The Museum Turns 11 Years Old, Part 2: Top 15 Taps Acquired

This post has been a long time coming. I had to deal with some personal issues, and an experiment I wanted try this year just didn't pan out the way I wanted it to, so I'm now jumping to a different topic. 

The subject of the top taps I acquire within a particular 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. For this year, 15 taps represents just under 25% of what I purchased, but I feel that - like last year - 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. I didn't really profile any new acquisitions from partnerships with breweries or tap manufacturers this past year except for a couple from South Beach Brewing Company. 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. These acquisitions are presented in no particular order...

#1: Redhook - Atomic Robot IPA

This tap is super cool! It features a wacky (and a little unsettling) looking robot with pincers and 4 eyestalks (3 in front, 1 in back). Even the sticker on the base is cool, with little stars dotting the dark areas in and around the white lettering. The beer and tap were released in 2019, but 2020 is the last year that the beer was served, and the taps were retired. It was only distributed in the Pacific Northwest. As a result, you aren't likely to see many of these floating around. In fact, this one is only the fourth that I've seen.

#2: Robinsons - Trooper Sun + Steel Sake Lager

This is one impressive tap! Not only is the detail and theme fantastic, but the tap is also absolutely massive. It's just over 12.5" tall but feels bigger, and has some real weight to it. While there have been 7-8 of these show up on the secondary market, the price is an astronomical $400-$500. The beer does not currently show on Robinsons website, although it may be a seasonal or special which, even though not on tap and is an import, can still be found in cans in a few outlets. However, the brewery has moved away from figural taps at the moment, so it's possible this tap is now retired. I'm curious to know what a Sake Lager tastes like...

#3: Sazerac - Fireball Seattle Kraken

I now have multiple kraken-themed taps, and this one is just as cool as the others. Fireball is an official sponsor of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. There's a Kraken thing called Fireball Fridays that sounds pretty cool. The Seattle Kraken have only been around since 2021-2022, so being new means this tap should be easier to find, right? Apparently not, because I've not seen another of these on the secondary market, I've only seen one in the hands of another collector. Since Seattle is the only place you could expect to find one of these, I think that may be the main limiting factor in the scarcity. By the way, congrats to the Kraken, who in only their second year of existence just took down the defending champ Colorado Avalanche in the NHL playoffs.

#4: RAM - S'no Angel

We've had two other Pacific Northwest taps so far, so how about another? This is a tap that I just missed out on by mere seconds on the secondary market a few years ago. The tap has been out of production for some time now. I never thought I'd get another chance at one, and then by chance I was able to get my hands on this one. The detail on this tap isn't the greatest, but the tap still looks great and is still highly desirable. The one I missed out on previously, and one in the hands of another collector, are the only two I've ever seen.

#5: Brickworks Cider House - Queen Street 501

In 2018, for the Museum's 7th Anniversary, in my top 10 taps acquired post I talked about a tap from Canadian brewer Brickworks Ciderhouse called Batch 1904. That tap featured an old fire engine. Here we have the Queen Street 501 tap that looks like an old trolley car. This tap is much harder to find, and that's saying something considering how rare the Batch 1904 is - this is the only one I've ever seen, although I know of a few other collectors that have one.

#6: AquaBrew

Only in Texas will you see a tap with a mermaid wearing a cowboy hat! Founded in 2019, AquaBrew had closed the doors by Fall of 2022. Initially there were rave reviews of the site, food, and beer, but towards the end there were complaints about weird vibes, high prices, poor beer selection, and discontinued food service. Their website says they are closed for renovations but Google shows them as permanently closed, and rumor has it the Director of Operations and the Sales group were laid off, so their status is a mystery right now. I saw 2 of these taps pop up at a great price and managed to grab one. I've seen 3 since that sold for well over $200 and I haven't seen any after that.

#7: Barrio Brewing - Blonde

This tap first appeared in 2018. I just missed it and thought I'd never find another, so I'm very happy to have gotten this one. The brewery is still around, but they do not sell this tap (the tap it might be out of production). In addition to mine and the original I missed out on, I've only seen 2 others.

#8: Modelo  - Damian Lillard

This tap was high on my wish list when I first saw it last year, because I live near Portland, Oregon and have followed the city's NBA team, the Portland Trailblazers, since I was 10 years old, when the Blazers won the NBA Championship. Damian Lillard will likely go down as the best Blazer of all time, and he has appeared in multiple commercials, including one for Modelo, which this tap ties into. The tap has appeared in select locations from Portland to Oakland, Lillard's hometown. I love that his head is actually a bobblehead. I also love the gold metallic embellishments on the tap and the large gold ferrule. It's not easy to find...I've seen 2 others on the secondary market and 2 in the hands of collectors.

#9: 5 Rabbit - Vida Y Muerte

This is another tap that I never thought I'd get after first missing out on one in 2014. The taps actually date back to 2013. I've seen several of the more plain, standard 5 Rabbit taps, but this one only popped up once more since 2014, and I missed out on that one too! The third time is the charm, as I finally got my hands on this one. On the back it says that this is #28 of 38 made. That's not very many produced! Vida Y Muerte translates to English as "Life and Death". The Hispanic-owned brewery was based near Chicago, but permanently closed in 2020.

#10: Cisco - Grey Lady Version 2

Cisco was the best brewery I ever worked with, thanks to Kristen Hull, the Retail Manager and Web & Social Media Manager of the brewery. You can read more about that in tap profile #380, Grey Lady. When I saw this new version of Grey Lady pop up on the secondary market, I knew I had to have it. I could have reached out to Kristen, but there was always the risk that they wouldn't have any taps available or had changed their policies, so I grabbed the new Grey Lady when I had the chance, to ensure that I would get one. It's an absolutely gorgeous tap, and I've only seen 1 other, though the tap is fairly new and could turn up in greater numbers over time.

#11: Troegs - The Mad Elf Version 2

Picking up the original Troegs The Mad Elf back in 2018 was one of the high points of my collecting experience. While this new version, released for the 2022 holiday season, doesn't quite reach those heights as far as the desirability, it is still a cool and fun tap that commands a stout price on the secondary market, from $500 (the first one to appear) to as low as $170 for a well-used one. I'd put the average price between $250-$350. The quantity that I've seen appear on the secondary market, in addition to the taps being briefly sold in the brewery's online store, cast suspicion on the claim that I've heard which stated "only 50 were made".

#12: DarkHeart

I don't know much about this brewery, other than it's in Sacramento, California, their Facebook page was created in 2017, and that the brewery fully embraces a pirate theme. The tap fits that theme perfectly and is impressive. I know of some other collectors who have this, and at the time of this post, there is one on the secondary market.

#13: O'Connor El Guapo Agave IPA

I wish I knew the story behind this tap - the main villain from the 1980s movie Three Amigos is named El Guapo, and this tap does resemble him a bit, but nowhere in the movie does El Guapo wear an eyepatch. While the tap character remains a mystery to me, I did find out per the brewery's website that El Guapo Agave IPA is the #1 craft brand in the state of Virginia. The most current tap, which is not figural but still nice, has been around since at least 2013, and there are some older wood taps that pre-date the current tap, but I have not seen this figural version anywhere else, so it must be pretty scarce.

#14: Conyngham

Talk about a killer tap! This is probably my favorite acquisition of the year. The theme is great (another pirate tap!), the detail and color are spectacular, and the pirate-themed brewery's beer is highly rated. The brewery has been around since 2013, but this is the first time I've seen this tap.

#15: Blasted Church - Big Bang Theory

I'm floored that I was able to make a trade with a fellow collector and get this tap. It had remained elusive since I first saw it in 2017. I had acquired Blasted Church's other tap, Hatfield's Fuse, back in 2018, but this one might be a just a little better. It's also a little harder to find - Hatfield's Fuse has appeared on the secondary market at least twice, but I can't recall ever seeing Big Bang Theory there.

That ends another great year of tap acquisitions! I'll have my ATH Awards in the next post, and after that I'll give away some taps...