Tap Handle #818: Anheuser-Busch - Stone Face Brown

Tap size:  9.5"

Rarity:  Special Event, Less Than 10 Seen

Mounting:  internal 3/8" nut

In my previous post (profile #817) I talked about Leaf Peeper Pils being one of the beers not chosen in Anheuser-Busch's "you choose it, we'll brew it" contest held in New England in 2006. Here is the other "losing tap" in that contest: Stone Face Brown. Demon's Hop Yard was chosen over Stone Face and Leaf Peeper Pils. Using the same process as Leaf Peeper Pils, XG-ad did the designs for the Stone Face tap on computer, and then Zimo hand carved the mold, and created and painted it. At first I thought there was an Easter Island type vibe going on, but after looking at photos of the Stone Face landmark in New Hampshire and the side profile of this tap, it's a dead ringer! Since Stone Face was not picked in the contest, neither the beer nor its tap were ever put into production, making this tap very hard to find. Stone Face is the last out of 3 of a group of promotional taps that I'm profiling, and it's so scarce that this is only the second one I've ever seen - the other was part of a group of 3 promo taps that sold for $500 back in 2019.

Stone Face, also referred to as the "Old Man of the Mountain" and "The Profile", was a series of five granite cliff ledges on Cannon Mountain in Franconia, New Hampshire, that appeared to be the jagged profile of a human face when viewed from the north. The rock formation, 1,200 feet (370 m) above Profile Lake, was 40 feet (12 m) tall and 25 feet (7.6 m) wide, and was named "Stone Face" by the Abenaki and was a symbol within their culture. It was also a symbol to the Mohawk people, and became a landmark and a cultural icon for the state of New Hampshire. The formation collapsed on May 3, 2003. A nonprofit legacy fund created a memorial plaza, featuring seven steel "profilers" that recreate the Old Man's image.

For more about Anheuser-Busch, see this post.

According to a short blurb written for the original contest, Stone Face was brewed in the British-Colonial tradition of New England, blending Victory, Caramel and Black malts to give this "Brown" a rich, smooth, malty flavor. A true homage to the Old Man of the Mountain, Stone Face was 7.5% ABV. The beer was created and brewed in 2006 by a small team of local employees at the Merrimack, New Hampshire brewery. It is very likely that the brewery team was mindful of the Stone Face rock formation's collapse just 3 years earlier when naming this beer. (Note: there is a current brewery named Stoneface and it is also in New Hampshire; that brewery is not associated with the A-B beer mentioned here, nor is it associated with this tap handle.)

Ratebeer:  no entry

Beer Advocate:  entry exists but not enough ratings