Tap Handle #817: Anheuser-Busch - Leaf Peeper Pils

Tap size:  8.25"

Rarity:  Special Event, Less Than 10 Seen

Mounting:  internal 3/8" nut

In my previous post (profile #816) I talked about Racer Snake Red being one of the beers not chosen in Anheuser-Busch's "you choose it, we'll brew it" contest held in Ohio in 2006, which made the tap extremely scarce. Here is another "losing tap" that is also scarce: Leaf Peeper Pils. Like the contest in Ohio, New England residents voted for their local choices online and the results showed that they picked Demon's Hop Yard over Stone Face, a brown ale, and Leaf Peeper Pils, a high-alcohol pilsner. Using the same process as Racer Snake Red, XG-ad did the designs for the Leaf Peeper tap on computer, and then Zimo hand carved the mold, and created and painted it. My favorite features are how the Peeper's eyes are sculpted to be huge as if we are seeing them through the magnifying glass; I also love the pith helmet! Since Leaf Peeper was not picked, neither the beer nor its tap were ever put into production, making this tap very hard to find. Leaf Peeper is the second 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.

A Leaf Peeper is a person who travels to view and photograph the fall foliage in areas where leaves change colors in autumn, particularly in northern New England, Appalachia, the Pacific Northwest, and the upper Midwest, as well as the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

For more about Anheuser-Busch, see this post.

According to a short blurb written for the original contest, Leaf Peeper Pils was a deep golden-colored, high-alcohol pilsner (8% alcohol by volume), brewed using a blend of Saaz and Hallertau hops resulting in a rich flavored Imperial Pilsner. Amongst the foliage of beautiful New England woods A-B created what the "peepers" have been looking for. The beer was created and brewed in 2006 by a small team of local employees at the Merrimack, New Hampshire brewery. (Note: there are about 4-5 other beers named Leaf Peeper from breweries such as Atlantic, Paradox and Hammerton. These beers are not associated with A-B's beer, nor are they associated with this tap.)

Ratebeer:  no entry

Beer Advocate: entry exists but not enough ratings