Tap Handle #104: Jailhouse Brewing - Mugshot IPA

Excellent detail on this tap - note the texture on the surface of the "metal" on the ball and chain, and the black and white stripes representing a prison uniform. The Jailhouse tap represents another contribution from my dad to the collection. He sent me an article about a Seattle company that contracts production of taps to be made in Chinese factories. One of the taps cited as an example was this Jailhouse tap. I immediately managed to locate one. Timing is everything, and had my dad not seen and sent me the article, I might not have this tap in the collection.

Jailhouse Brewing was founded in 2008 in Hampton, Georgia by Glenn Golden. Purchasing and rebuilding the old Hampton Jailhouse, which was built in the 1920s, Golden stocked it with equipment from the defunct Buckhead Brewery. He learned brewing from the American Brewer's Guild, and a five-week stint at the Yazoo Brewery in Nashville. The Jailhouse remodel was extensive to bring the building up to code; it had also  been a fire station, courthouse, masonic lodge, and sandwich shop over the years. The most difficult part was obtaining the license to brew from the State of Georgia, which Golden described as "a nightmare". However, the license was obtained and Jailhouse began brewing beer in 2009. The brewery makes 3 year-round beers and have plans for several seasonals called the Solitary Confinement series, with hilarious names like Hop Riot and Conjugal Visit Red Ale.

Mugshot IPA has an "arresting" lineup of hops, balanced by a blend of hops and demerera sugar. Suggested food pairings are sharp cheddar cheeses, pork bbq, fried dill pickles, pizza, and curry dishes. Weighted average on ratebeer.com is 3.25 out of 5.

Jailhouse Brewing Official Website