Tap Handle #750: Torque - What the Helles

April 27, 2020

Tap Handle #750: Torque - What the Helles

Tap size: 10.5"
Rarity: less than 10 seen
Mounting: unique "corrugated" wide/low profile ferrule

Many thanks to Matthew Pinette, the Tap Room Manager of Torque Brewing, for selling me a tap for entry into the Museum when I reached out to him back in January. This one has a really nostalgic feel to it, reminiscent of classic gas station ads featuring a cheerful service station attendant, ready to help pump your glass and clean your windshield. The gas attendant is done in bas relief style, while the gas pump is fully figural. The brewery's name can be found on the attendant's hat, and it can also be found at the base of the tap with the date of the brewery's founding and the words "always fresh" and "purveyors of craft beer". At the top of the gas pump is a place for a label; I requested a label for the brewery's hilarious "What the Helles" lager. The bottom ferrule is uniquely designed and resembles corrugated metal. If you look closely at the paint job on the gas pump, there are fine, light-colored flecks of paint that give the pump a metallic appearance. The front and back are reverse images of each other. They have appeared on the secondary market but so far the volume has been fairly low.

Click through to read more about Torque Brewing, their What the Helles beer, and to see more photos of this nostalgic tap...

Torque Brewing was founded in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 2015 by John Heim, Phil Bernardin, Adam Olson, Gilles Pinette, and Matt Wolff. Bernardin was a home brewer and mechanical engineer who owned a robotics company; Olson was also a home brewer, CPA and microbiologist who came in 5th in a "brewer of the year" competition; Pinette was an entrepreneur; Heim was experienced in PR and sales; and Wolff had 15 years of commercial brewing experience. They chose a location capable of high traffic space, including being close to an airport and hotels. However, the site did need some work, particularly beefing up the floor to support the weight of all their equipment. Torque's goal was to become a dominate craft brewer, with an annual production target of 1 million litres of beer. They installed a 2 vessel 30 HL brewing system with expansion capability to a 4 vessel system. They can do step mashing, concoction mashing, and also infusion. The system is 100% Canadian-sourced.

Torque rolled out in a "soft" opening to get beer out the door, through supplying multiple outlets with kegs of their three core beers. That was followed by various canning options, as they worked on constructing the tap room. Demand was so great that they added 5 additional brewing tanks. The spacious tap room was completed later that year, with a vintage motor bike as decor, as well as a foosball, TVs for sports events, growler fills, and offerings exclusive to the tap room such as Barleywines, Russian Imperial Stouts and sours. The bar also features a pair of robotic bartenders courtesy of Bernadin's robotics company. The robots take an order, with one of them rinsing a glass and pouring the beer, while the other proceeds to serve it. Finally, the tap room features live music on Fridays and has a food truck parked outside.

The culture of the brewery is a family-like, people-first approach where everyone loves their job. They also want to be a source of partnerships and work with other local breweries and businesses through collaborations. In addition, they want to promote education about craft beer through Torque TV, a series of YouTube videos to help educate the public about craft beer. This education efforts include offering brewing courses and tours. In 2019 the brewery issued a recall on its Borealis Gruit 500 millilitre bottles due to inconsistencies with some bottles, caused by contamination during the bottling process and not a result of the brewing process. The recall was resolved swiftly due to Torque's high quality standards, and there were no safety concerns. Those quality standards served the brewery well, as that same year they were the winners of the Canadian Brewing Awards.

What the Helles is Torque Brewing's easy drinking, Munich style lager that offers a crisp, clean taste with a malty finish. It's the perfect solution when you want a beer that goes with everything, and is available year-round. Recommended food pairings are Gnocchi with pesto, roasted chicken, sushi, pizza, and burgers.