Tap Handle #879: Rogue - Wild Irish Rogue

Tap size:  9.25"

Rarity:  10 or less seen, hand-made, tap no longer produced

Mounting:  oversized 3/8" ferrule

Back in tap profile #815 I did a deep dive into the Rogue Statue of Liberty tap and how those early Rogue taps, of which there were 5 different ones, had interchangeable bases. This Wild Irish Rogue fisherman is one of those 5, and along with the Rogue Santa, is one of the rarest. This is another addition to the Bill Gibson wing of the Museum. Skipping the discussion of the barrel base, which I went into great detail on in that Statue of Liberty tap, the top of this tap features a "fisherman" in a green cap, cream-colored sweater, and reddish-brown hair, beard and moustache. Why is he called the fisherman? From what I've heard, this tap paid tribute to the fishing community of Newport, where Rogue moved to not long after they were founded at the urging of Mo Niemi, the Port of Newport director. Rumor had it that this tap was modeled after one of Rogue's early regulars in Newport, who was - you guessed it - a fisherman, although I am unable to verify the truth to this rumor. The fisherman holds a large yellow mug of foaming beer. I have reduced the number of photos of the base since it is identical front and back. I've seen about 10 of these on the secondary market, with 2 of them missing the bases, which were also the first 2 to appear back in 2014. The tap hit an all-time high in 2016 at $350, and the price has wavered from $100 (in 2018) to $300 (which was the last one sold back in 2024). Although the brewery has now closed, I did not list that as a rarity factor, since the tap has been out of production for a long time.

For more about Rogue, see this post.

For more about the interchangeable base, see this post.

I could find no beer description or rating for Rogue's Wild Irish Rogue.