furnace Room brewery's Beardmore is a Kolsch style ale that is a clean, crisp, delicately-balanced beer with subtle hints of fruity notes and pleasantly refreshing finish.

Ratebeer:  no rating

Beer Advocate:  no rating