Tap Handle #775: Spanish Peaks Brewing

March 28, 2021

Tap Handle #775: Spanish Peaks Brewing - Crystal Weiss

Tap size: 11.25"

Rarity: brewery closed

Mounting: 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

Here's a tap that I passed on for several years and very nearly didn't acquire. Probably the only reason I picked it up was to support the brewery back in 2016 when they were brewing out of Colorado after multiple attempts to revive the brand. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice tap, but does kind of lean toward the "toy on a stick" style that I try to steer away from. I will say that the base is very nice though, appearing as a carved log, with the name of the brewery sculpted into it and the beer variety also sculpted in raised letters (older version of the tap are quite literally a head on a stick). The dog is a black Labrador and has a collar with the name "Chug" on it. This is short for Chugwater Charlie Hill, a national champion that belonged to one of the brewery owners and became the mascot of the brewery. Chug has always been featured on the brewery's merchandise, although though the design changed a few times over the years, and his paw print appeared on the brewery’s bottle caps. This version of the tap dates back to 2006, when United States Beverage had purchased Spanish Peaks and invested a fair amount in promoting it nation-wide. Due to the national distribution and the length the brand was in service (despite a few year where production ceased), hundreds of this version of the tap were produced, making it quite easy to find on the secondary market over the years. Even today I can find 6 nice examples, although the price is double what it used to be.

Though Chug is no longer alive, he was a prolific stud with many surviving descendants, and Chug’s granddaughter Taylor was owned by the brand's brewer in 2012.

Spanish Peaks Brewing Company was founded in Bozeman, Montana in 1991 by Mark Taverniti and Gary Raden. Taverniti's family had been an award-winning wine producerin the Seattle area, while Raden, his high school friend, was a wine distributor in Seattle. They established a microbrewery in Bozeman and decided to specialize in Rocky Mountain style ales. They named after the mountain range that runs through Montana and into the Yellowstone region. It consisted of a restaurant and microbrewery, and the branding featured Taverniti's national champion black Labrador named Chugwater Charlie Hill, or "Chug" for short. The branding featured the tagline "no Whiners". Quite unexpectedly, the brand exploded, becoming the highest volume draft beer in Montana. At one time it was believed to be the fastest growing craft brewery in the country, hitting one million barrels by 1994.

In fact, the brand grew so quickly the small microbrewery couldn't keep up. In 1995 they turned to the August Schell brewery in Minnesota to contract brew beers for them, as Ted Marti, whose family owned the Schell brewery, was an old friend of Raden and Taverniti. This allowed Spanish Peaks to nationally distribute their beers in 44 states. In 2000 they moved to a new location in the American Bank building in Bozeman, but the new location did not have a brewing area, resulting in Spanish Peaks no longer brewing beer in Montana and relying entirely on contract brewing. Head brewer Todd Scott left the company to open his own brewery, Bozeman Brewing Company, in 2001, utilizing the brewing equipment he purchased from Spanish Peaks after their move. The new restaurant served wood-fired pizza, pasta and their Spanish Peaks Black Dog ales.

However, by 2002, Spanish Peaks beers were no longer being distributed in Montana and other parts of the country. And by 2003 the Spanish Peaks restaurant had closed. While some had speculated that the economy was to blame, in fact Spanish Peaks had moved their operations to King City, California. That only lasted a couple of years before they returned to Montana, this time to Polson, roughly 270 miles northwest of Bozeman.

In 2006 the Spanish Peaks brand was acquired by United States Beverage (USB), who saw value in the brand recognition, and their beers were re-launched with new branding, advertising and tap handles. It's not clear where and when Spanish Peak beers were contract brewed...reports of brewing by City Brewery in Wisconsin and also in Colorado could have happened at USB's direction, or possibly began earlier when Spanish Peaks had moved to King City or to Polson. But by 2009, USB had moved all Spanish Peaks production to their Mendocino locations: Olde Saratoga in New York and Butte Creek in California. Distribution was once more taken nationwide.

The new locations seemed to produce some inconsistency in the reception of Spanish Peak brews. For every positive review, there was another that was lukewarm. By 2012 it appeared that production had been halted as those looking for supply were noting that it had dried up. In 2014, USB announced that 2 Spanish Peak varieties were being brewed again, Black Dog Ale and Honey Raspberry Ale, this time at the Flying Dog Brewery in Denver, Colorado. Distribution started in Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, and later included the Philadelphia and San Francisco markets, with plans to go nationwide yet again. But sales were mediocre, and struggled for a few years before USB finally shut all Spanish Peaks brewing down and closed the brewery in Polson permanently.

Spanish Peaks Crystal Weiss was a lighter style American Wheat, an American version of a classic German style Kristall Weizen. This "crystal clear", cold filtered wheat beer was mildly hopped resulting in a refreshing and drinkable beer that could be enjoyed during any season.