The Museum Turns 10 Years Old, Part 3: Top 15 Taps Acquired This Year

The subject of the top taps I acquire within a year is always among my most popular posts. In the past it was a top 10 list, but in 2020 I expanded it from a top 10 to a top 15. Although the number of tap purchases that I made were the lowest they have ever been this year, at 56, and 15 taps represents over 25% of what I purchased, I feel there are some really great acquisitions that should be shared due to scarcity and how long it would take me to profile them on the site (in other words, several years). I did profile a few great new acquisitions from partnerships with breweries or tap manufacturers this past year, such as Half Day, Rebel Mettle (2 taps), Stormalong, Tortugo, and Lucette. Also, a new tap from South Beach Brewing Company is right around the corner. Since those taps have already appeared (or in the case of SBBC, will soon appear) on the site, in this post I'm going to focus on other taps I acquired that have not been profiled yet. These acquisitions are presented in no particular order...

#1: London Fields - Hackney Hopster

Hackney Hopster is one of 3 taps produced by London Fields, and one of 2 taps I could have chosen for this post - the other is Broadway Boss. I had already acquired 3 Weiss Monkeys the year before. The reason I chose Hackney Hopster over Broadway Boss is for the steampunk look of the character. I could not find the tap in time for this post so I grabbed a stock photo. What makes this tap scarce is the foreign aspect - the brewery was in the London Fields area of Hackney, East London, in the United Kingdom - as well as the drama surrounding the brewery and one of its founders, Julian de Vere Whiteway-Wilkinson. Prior to founding the brewery, Whiteway had been in jail for 12 years for his part in cocaine smuggling. The court granted Whiteway permission to create the company as a way to repay the courts and successfully rehabilitate him. But in 2014 Whiteway was arrested on suspicion of evading VAT. In 2017, London Fields Brewery was acquired by a joint venture between Carlsberg Group and Brooklyn Brewery, and by 2021 the brewery announced that it was closing. You're not likely to see many of these taps in the future.

#2: Palaweno - Ambog

Like the Hackney Hopster above, Palaweno is a foreign tap, originating in the Philippines. In fact, Palaweno was the first women-run brewery in the Philippines. However, the brewery hasn't produced any beer in over a year, their Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2018, their website is gone, and Google shows them as temporarily closed. The brewery produced at least 2 figural tap handles, the Ambog peacock shown here as well as a palm tree tap for their Wit beer. Both taps hit eBay in small quantities (3 each I think it was) in early to mid 2021 and haven't been seen since. The Ambog taps were listed as "new in box" but were clearly used and not in their original box.

#3: Wild Turkey

If you follow this blog, you know I love my spirits taps. Most of them are pretty hard to come by, because you don't find spirits on tap in bars - these are promotional items. This Wild Turkey tap is one of the rarest I have come across.  I've only seen one other besides this one. It's a little bit of a toy on stick, but I'm willing to overlook that due to the content and scarcity.

#4: Fat Bottom - Ruby

Here's a tap I had no idea existed, and luckily I was able to get my hands on this one. Like Wild Turkey, this one is a bit of a toy on a stick, but man, what a toy! Such beautiful sculpting on so small of a figure. The current tap is a flat, two dimensional version. This 3-D version created for the brewery's startup and was not produced after that. I've only seen one other and it was the top of the tap only, missing the handle.

#5: Stella Artois - Washington D. C.

Stella Artois has been producing taps for cities like San Francisco and Chicago, but other cities only have prototypes. This is one of those prototypes, for Washington D.C., and features the Washington Monument. I'd be very surprised to see very many more of this tap. There's a few more I'd like to acquire, but they are almost impossible to find.

#6: Heavy Seas

This awesome tap came my way from a fellow tap collector and good friend. It's a lot more figural than the other Heavy Seas taps that tend to be more of a toy on a stick design, with their normal skull and crossbones fitted on top of a rolled up treasure map, and portholes where the labels are attached. I don't exactly recall the specifics behind this one, but I know that only 1 has ever appeared on the secondary market a few years ago, along with a shotgun version. Seems most likely to be a prototype or promotional rather than something that was put into production.

#7: Founders - Mas Agave Lime

This has to be one of the most gorgeous taps I've ever seen. Photos do not do it justice. A skeletal hand is clutching a lime, with a butterfly perched on the back of the hand. The detail is so incredible! From the intricacy of the butterfly,  to the red symbols on the fingers of the hand, to the word "LIME" carved into the lime, it's just an amazing tap. The butterfly seems way too fragile to survive constant pulls in a heavy usage environment. This must be very rare, because I've seen only 1 other appear on the secondary market last year. One of the top taps I've ever acquired.

#8: Firkins

After someone showed me a photo of this tap, I tried to track it down for years but it was always in vain. And then one day, one of these dropped into my lap unexpectedly. What a crack up to see this butler serving beer with no pants on! Must be a good story there. I know this one is incredibly scarce; besides it being a Canadian tap, I know of a couple of collectors that have one, but otherwise I've never seen another.

#9: Michael David Winery - Freakshow Mermaid

I had been hoping that this tap was going to find it's way into MDW's online store, but as more and more time passed, my fear of missing out became too great. So when I had a chance to grab cheaper than the usual secondary market price ($200+), I pounced. The colors on this tap are so gorgeous...it was runner-up in the "Best Use of Color" segment in last year's ATH Awards, but it maybe should've taken first place. Representing the company's chardonnay variety, what's really cool is that the cast of characters on the base, while appearing similar to the original Freakshow tap, are actually completely different. Only a few of these have appeared to date.

#10-13: Twin Peaks Drop Dead Redhead v2, Dirty Blonde v1, Dirty Blonde v2, Knotty Brunette v2

It was a good year for me with regard to picking up Twin Peaks taps, when a friend came through with getting me all the version 2 taps made in 2018, and I picked up the version 1 Dirty Blonde separately. I decided to combine them into one entry. When comparing versions, I actually prefer the version 2 taps over version 1. Both versions of all 3 taps are highly desirable. Knotty Brunette version 1 is currently the only one I don't have. These almost never come up on the secondary market. The last one I remember seeing was a Knotty Brunette in 2019 that went for $1,000.

#14: Humpback - Migration

Before I had this tap I had the old Humpback Premium Ale tap that is a "whale on a stick" (tap profile #124). The Migration tap is really fantastic; although it is somewhat of a "whale on a stick", the low profile of the base helps the whale dominate the tap. On top of the big whale, you will find a baby whale attached. I've seen 14-15 of these hit the secondary market (although some could have been the same tap changing hands), but buyer beware: it's pretty common to find the fins broken off of the mother or baby whales.

#15: Bayern - Flathead Lake Monster

I missed out on this tap back around 2013 or so, and it remained high on my wishlist for a long time. It took 8 years but I finally managed to grab one. Like the Humpback Migration, it is technically a "toy on a stick" but the Lake Monster is the prominent feature of the tap thanks to the small base. The paint job is well done, especially the eyes, which look like they should light up but are impressive even though they don't. This is only the 4th one I've ever seen.

And that wraps up my top acquisitions for 2021. In the final post I'll be presenting this year's tap awards, and after that I'll be giving a tap away...