Club Tap Box

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 4:41 pm

Sweet! Way to go Pottsie! Lurking in the weeds like a hungry lion and pounces on the unsuspecting prey!

And let's not forget, this one has 2 more taps than Craze's!!!

Do you have a shipping date yet?

tompb · Post by **tompb** » Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:54 pm

When you get it I'll get the measurements. I can get a piece oof stainless folded for free.

Another thought is a raised top out of chalkboard or whiteboard that we could easily label taps on.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 9:51 am

Very nice work Jim, way to capture the deal brotha!

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:23 pm

I like the concept Tom, but remember spillage. Both writing materials (chalk and marker) would have "running" issues with spills and the chalkboard would warp if it got too wet, too often. I know you can buy chalkboard paint, but don't know if it works on stainless?

I looked at the chalkboard tap handles, which would be perfect for us, but they are pricey ($35 each @ NB).

But, we do need to find a way to lable the taps so we know what's what during the fests. Something better than Post-it notes!

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:37 pm

I can kick in some acrylic if you want it, we could do something similar to the way my taps are done with an insert (mine take a standard business card, which you can buy and print yourself). Especially on the side facing the customers (for lack of a better word) not on the taps as it would be too small, but perhaps on the front of the bar. say a 4" x 6" or 5" x 7". Then those contributing can produce their own graphics and/or descriptions and you just stick the insert in when placed on tap. This would works well for the tap handles as well as that is what I use on my tap handles and is very convientient. This also works great because as Tony pointed out it is waterproof and can hold up to beer be spilled around the bar.

hoboscratch · Post by **hoboscratch** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:37 pm

I have a section of chalkboard paint on some wood on the front of my kegerator. Its both a pain in the ass to apply so it looks nice (it won't be smooth like a chalkboard) but it does work well. It obviously has a very flat look which contrasts with painted wood. As far as painting stainless steel, you have to use an oil based paint to paint stainless steel anyway, which chalkboard paint is not.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Tue Mar 29, 2011 12:44 pm

CJ, did you make those handles or buy them?

I think the idea has merit.

We'll still need to lable our side too, so we can remember which one is which (along with color coding the lines or some other means to keep them identified). Details, details!

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 10:55 am

tony b wrote:CJ, did you make those handles or buy them?

I made mine, I got the idea from ones that I had seen available for purchase, but the were $30 which was a little more then I wanted to spend. So I made a template out of wood for face of the handle with 2 pieces of wood and used cut down railing spindles for the shaft.

I still have the template in my brew room if interested. Which are farely easy to cut then you just router out the back peice to make for the insert.

tony b wrote: We'll still need to lable our side too, so we can remember which one is which (along with color coding the lines or some other means to keep them identified). Details, details!

Yes we do need to label our side so that we know what we are pouring. However, I would say that our side does not have to be pretty. We could do both if interested. a 4" x 6" or 5" x 7" for the outside facing customers so that it is large enough to be easily seen and read, then the tap handles like mine facing us for pouring identification.

There are times when I put a new beer on tap that in the short term I just take a business card write on it with black marker and slide it in. The really nice thing is that I save the files and the tap labels, so that lots of times it is a matter of getting the right tap label out of a drawer.

I do have a large sheet of acrylic sitting in my basement that I could easily make some of these for if interested that you are welcome to. I keep the clear acrylic for aquarium projects. I think the sheet I have is 6 feet x 4 feet so more then enough to do all. Plus I think some finishing wood that I used for my handles, but that probably is more dependant on the materials the bar is made out of.

Matt F · Post by **Matt F** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:13 pm

There were some creative tap handles at NHC last year. The bottles with a label on them were cool, but I imagine us clowns breaking many of those. I liked the white labs vials with specialty grain in them matching that of the beer being served with a label on them. I like the idea of changeable labels so we can swap stuff in and out throughout a festival.

kjball · Post by **kjball** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 12:19 pm

I like the white lab vials. At least for a temporary, cheap solution. We can do that now at no cost and if we want to upgrade in the future it's an option.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 1:12 pm

kjball wrote:I like the white lab vials. At least for a temporary, cheap solution. We can do that now at no cost and if we want to upgrade in the future it's an option.

That still leaves the question then of how we mark our taps?
I vaguly remember those but do not remember what the labeling looked like on the vials.

Plus the other thing I would throw out is that this is about appearance. As far as serving, this accomplishes the same thing that picnic taps does. It just does it with style, as at many of the past festivals we have been shown up by other clubs with their boxes (even though our beer kicks their asses). I think we should do it the way we want it to look finished the first time around, as once it gets done, it will be on to the next thing and the bar will not be worked on anymore. So we should shoot for WOW from the start.

nick scherbaum · Post by **nick scherbaum** » Wed Mar 30, 2011 9:20 pm

Im not a big carpenter but i could help pickup some wood to donate to this endeavor or assist in completion in other areas like sanding prep, staining or clear coat ?

brownbeard · Post by **brownbeard** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 12:37 am

I like the taps Jeremy has a lot, and they are functional for our need. They allow you to change the label very quickly. They could be stained to match the bar. And they could be done on the cheap.

A poll would be a good idea.

BrewHound · Post by **BrewHound** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 10:28 am

Also, it really only took me about 4 days to make them.

Pieces cut in one day.
Glued the next
and painted in 2 days with 3 coats of paint and Poly.

I would be willing to build if someone has a drill press that I could use. The only problem with mine was that I hand drilled the shaft for the tap nut and they are not perfectly centered which I could easily correct with a press.

tony b · Post by **tony b** » Fri Apr 08, 2011 3:33 pm

Did we receive the tap tower yet, Pottsie??