The Museum Turns 9 Years Old Part 3: Top 15 Taps Acquired This Year

The subject of the top taps I acquire within a year continues to be one of my most popular posts, so it was an easy choice to not only bring it back again this year, but also to expand it from a top 10 list to a top 15. Although the number of tap purchases that I made were lower this year, the number of scarce taps that I acquired were higher than most other years. This is an opportunity to share some of my favorite, hard-to-find acquisitions with my readers when you wouldn't see them otherwise for years. I've already profiled many great new acquisitions from partnerships with breweries this past year, such as Smashin' Crab, Three Huskies, Liquid Alchemy, Gatlinburg, Millstream, Flying Machine, Torque, Industry, and Wonderland. Since those taps have already appeared on the site, in this post I'm going to focus on other taps I acquired that have not been profiled yet. Click through to see the taps, which have been presented in no particular order...

#1: Mudbug - King Cake Ale

The first tap on the list is a great one thanks to one of my club members. A mudbug is an affectionate name that Cajuns give to crawfish. This tap is scarce for a couple of reasons. In 2018 the brewery shut down when an 18 wheeler ran over and damaged the brewery's water main. After over a year's worth of repairs and water system upgrades, the brewery had a one day re-opening in late 2019, offering homebrews as the improvements continued. They had targeted a re-opening of March 2020, about the same time that COVID hit. The brewery remains closed and its future is unclear, as they've gone over 2 years without any income. Only a few of these have been seen on the secondary market, and none in the past year and a half.

#2: Anheuser-Busch - Leaf Peeper Pils

If you were to go back and look at this post I made in 2012, I referenced Leaf Peeper Pils, a high alcohol pilsner that was part of Anheuser-Busch's "you  choose it, we'll brew it" campaign in 2006. New England residents voted online and picked Demon's Hop Yard over Leaf Peeper. As a result, this tap, belonging to a beer that was only produced once for the contest, is very scarce and has languished in obscurity. Several years ago I actually acquired an unpainted prototype - which is also missing the right hand and magnifying glass - and I'm very happy to get this fully realized version. The color and character are fantastic, and it's heavier than most taps. In addition to the two that I own, I've only seen one other.

#3: Sugar Island Rum - Island Time Daiquiri

Sugar Island Rum is based out of California. They haven't updated their Facebook page since 2019 and their Instagram page since 2018. Are they still around? Probably, since they still have a website and you can find their rum online. About a half dozen of these taps appeared on the secondary market at over $200+ each, but there hasn't been one seen since August, so it seems like the supply has dried up for now. I feel fortunate to have grabbed one when I did...it's always great to add another mermaid to the Museum, and another spirits tap as well.

#4: Siste Sang

I first saw this tap at the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver last year at the Tap Handles booth and thought it looked fantastic. However, I didn't think I'd be able to get one when I found out the brewery was in Norway. Thanks to one of my club members, I was able to acquire one. This tap is great in person, photos don't do it justice. The brewery has been closed due to COVID restrictions since March and their last Facebook post was in May. This tap is sure to become very scarce.

                                                         

#5: Brasserie De Sutter

Following Siste Sang comes another foreign tap, this one from France. This wonderfully outlandish tap of a cow wearing a skirt exemplifies their "Les Follies" ("The Madness") line. The Statue of Liberty spoof not only recognizes the gift of the statue to America from France, but also the use of American hops in the beer. About 10 of these hit the secondary market between 2018 to 2019, with the first couple hitting a price point over $400, but over time the price dropped, until now when only 1 remains available.

#6: Huerca Cerveza Revolution

We're on a roll with imported taps from outside the U.S., so here's yet another: Huerca Cerveza Revolution. This one is comes from Mexico, near Monterrey. Featuring a señorita holding a rifle, she's ready to drive banditos off of her land. The most curious feature to me is the blonde haired, blue eyed girl, which I wouldn't expect to find in Mexico...I'm sure there must be an interesting story behind that choice. I would tend to believe that this tap is pretty rare; in addition to its import status, I've only seen a few in the hands of other collectors, with none appearing on the secondary market.

#7: Turoni's - Vinny Light Lager

Last year I talked about acquiring Turoni's IPA, also known as the "Blue Eyed Moose". This year I was able to pick the companion tap, Vinny's Light Lager. This guy's quite a character, with a goatee, sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat, and a glass of beer raised in salute. Like the moose, this tap is larger and more impressive in person than photos can portray it. Out of production for about 6 years, this one might be even more scarce than the moose. I've only seen 1 on the secondary market back in 2018, and could only find partial images. This might be the only fully figured photo you will see for quite some time.

#8: Brick Brewing - Voodoo Red

This tap had been on my wish list since I first saw a photo of it back in 2014. It took 6 long years but I finally got one! It more than met my lofty expectations, with impressive size, bright colors, and LEDs in the eyes that light up using a toggle switch on the back. Four of these were recently listed on the secondary market as someone liquidated their stock; all but one sold for $300+, and the fourth was close to that. Founded in 1984, Brick Brewing was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario and is credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada. At one time they were Ontario's largest Canadian-owned brewery. However, in 2019 they changed their name to Waterloo Brewing, so the Brick Brewing name found on this tap no longer exists.

#9: Truckee

In this write up I did for Nevada City, I mentioned that a pair of brothers started the brewery, with brother Stephen having founded Truckee Brewing the year prior. Truckee was the third microbrewery to open in California. That explains why Truckee's tap and Nevada City's tap were produced in the same style by the same artist. But instead of a prospector, Truckee features a Native American. I had a chance to buy one of these for cheap back in 2013, before I picked up Nevada City, but at that time I didn't know what it was and how rare it was. By the time I had done some research and circled back around to it, it was gone. Thanks to a trade with a club member, I have finally one to pair with my Nevada City. The only two I know of to hit the secondary market both did so in 2013. Talk about scarce!

#10: Roaring Twenties

Here's a tap I first spied in the background of some photos on the Tap Handles website back in 2016, but the tap name was so blurry I couldn't figure out who the tap belonged to, and I pretty much forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when someone offered to sell me one recently! I was finally able to learn that it wasn't a brewery at all, it was a winery, and the name was Roaring Twenties. Canadian taps (like Voodoo Red above) were big for me this year, and Roaring Twenties is another Canadian tap. It is a venture by parent owners Vancouver Urban Winery in Vancouver B.C. that they started up in 2012. Their mission was to source international wines from New Zealand and Argentina, two of their favorite wine regions, for sale in Vancouver B.C. under their own label. The various creatures and items stacked on top of each other on the tap represent the trip around the world that the owners took in their search for wines. It's not clear if the venture is still viable...the Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2018 and their website link redirected me to some suspicious looking page. The parent Vancouver Urban Wines, however, is still going strong. I don't recall ever seeing one on the secondary market.

#11: Unibroue - Autre Chose

I just mentioned that it was a good year for me for Canadian taps. Well, here's another: Unibroue's Autre Chose. Unibroue is in Quebec, and Autre Chose (which means "something else") is a recent line they introduced to produce stylistic novelties that are a departure from the Belgian styles they have traditionally brewed. It features a devilish character stirring a cauldron, which sits on top of a bookcase. The books in the bookcase have names such as "Maudite" and "Ephemere"; these are the names of Unibroue's beers, so presumably the books are the recipes for each brew. What a cool concept! It also takes the standard Unibroue magnetic label, and the art on many of their labels is superb. Before acquiring this, I'd only ever seen photos - it is extremely rare and I'd be surprised to see it appear on the secondary market.

#12: Old Milwaukee pinup girl

This is another tap that has been on my wish list for a long time - since 2014 I believe. I picked up the Old Milwaukee Light companion tap a couple of years ago, but this one continued to elude me until now. The one I saw many years ago was a brunette, but there is also a blonde in addition to this redhead. It's probably one of my top 5 acquisitions of the year.

#13: Mason's

This is an awesome tap! It looks like a plume of smoke rising up to form Mason's character that appears on their Hipster Apocalypse label. Halfway up the smoke chain is a hooded, reaper-like figure on their Liquid Rapture label. I believe this tap is very rare; I've only seen a photo of one other that was unpainted. Mason's is based out of (appropriately enough) Brewer, Maine.

 

#14: Big Rock - Ratt Ale

I've been trying to get my hands on this tap since I first saw a photo back in 2016. At that time I thought it was one of kind. Later I learned that there were possibly as many as 6. Like the Voodoo tap, there are LEDs in the eyes and they light up via a switch in the back. One of my club members figured out where the tap was used.You'll have to wait for the profile to find out more, but let's just say that Big Rock is in Calgary, and so is the place where the tap was used. Three of them appeared on the secondary market a couple of months ago as someone liquidated their stock, but this is probably one of the scarcest taps made.

#15: Rolling Rock Light - blue horse in water

Check another tap off of my wish list! This is another tap I've wanted since I saw it in 2014. Rolling Rock uses a horse in a lot of their advertising. I'm not sure for what occasion this tap was created, but it has to be one of the most beautiful taps I've ever seen.

That takes care of my list of top acquisitions for 2020. In Part 4 I'm going to do something different this year...stay tuned!