Tap Handle #876: Frederick Brewing - Blue Ridge Steeple Stout

3/06/2026 11:31:00 AM

Tap Handle #876: Frederick Brewing - Blue Ridge Steeple Stout

Tap size: 11.5"

Rarity: 10 or less seen, hand-made, brewery closed

Mounting: internal 3/8" nut

St. John's

Frederick Brewing's Blue Ridge Steeple Stout tap appears as a white church steeple with blue accents, tying directly into Frederick's famous nickname - "The City of Clustered Spires." The handle features a fluted columned upper section, tiered base, and an embedded working clock. What makes mine unusual is that most copies have a sticker of a clock face and hands in the round opening; instead, mine has a round piece of Velcro attached to the opening, and then a watch face attached to that...underneath the Velcro there is no sticker. It actually gives the tap a kind of elegant look, at least from the front. The design of the tap appears to be a stylized, composite representation of a steeple rather than a replica of any specific Frederick church. However, it does bear a strong resemblance to the steeple/bell tower of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (see photo inset), though that structure does not have a clock on it. The last photo I've taken is of the underside of the tap...it is signed by a "Brian Walker" and also says "GVMW '97". This is most likely the artist or craftsman and his company which produced the tap in 1997. It tracks with Frederick's big production facility which was built in 1997. The tap first appeared on the secondary market in 2007. Only 3-4 have appeared since then, with the last one (my tap) showing up in 2016. The price has been very reasonable at less than $50 for each offering, though most were damaged, and those prices reflect a different market, from 10+ years ago before supply dried up. The current value is unknown.

Frederick Brewing Company was founded in Frederick, Maryland in 1993 by Kevin Brannon and Marjorie McGinnis. Brannon, a lawyer from Portland, Oregon, came up with the idea in December 1991 and recruited McGinnis, then a senior at Shepherd College in West Virginia, to join him. The couple, who would later marry, spent a year searching for investors and capital, raising approximately $750,000 in start-up costs, mostly from local investors. The brewery marked a significant milestone for the region - the return of commercial beer brewing to Frederick after a 54-year hiatus, the last brewery having closed in 1939. Master brewer Steven T. Nordahl, a graduate of the master brewing program at the University of California at Davis, joined the company at its founding and developed the initial product line.

Frederick Brewing began operations from a small brick warehouse at 103 South Carroll Street in the Wedgewood Business Park. Blue Ridge Porter was the first beer to roll off the line in November 1993, with 100 cases of the ruby red porter distributed to local bars and restaurants from Frederick to Baltimore. The brewery also produced Blue Ridge Golden Ale and Blue Ridge Amber Lager as year-round offerings. In its debut year, the company produced 660 barrels. By 1995, Beverage World magazine ranked Frederick Brewing as the fourth fastest-growing brewery in America. That year, the founders raised money through an initial public offering on NASDAQ (trading under the symbol "BLUE") to fund expansion. The IPO initially sold for over $6 per share. The company used the proceeds to purchase land in the Wedgewood Business Park and construct a new 55,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art brewery with a capacity of 100,000 barrels annually. The plant cost between $4.4 million and $8 million to build, with $4.5 million funded through economic development bonds. The new facility had its grand opening on February 12, 1997.

The Blue Ridge line grew to include numerous styles: Porter, Golden Ale, Amber Lager, ESB Red Ale, Wheat, Steeple Stout, Doppelbock, Hopfest (a fall seasonal), and Snowball's Chance (a winter ale). The Porter won a Bronze Medal at the 1994 World Beer Championships and a Silver Medal in 1995. In 1997, Beer Connoisseur magazine named it one of their top four porters, scoring 92 out of 100 points. In 2000, two Blue Ridge beers won gold medals at the World Beer Cup. Food & Wine Magazine included Frederick Brewing in its 1998 editor's choice list of America's top breweries. In 1997, Frederick Brewing introduced Hempen Ale, the first beer in America brewed with hemp seeds. The ale caught international attention - and also the attention of federal regulators. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Drug Enforcement Administration all became involved. The hemp seeds, which made up 10-30% of the beer by weight, were imported from China. Federal regulators also objected to the label's Japanese maple leaves, which resembled cannabis leaves. The brewery spent nearly $20,000 in legal fees to gain approval. By June 1997, Frederick Brewing had back-orders of 10,000 cases for the controversial ale.

In January 1998, Frederick Brewing acquired both Wild Goose Brewing Company of Cambridge, Maryland, and Brimstone Brewing Company of Baltimore for approximately $3 million and 80,000 shares of stock. The Cambridge and Baltimore facilities were closed, and production was consolidated at the Frederick brewery. This acquisition made Frederick Brewing the largest independent craft brewery in the Mid-Atlantic region. Despite its awards and rapid growth, the company never achieved profitability. The brewery never sold more than 11,000 barrels of Blue Ridge beer in any given year, and by the late 1990s, sales began to stagnate as the 1990s craft beer bubble burst. Modern Brewery Age would later call Frederick Brewing "the exemplar of heedless expansion of the micro segment."

On August 26, 1999, Snyder International Brewing Group (SIBG) of Ohio took over Frederick Brewing Company for $2.4 million. SIBG purchased 51% of the company's common stock and the land on which the brewery sat. Kevin Brannon and Marjorie McGinnis stepped down as chairman and president, becoming vice presidents until their departure at the end of September. C. David Snyder became chairman and CEO. As part of the agreement, McGinnis received two free cases of beer per month for the rest of her life. By this time, the company's stock had fallen from over $6 to less than 10 cents per share. Under SIBG ownership, Frederick Brewing produced numerous contract brands including Crooked River, Little Kings Cream Ale, and Hudepohl. By 2001, the company was producing 26 different beer styles, with Blue Ridge representing only 10-15% of sales. Financial troubles continued. In 2001, the company was unable to pay increased water and sewage fees to Frederick County. By early 2002 or 2003, Frederick Brewing was placed into receivership in Ohio, owing over $1 million in back taxes. By 2004, the brewery owed Frederick County more than $610,000 in back taxes and another $2.1 million to BB&T bank.

On July 27, 2006, Flying Dog Brewery, originally founded as a brewpub in Aspen, Colorado, purchased Frederick Brewing Company for $1.6 million to settle its $3.1 million in debts. The facility was renamed Wild Goose Brewery and designated as Flying Dog's "East Coast hub." Flying Dog moved all operations to Frederick in 2007 and all production by 2008, closing its Denver brewery. Flying Dog continued producing Wild Goose beers until November 2010, when capacity constraints forced them to sell the Wild Goose brand to Logan Shaw Brewing Company. In 2015, Flying Dog sold the Frederick facility to DuClaw Brewing Company, which operated there until 2023. In May 2023, Flying Dog was acquired by FX Matt Brewing Company of Utica, New York, ending production at the Frederick facility by August. In November 2024, the former brewery was sold to Hercules Custom Iron for $8.3 million, ending brewing operations at the historic site.

No description could be found of Blue Ridge Steeple Stout, except that is was first brewed in spring 1995 and became part of Frederick Brewing's regular lineup. The beer was brewed with approximately 10% rye in the grain bill. Contemporary tasting notes described it as a very nice, smooth, sweet stout. It won a silver medal at the 1996 World Beer Cup in the Sweet Stout category. No ratings could be found on BeerAdvocate or Untappd.