Collectable Beer Taps & Knobs

Collectable beer Taps and Knobs

In 1933, the era of the prohibition ended and the era of collectable beer taps and knobs was born. Due to new regulations, beer tap systems were required to place the brand of the beer on their beer taps for transparency. Up to the 1950s, the most commonly used knobs were ball knobs, which are now a favourite of collectors worldwide. Both beer taps and knobs are interesting pieces that tell stories of a time in the past that many people want to treasure.

Although both are used to dispense beer from a kegerator or an old-fashioned beer keg barrel, a beer tap is usually flat and attached firmly to the lever that opens the faucet. A knob comes in many shapes and sizes such as round, flat, custom-designed and more. The most common design, however, is the classic tube-like longitudinal knob that is easily recognisable with printed brands on the middle of the knob.

The harder it is to find, the more expensive the tap can be. Rare beer tap handles come from the original collection of first taps. Some are limited edition taps that were only available for a certain time and were taken out of circulation. Examples include the Mercury Draught Beer Tap, the Vintage Fosters Lager Beer Tap and the Carrabassett Harvest Ale Beer Tap Head.

Rare beer knobs are usually made out of porcelain and metal. Some of the most sought after knobs have medallions on them with the brand of beer embossed or engraved and painted. Some rare taps include a Vintage Carlton Draught Beer Knob, the 1964 Schlitz Beer Knob and the Toohey’s Old Hunter Beer Knobs.

Due to the large number of collectors here and abroad, there are many people who can verify whether or not a beer tap or knob is real or not. However, even an amateur collector can see the difference when collecting average-priced taps and knobs. An authentic tap will have the markings of aging like the paint changing colour or the metal not having its original shine. Most fake knobs are made of low quality plastic and are very easy to spot.