The Museum Turns 14 Years Old, Part 2: Top 25 Taps Acquired

I had to abandon my idea to show tap displays in the Museum. The lighting isn't quite right, and I'm not happy with how the photos turned out, so I'm going to have to postpone that idea for now.

Instead, I'm pivoting to the top taps I acquired this year. My top tap posts are always among my most popular posts. In the past it was a top 10 list, but in 2020 I expanded it from a top 10 to a top 15. For the past 2 years, that number rose to 25 due to the number of fantastic taps I obtained. However, due to the fewer taps I obtained this year, I'm dropping the number back down to 15, which is roughly one-third of the total number of taps acquired for the year. Inclusion on the list was based primarily on scarcity and desirability; price was a factor in one case. The acquisitions are presented in no particular order...

#1: Tower Brewing - Monkey Knife Fight

This is a tap I was after for several years before finally acquiring one on the secondary market. Who doesn't love ninja monkeys drinking beer?! Rubicon Brewing in Sacramento produced Monkey Knife Fight for many years before closing, until Tower Brewing bought the rights to produce it. Tower Brewing was formerly Sactown Union Brewing until they rebranded. To add another layer of confusion, this beer is not to be confused by Nodding Head Brewery's beer of the same name, which was a herb/spiced pale lager.  The name for both beers was inspired by an episode from "The Simpsons" TV show. Sactown Union had agreed to sell me this tap, and when they rebranded as Tower, it seemed like it would still happen, but no such luck...until this past year. About a dozen have hit the secondary market as of this writing; expect to pay anywhere from $150-$200 to obtain one.

#2: Old Style - World's Largest Six Pack (King Gambrinus)

Say hello to last year's ATH double award winner! Awarded a gold medal by the guest panel and a silver medal by me, I'm very happy that a friend was able to obtain one for me at a great price. Although it is limited in the number produced, it's not that hard to get - there are currently 3 on the secondary market at the time this post was written - rather, it's the price point that makes it prohibitive for many collectors.

 

#3: Aviation Gin

What a great addition to my collection of spirit taps! Although it's very small at only 5" tall, it's still a great tap. My dad was very impressed when he held it in his hand, there's just something about its sleek, "golden age of travel" era of design. It's made of metal which only adds to the coolness factor. Aviator is based in Portland, Oregon, not far from me, and is co-owned by celebrity Ryan Reynolds. The tap is difficult to find...I've only seen one other at the time of this writing.

#4: Death Valley

In what became a trend last year, this tap made it to me by way of a friend. I had seen a photo of this tap several years ago and searched in vain for it, but finally the search is over. My difficulty in acquiring it speaks to how hard it is to get one. I've only seen a few in the hands of collectors...never on the secondary market. It is a foreign tap that comes from Les Brasseurs RJ in Montreal, Quebec.

#5: Lorelei (v2)

This second version of Lorelei's mermaid tap is stunning in person. I thought the first version was nice, but this one surpasses it. Based out of Corpus Christi, Texas (a place I have visited and briefly thought about moving to some day), the brewery closed their taproom in 2022, and fully closed by 2024. A damaged one of these taps hit the secondary market in 2021, but it wasn't until 2024-2025 that another 6 showed up. Now only the first version is available to purchase.

#6: Sabine Rose

A 1959 pink Cadillac De Ville makes a great tap handle! This beauty is the second foreign tap, a wine tap from Bieler Père et Fils Cuvée in France, and it proved to be challenging to display. It did not come with a ferrule, and requires one with a smaller 5/16" thread. While a 5/16" ferrule is not hard to find, the standard length ferrule is too small to mount, because the tail fins of the Cadillac extend down too far. Fortunately I had a long, straight 5/16" ferrule laying around, and it works perfectly! Not only that, it resembles a tailpipe, so it is theme appropriate. The tap is very unique...at the time of this writing, I have not seen another.

#7: Thatcher's Green Goblin (v2)

The version 1 of Thatcher's Green Goblin has been around for a long time (tap profile #466 here), but I had never seen this version 2 before I acquired it, and I haven't seen one since. This is the third foreign tap on this list. There are strong similarities between the two taps - the bulbous nose, the flaming goblet, the red cap - but this guy has legs and feet and grips a sign, which version 1 doesn't have. He's also a lighter green, almost a teal color, which allows detail to be seen more easily.

#8: Rahr - Blonde cowgirl

Rahr's Blonde cowgirl is probably my favorite acquisition of the year. The tap is a whopping 14" tall, very sturdy, and has excellent detail and color...the purple and white color scheme works well here. Historically, Rahr taps have been very hard to find. I've seen one of these on the secondary market that sold for $1000, but as of the time of this writing, it seems to be very scarce.

#9: Pabst - Godzilla

Pabst's new Godzilla tap isn't exactly rare - over 50 have appeared on the secondary market and at the time of this writing there are 11 listed - it's the price that makes this tap prohibitive for some collectors to obtain. The first one on the secondary market sold for nearly $1600, though the price has dropped to an average of $300-$350 since, and it can occasionally be had for $200. Godzilla destroying a nicely rendered likeness of the Pabst Brewery building is hilarious, it's such a great tap. I'm a big Godzilla fan - in fact I own a Godzilla pinball machine - so this one was a no-brainer for me.

#10: North of 7 shotgun

I received this tap in a trade with another collector and it's pretty awesome! It reminds me of the Dark Horse shotgun but is lighter in color and more slim. This is actually a spirits tap; North of 7 is a craft distillery in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the fourth foreign tap on the list, and the tap has been discontinued. It was always hard to find, but I only know of a few in the hands of other collectors...it has not appeared on the secondary market at the time of this writing.

#11: Forbidden Peak

I've wanted this tap ever since I saw one on the Tap Handles LLC website several years ago. Better late than never, I guess! This tap is awesome, with a blue acrylic base that would look amazing lit up. At the top, a tiny yeti is scaling a mountain peak while gripping a beer in his hand. The tap has suffered some damage around the label area, but I'm going to try my hand at repairing it. The brewery label at the bottom is also unusual as it is a five pointed shape stretched over a raised edge. The brewery is from a small town, Auke Bay, Alaska, which is considered part of Juneau. They have some great labels, and I'm hoping to get one to put on the tap. This is the only one I've ever seen on the secondary market, or anywhere else.

#12: Wychwood - Hobgoblin IPA

About 3-4 years ago, I acquired the Hobgoblin version 3 handle; the only Hobgoblin tap I was lacking was this IPA tap, which I had spent several years searching for. I finally landed one, and it's a beauty! This is the fifth and final foreign tap on the list. It's very similar to the Hobgoblin v3 handle, but there are some subtle differences...this one has a teal colored outfit as opposed to red, yellow hair and beard and feathered arrows instead of orange, a two-toned ax, and no ferrule (v3 has a metallic red ferrule). This is the rarest of all the Hobgoblin taps; I've only seen a couple in the hands of collectors, and none on the secondary market.

#13: Pabst - Kate Hush

This is a tap that seems to polarize most collectors, with a "like it" or "dislike it" reaction. Pabst worked with artist Kate Hush on designing this tap. Kate's artwork is amazing, utilizing neon in a lot of it; I think that's what the bright, in your face cyan color of the hand is supposed to represent. It's too bad we couldn't have actually gotten an actual neon tap - that would be a first, to my knowledge. It's often referred to as the "blue monster hand" tap. This is more rare than most other Pabst taps...of this one, I've seen about 30 hit the secondary market, a remarkably small amount for a Pabst tap. The price is also prohibitive for some...a few early offerings sold for $75, if you were quick enough to get one; after that, the price quickly jumped into the $200-$300 range, and actually hit $475 in late 2025.

#14: Feather Falls Casino - Snake Eyes Double IPA

I have several other Feather Falls taps, but I did not have this one, so when an opportunity came to grab this Snake Eyes, as well as the brewery's Dancing Trees, I jumped at the chance. Honestly, Dancing Trees could have gone here as well, I like them both. The Feather Falls Brewery and Casino is located in Oroville, California, a little over 2 hours northwest of Lake Tahoe. The brewery's taps are no longer in production, but do appear now and then. Only 2 of the Snake Eyes taps have appeared on the secondary market, with the last one selling in 2023 for over $200.

#15 (tie): Sisu - Honey Orange Lager & Macizo

I love both of these Sisu taps and could not choose one over the other, so I included them both in my last spot...technically I guess I've listed my top 16 new acquisitions, not 15, ha! Sisu Brewing is in Seaside, Oregon, a little over 2 hours away from me, and I visited Seaside many times in my youth - it was my favorite beach town in Oregon. They also have a second location in Astoria, Oregon, which is a town I visit more frequently. I'll be posting about a trip to Sisu Brewing in the future. Both taps can be purchased at the brewery, but due to their taps being flipped for ridiculous markups on eBay, the brewery will no longer ship them. At the time of this writing, one of each of these is listed on the secondary market for about $200 each.

That ends another amazing year for tap acquisitions! I don't have the bandwidth for an ATH Awards post right now...perhaps in a month or two. I'm also not sure if I'll do a giveaway this year. For now I'll be resuming tap profiles...