Tap Handle #735: Furnace Room - Chicken Man Pale Ale

December 13, 2019

Tap Handle #735: Furnace Room - Chicken Man Pale Ale

Tap size: 10.5"
Rarity: less than 10 seen, import
Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

This tap comes to the Museum courtesy of a collectors club member and Mike Glockner, one of the owners of Furnace Room Brewery. It is the first of 4 taps that I will be profiling from the brewery. The Chicken Man tap features a man holding a chicken behind the handlebars and tire of a bicycle, along with the front portion of a crate. On the shaft below is a decal bearing the beer name, while the brewery's name appears at the bottom on a label. On each side of the shaft is another decal featuring a flame, the symbol of the brewery. Except for the label and decals, the rest of the tap is colored in shades of green. Why green? I can't be certain - it may just be an artistic decision - but I will share that information if I get it. The Chicken Man was an actual real person as you will see below, and all of Furnace Room's beers, art and taps are themed off of places or legends in their hometown of Georgetown, Ontario. I've only seen one of these taps appear on the secondary market, so it is currently quite rare, but Furnace Room's production brewery has only been open for a year, so it's possible more of these could pop up in the future.

The Chicken Man is the nickname of an actual person named George Chaplin. He became a cult figure in Georgetown, Ontario where he used to ride his bike around town, transporting his pet chicken named "Cluck Cluck" everywhere he went. Originally the chicken was contained by a green milk crate on the front of his bike. After Chaplin took a particularly nasty spill one day, Cluck Cluck was moved to a crate on the back of the bike. Chaplin was a friendly person who would stop and talk to anyone, adding to his cult status. On one blog, a post titled "10 signs you grew up in Georgetown" listed #7 as: "You consider the Chicken Man both a local celebrity and a friend." According to some reports, Chaplin passed away in 2013.

Click through to read more about Furnace Room Brewery, their Chicken Man Pale Ale, and to see more photos of this legendary tap...

Furnace Room Brewery was founded in 2016 in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada by Jeff Sandifer, Mike Glockner, Mike Dykstra, Trent Chalecky, and Steve Leggat. Sandifer and Glockner were long-time friends who began to homebrew back in 2007 using a simple extract beer kit in their basements, right next to their furnaces. The two men gradually transformed their furnace rooms into their own nano-breweries, producing ten gallon all-grain batches of beer, using different recipes, and critiquing each batch; learning as they went along. Word about their beer began to spread among friends and acquaintances. People began tasting and enjoying the beer and started asking “Where can I get more of this?”

In 2014, two of the beers were entered into a beer competition and they placed 1st and 2nd in their categories. With this encouragement, and their wives pushing them to follow their dreams, the idea of opening a brewery began to take shape. However, they both realized that they lacked the finances and business expertise to make it a reality. That expertise came when Dykstra, Chalecky and Leggat in early 2016 came on board after tasting the beer and realizing the opportunity that was available, as there were no other breweries in Georgetown. A partnership was formed bringing together the full range of technical, financial, real estate and construction expertise essential to the launch of a sizable craft brewery with the initial capacity of 15 barrels per batch.

They purchased a vacant industrial building in Georgetown and ordered equipment, trying to support Canadian companies as much as possible: their tanks came from Niagara Falls, their cans from Guelph and their canning machine from Alberta. However, roadblocks began to appear when they discovered the previous building had no sewer service and they had to have it connected to the sewer system. After discovering that the rear portion of the building was too old to salvage, it was demolished and completely rebuilt after construction permits were obtained. They moved the equipment in and assembled it in the spacious, newly built brewing room complete with vaulting ceilings and a skylight. The second floor room that overlooks the brewing operation is planned to be a furnished tap room. The brewery contains a retail store and sampling and merchandise area.

Furnace room started with four core products, with seasonals, as well as special batches for key events. The beers were named after Georgetown landmarks and legends, with the branding and label designs completed by a local artist. Furnace Room’s products are on tap or in cans at local bars and restaurants. Their canning machine can fill up to 25 cans a minute.

Furnace Room's Chicken Man is a pale ale that is flavorful, dry and seasonable, made with a medley of three hops for a punch of citrus and stone-fruit flavors but not too bitter. It is one of the brewery's 4 core beers. Make the trip to Georgetown and ask the locals what they know of the Chicken Man, or just enjoy this pale ale in his honor.