Tap Handle #858: James Page

10/17/2025 12:16:00 AM

Tap Handle #858: James Page

Tap size: 12" tall by 6.5" wide

Rarity: 50 or less seen, brewery closed

Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

I remember trying for a few years to pick up this James Page pickaxe tap on the secondary market, but it always seemed to sell for more than I was willing to pay for it. Finally I got a great deal on this one but it shows a lot of wear - it almost looks like someone tried to use it as a real pickaxe! While the handle appears to be made of wood, it is just a clever paint technique, as the entire handle is made of resin. Since the front and back are identical to each other, as are the 2 sides, I have reduced the number of photos taken. Due to the design it's hard to see the brewery decal and the beer variety label at the same time, since they are at 90 degree angles from each other. It's important to note the unusually long width of the pick from end to end, as this can impact how the tap is displayed when next to other taps. I believe this tap was commissioned by Stevens Point Brewing when they bought the James Page brand in 2005. While many of these have appeared on the secondary market over the years, in 2013, several of these were dumped on the market; since this coincides with the discontinuing of the old James Page recipes and the new rebrand by Stevens Point, I suspect the brewery made these available to someone at a bargain basement price to clear them out. Since 2020, the supply had dwindled to almost nothing until a few appeared over the past 2 years. The price fluctuates wildly, with recent copies selling for around $30, under half of what it used to sell for and well under the historic high of $85.

James Page Brewing Company was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1986 by James Page. An early pioneer in Minnesota craft brewing, Page, a local attorney, located his brewery in an aging industrial warehouse building on Quincy Street. The brewery's infrastructure was cobbled together from secondhand equipment. Page never exceeded more than about 1500 barrels per year of production while he ran the brewery. In addition to operating a brewery, Page was also a home brewing retailer. He operated a retail store out of the company's tap room and had a mail order shipping/catalog operation. In 1995, Page sold the brewery to a group of investors with a background in food marketing. Page continued to operate a home brew supply company until 1998 under the name "James Page Brewing", although there was no longer any tie to the brewery.

The new owners of the brewery, led by President David Anderson, thoroughly re-invented the brand. They created a fictional character to personify "James Page", who bore little resemblance to the founder of the company; he was a rugged American frontiersman. They also stopped the practice of trucking the beer to distant bottling lines. Instead, they produced the bottled product as a contract brew at regional breweries (Minnesota Brewing Company in St. Paul, and then Stroh's in St. Paul). Draft beer continued to be brewed at the James Page Quincy Street site. In 1997, at the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado, the judges awarded James Page’s Wild Rice Lager the gold medal in the specialty beer category. That same year, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine declared James Page Iron Range Amber the best microbrew in the Twin Cities. Only 7 people were employed at the brewery during this time.

In 1998, James Page became one of the first American craft breweries to package its beer in cans. The canned product was brewed and packaged under contract at the August Schell Brewing Company in New Ulm, Minnesota. The brewery also won a contract with Northwest Airlines to feature cans of Iron Range Amber on some domestic flights. In 1999, James Page added 2 more medals at the Great American Beer Festival, winning gold for Iron Range Amber Lager and bronze for Burly Brown Ale. Despite a more aggressive marketing push, the brewery's new management was not able to turn a profit. James Page suffered from an identity crisis: although the Quincy Street brewery produced beer for its draft accounts, the bottled product was a contract brew. The beer in the bottles was not the same product as the beer in the kegs, and this did not help its reputation among beer aficionados. As a result, the brewery's management made the acquisition of a bottling line a top priority during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

In 2000, James Page had a stock offering, and the first $400,000 was specifically earmarked for the bottling line. It advertised the stock offering on six-packs, soliciting investments as small as $285. The company announced that it had successfully raised the maximum $855,000 from over 1,000 investors in January, 2000. But the money was never used to fund expansion; instead it was used to lower the company's debt burdens, and the bottling line was never built. Anderson left the company in 2001. In 2002, the Quincy Street brewery was shut down; it was inefficient and expensive, and it was never really able to help keep beer on the shelves. James Page was also hurt by production and financial problems at Minnesota Brewing, which had closed the the previous year. Production trouble at Minnesota Brewing, partly the result of equipment problems, contributed to its financial collapse and caused supply problems for James Page. In 2003, with only 3 employees remaining (including the re-hired Anderson as President), James Page turned to August Schell for all their contract brewing in a move to cut costs and restore profitability, as they were $300,000 in debt.

The move seemed to work, at least initially. Anderson flew to Sturgis, South Dakota, where James Page was one of four regional brands to be featured at the annual motorcycle rally. The company completed its first profitable quarter ever and worked to win back wholesalers. The brewery also debuted new packaging for its bottled beers, and held a fund raising bid, which was offered to the 1,000 or so existing shareholders of the company and a handful of accredited investors. Anderson and his two remaining colleagues at the company were able to secure new distributors in Tennessee and Michigan along with re-forging its relationships with wholesalers closer to home in the Upper Midwest. The company also signed a new contract with Northwest Airlines, keeping their beer on the carrier’s domestic flights, as well as landing a deal that put 20 draft lines into the Metrodome during Minnesota Twins baseball games.

However, the success was short-lived, and in 2005, the company's final asset was liquidated when the James Page brand name was purchased by the Stevens Point Brewery in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Stevens Point continued to brew most of the James Page beers until 2012, when they discontinued them. However, in 2013 they rebranded the packaging, created new recipes, and dropped the old ones. The 4 new beers brewed by Stevens Point were JP’s Yabba Dhaba Chai Tea Porter, JP’s Casper White Stout, JP’s Ould Sod Irish Red Ale and JP’s A Cappella Gluten-free Pale Ale. Later, Stevens Point added 2 more varieties: JP's Bastian Black Forest Cake and JP's Healani Pineapple Hefeweizen. Although the beers were well-received, their experimental nature often led to a "one-and-done" experience for many customers. By 2018, the James Page beers had been phased out of production, ending the legacy of an early craft beer pioneering brand.

James Page's Iron Range Amber Lager was brewed with the finest two-row malted barley, Munich malts and Spalter hops. This smooth Vienna-style beer was a true European red lager with a well-balanced, distinctive flavor. Created to be a perfect summer brew, it was medium in body, but full-flavored, with the dominant taste coming from hops. In 1997, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine declared Iron Range Amber the best microbrew in the Twin Cities, and in 1999, it won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival.