Beer Tap Handles

When choosing the beer tap handle for your beer of choice on tap, you must consider the long history of the tap handle. The look of a tap handle has long influenced the choice a person  makes at the bar. What started out as an organizational item to ensure the proper beer was coming out of the proper beer faucet, has over the years turned into a mega sales and marketing tool for beer companies to influence people at the point of purchase.

Numbers of people will scan the beer tap handles at a bar and make their decision on what beer to purchase by any number of influences from the beer tap handles they see and have to choose from. The influences include: style, color, dynamic looks of the beer tap handle, and sometimes even sounds and lights. The up side for the beer companies is that through a person's random sampling of a beer because of a beer tap handle, can lead to years of loyal purchases of draft beer as well as package beer of that brand by a consumer.

The history of the beer tap handle can be traced back to the years shortly after prohibition ended. In those early days it was not uncommon for a bar to advertise for one beer, but pour the consumer a different lower cost and quality beer. As the government caught on to this practice, they passed a law requiring bars to identify the beer that it served on tap. This allowed the government inspectors to easily go into the keg cooler of a bar and check the barrels to determine if the establishment was pouring what it advertised, thus not shafting the consumer. This led breweries to create ball knobs with logos on them to mark their beers and the beer tap handle was born.

Breweries saw the potential in this, but over time, only changed the size and colors of the tap handle.

In the 1980's a new type of brewer was developing. They were known as the small craft brewer. As this type of small company brewing became more popular, they realized they did not have the advertising money to compete with the large brewers of the day. This inspired the craft brewer to use their influence where it mattered most: at the consumer point of purchase. This was brilliant because the impact was high at the point of purchase and the cost was relatively low for a craft brewer.

the beer tap handle you see now can be anything from a colorful basic pub style handle to a wild animal drinking beer, or a piece of machinery that represents the history and growth of the company that brewed the beer, or the beer itself.

The large brewers have also figured out the effectiveness of the creative beer tap handle and have started to put more interesting handles out in the market. A beer tap handle has become one of the most, if not the most effective marketing tool a brewer can develop. All brewers, large or craft, strive to create a beer tap handle that stands out in the market, but still represents the company and the history they are presenting.

Maintaining your Beer tap handle

A beer tap handle is easy to clean and maintain. A bar towel with some warm water on it is all you will need to wipe off finger prints or dried beer it may have on it.

Using Your Beer Tap Handle

The worst thing people do to a beer tap handle is to pull it incorrectly. This can snap it off and break the beer faucet itself or break parts within the beer faucet. This will more than likely shut down that brand of beer until you are able to get the repair parts or get a new beer faucet.

To pull a beer tap handle correctly, you need to pivot the beer tap handle forward by pulling it towards you while grasping the beer tap handle just above the top of the beer faucet. The larger beer tap handles pulled from the top will put too much leverage on the faucet and could snap the threaded handle lever in the faucet. Always pull the beer tap handle towards you from the appropriate level in an easy, smooth motion while making sure the faucet is full open. When the faucet is only partially open, or opened too slowly, the beer will be foamy.

Trouble-shooting your Beer Tap Handle

A tap handle will occasionally loosen at its base. If this were to happen, all that would need to be done is to snug the tap handle back to its base making sure you do not over tighten the beer tap handle. If the beer tap handle breaks, consult your local distributor to have it replaced.