Tap Handle #743: Moddy Brew - Gorgon Conquest Red Ale

Tap size: 12"
Rarity:  limited to 100 made
Mounting:  internal 3/8" nut

The first tap profile of 2020 comes directly from Moddy Brew. This has to be one of the most beautiful and amazing taps I've ever seen. It features a red-haired girl slaying a Medusa, also known as a Gorgon. As a big mythology and history buff, I am totally mesmerized by this tap! The sculpting and colors are exquisite, and if you look closely there are all kinds of minor details, such as bugs on the rocks at the base, snakes moving up the shaft of the spear, and sculpted patterns in the armor of the girl and the Gorgon.

Last July I did a profile on Moddy Brew's first tap, Deep Troubles. In that post I explained how I was struck by the the fact that you cannot see the girl's face...yet now the girl's face is visible. This is significant and you can find out what I learned as you read more of the write up.

The labels (pictured, right) are meant to be applied over the "M B" on the oval shaped stone just below the Gorgon. As was the case with the first tap, only 100 of these taps have been made, and each comes with a certificate of authenticity. You can order this tap through Moddy Brew's Facebook page, and it can also be found on eBay (search for "Moddy tap"), while supplies last.

For more about Moddy Brew, see this post.

In the previous Moddy Brew post I had inquired about the girl's face not being visible. Moddy had explained that feature (or lack of one) by providing the following:

"In each design, the same girl will be struggling against some sort of monster, symbolically representing how Moddy's daughter struggles with her disability. Her face has been purposefully kept hidden. Part of the Frank family's problem that they are dealing with is the fact that no one else in the world has Eliana's condition. According to her geneticist, the condition is severe enough that the fetus shouldn't have been viable. It is very hard to have a diagnosis for her without having a prognosis. Just as Eliana's prognosis is hidden, so is the face of the girl within the tap handle. If the series is successful, there might eventually be tap handles that show the girl defeating the monsters, and perhaps her face may even be shown."

So why is the girl's face visible now? According to Moddy, Eliana has made great progress with reading, far exceeding what was expected. In a nutshell, the ability to read has increased Eliana's prognosis tremendously, and is allowing her to triumph over her disability and "slay the monsters". Moddy believes a big part of this progress is the result of the one on one tutoring he was able to afford thanks to tap handle sales. This is a child that seems to defy the odds - first by overcoming an impossible birth and then by challenging her disability - you might even say she is "favored by the gods" in her ability to conquer "monsters". Thus it was an easy call for Moddy to reveal the girl's face on the second tap, an unexpected wonder and one to be celebrated.