Tap Handle #783: Geary's

October 23, 2021

Tap Handle #783: Geary's - Pale Ale

Tap size: 12.25"

Rarity: none

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

Geary's lobster tap fits well alongside other nautical-themed taps in the Museum's collection. I had purchased it several years ago from the brewery, but when it arrived it was missing the labels. I reached out to the brewery and they promised to send some but never followed through and I forgot about it. When I pulled the tap out to make this profile, I remembered the missing labels and decided to reach out to the brewery again and explain the situation. With new owners in place I wasn't sure what would happen, but to my surprise some labels showed up in the mail just a few days later. What outstanding people! The tap, which I believe is still in use by the brewery, prominently features a lobster (which Maine is known for). The coloring is gold with dark green verdigris highlights, and at the top is a large oval signage area where the labels can be placed, and the lobster has the sign in its pincers...whether it is holding the sign up, or hanging on to the sign and refusing to let go, I'm not sure. The name of the brewery appears across the front on a small red band, supposedly the rubber bands placed over lobster claws to keep them from hurting each other when stored or shipped together. I love this tap and I'm happy I finally got it into the Museum. It is used for all varieties and is not specific to any one beer, but since I received Pale Ale labels, that's the beer I'll be profiling. Since Geary's has been around for a long time, these taps aren't really rare and are pretty affordable.

Geary Brewing Company, or "Geary's" as it is more popularly known, was founded in Portland, Maine in 1983 by husband and wife team David and Karen Geary. At the time of its inception in 1983, there were only 13 microbreweries in the United States, almost all of them in California and the Pacific Northwest, making Geary's one of the first microbreweries in America. David was a regular at Three Dollar Deweys, a pub owned by his friend Alan Eames. When David, a medical-supplies salesman whose employer went bankrupt, considered opening a brewery, Eames introduced him to Peter Maxwell Stuart, a Scottish nobleman and brewer who agreed to arrange introductions and itineraries for David. After traveling to England and Scotland for training and research, David worked in half-dozen small commercial breweries from the highlands of Scotland to the south coast of England.

Upon returning to the States, David and Karen began the long and difficult process of creating a business plan, finding appropriate real estate, specifying equipment and raw materials, and raising the capital necessary to begin brewing. Once enough money was collected and two years had passed, the size and design of the brewery began to take shape. They broke ground on a building in Portland’s Riverton neighborhood, imported custom brewing gear, and repurposed some farm equipment.

The Gearys hired consultant Alan Pugsley, an English biochemist who David had met at the Ringwood Brewery in England. (Note: Pugsley would go on to help establish Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Company and Sea Dog Brewing Company, before co-founding Shipyard Brewing Company). The three of them created the recipe for Geary’s Pale Ale using classic elements from some of Britain’s best breweries. Pugsley also designed and built the brewhouse. Brewing began in the fall of 1986 and the first pints of Geary's Pale Ale were sold soon after. Their offerings eventually expanded to 10 beers, with some being limited time seasonals. In 1987, Geary's first big distribution break occurred when 2 supermarket chains, Hannaford and Shaw's, started carrying their beers.

In 1989, after 20 years of marriage, David and Karen divorced, but continue to work together at the brewery along with their daughter, Kelly Geary Lucas. In 1990 they began to distribute outside of the Northeast U.S. region. In 2006 Geary’s London Porter won a New York Times blind taste test when put up against 24 other porters. By that time, production had peaked at 20,000 barrels per year. However, just a few years later, the beer market and the number of breweries had grown exponentially in Maine. Geary's was overshadowed by newer and hipper breweries pushing IPAs, which lead to lower production at Geary's - dropping by 34.5 percent from 2011 to 2015 - while craft beer production as an industry was increasing. After Karen’s passing in 2013, David’s passion for brewing began to wane, and production had fallen to just 6,200 barrels per year. At 73 years old, David claimed he was old, tired and ready for retirement, and with bankruptcy a looming probability, Geary Brewing Company was sold to a pair of long-time Maine residents, Robin and Alan Lapoint. Alan, who ran The Strainrite Companies (a filtration company started by his father), did not have direct beer industry experience, but had worked with breweries on filtration issues, and Geary’s had been a longtime client of his.

The new owners immediately began brewing IPAs and other new beers, while making some staffing changes. A few local businesses were unhappy about the release of the long-time head brewer and decided to boycott the brewery, although most eventually came back around. In an unusual aspect of the operation, brewery employees were cross-trained in multiple tasks for better flexibility and collaboration. The Geary’s brewery is divided by a concrete wall into what the Lapoints call its “heritage” and “contemporary” sections: one side are the open-air tanks dating back to 1986; on the other side are a new pair of closed fermentation tanks and a brand new centrifuge. The lobster logo still prominently adorns the Pale Ale, but it’s a just tiny inset on the new labels, which are done up in DayGlo colors and sci-fi fonts. Geary’s secured a new distributor in Massachusetts, and invested in a new canning line. They operate without any food service.

In 2020, U.S. Senator Susan Collins visited Geary's to tour the facility and meet with employees. Senator Collins delivered remarks commending the company on its success and took questions on a range of topics from workers. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins worked to secure a total of $18.5 million for brewers in Maine and across the country in the appropriations package that was signed into law in December. This included a one-year extension of a standalone bill - which Senator Collins cosponsored - that reduces taxes, compliance burdens, and regulations for brewers, cider makers, vintners, and distillers.

Geary's Pale Ale is the brewery's flagship beer and was first poured in 1986. It is a classic British-style pale ale with a nod to the legendary beers of Burton-on-Trent. It has a copper color with a malty body and medium mouth feel. Stone fruit sweetness compliments the traditional bitterness of this ale. Part of the brewery's "All-Year Heritage" beers, it was named the #23 most important craft beer in America by Food and Wine Magazine.