Tap Handles with Customizable Labels

[jfrizzell]

Have you guys seen these tap handles?

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/tap-handles-pid-C100-4.html

http://www.micromatic.com/draft-keg-beer/tap-handles-pid-C150-6.html

These look pretty slick. It would be a fairly simple way to label which beers you have on tap. They have templates available to make the labels that go inside the tap handle.

 

[dblvsn]

These are frickin awesome! :rockin: And the price is hella cheap! :rockin: I'm ordering 2 of these now. :rockin: Thanks!

 

[jfrizzell]

Cool. Let us know how you like them! :rockin:

I'm getting ready to dump my picnic taps and put in two faucets on my fridge door so I'll be seriously considering these also.

 

[dblvsn]

I've been debating on what to use for tap handles for awhile now. These are perfect. Placed an order for 2 of the 6" handles just a few minutes ago so I should have them by Friday or Monday. Review to come.

 

[Atl300zx]

i use a different style. I've since changed my brewery name but you get the point.

Those were from taphandles.com

 

[jfrizzell]

No doubt those are nice, but they sure are pricey. I thought the one's above were a unique and cost effective approach. I also like that they are shorter in length so I won't have to mount them so low on the fridge door to avoid interfering with the freezer door.

 

[dblvsn]

Got my handles today. These are going to work out awesome for me. I'll be printing up some labels to stick in 'em this weekend and I'll snap some pics to post.

 

[dblvsn]

Haven't had much time to play with the design yet but here's some quick labels I tossed in to show 'em off. It's kind of a strange shape to work with for design so will probably take awhile to figure out what works best.

 

[Homercidal]

I like that you can change the labels fairly easily, but not sure I like the shape. I think a cylinder shape would be better/easier to use. There other interchangeable tap handles out there.

 

[dblvsn]

I like that you can change the labels fairly easily, but not sure I like the shape. I think a cylinder shape would be better/easier to use. There other interchangeable tap handles out there.

I like the oval shape as it gives more room for visible art than a cylinder.

 

[jfrizzell]

I like the oval shape as it gives more room for visible art than a cylinder.

Yeah, me too. If it was just a straight sided cylinder, you wouldn't have much room to work with. The cone shape gives you quite a bit more real estate for the label. I'll be getting a couple of these very soon.

Thanks for checking these out for us!

 

[FlyingHorse]

I like the oval shape as it gives more room for visible art than a cylinder.

I have a couple cheaper black plastic handles with oval inserts (not nearly as nice as the ones Atl300zx posted)...I thought I got them at taphandles.com, but can't seem to find them there any more. They do have some other models with different shape (oval, rectangle, etc.) inserts, though. Probably wouldn't be hard to make some, either.

 

[Pedro-]

awesome! once im not broke anymore i'll likely get a few of these

 

[jfrizzell]

I'm finally getting the parts together to convert my two picnic taps to real faucets and ordered two of the handles that I linked. I'll get a couple more pictures up here once I get everything put together.

 

[Hagen]

I'm late to the party on this one, but I got mine today.

It's a really simple design, but it works for me.

 

[mmb]

I found the 6 inch do not thread on my generic rear sealing faucets. The 4 inch handles work great.

 

[IrregularPulse]

They look kind of cheap in pictures. Real plasticy. How are they in person?

 

[Brooklyn-Brewtality]

They look kind of cheap in pictures. Real plasticy. How are they in person?

thats what i am afraid of. they look like they will look and feel cheap.

 

[Hagen]

It all depends on your expectations. If you expect the quality of a $50+ wooden pub handle out of an $8 piece of plastic, you'll be dissapoimted.

They feel solid when mounted. They do look "plasticy" because that's what they are. They fill a niche for me, an inexpensive low clearance alternative to plain black tap handles.

 

[IrregularPulse]

It all depends on your expectations. If you expect the quality of a $50+ wooden pub handle out of an $8 piece of plastic, you'll be dissapoimted.

They feel solid when mounted. They do look "plasticy" because that's what they are. They fill a niche for me, an inexpensive low clearance alternative to plain black tap handles.

Agreed. I admit to being lazy and not looking at the price for them. Not bad for 8 dollars. All though I DO hate paying $6 to ship something that's $8. That's usually a deal breaker for me when shipping matches purcahse price. I can't help but thank I can find it somewhere (usually can't) and buy two instead of one plus shipping. It is better when you buy more than one though. only an extra $0.50 per handle after 1 (to 45601).

 

[Hagen]

I should also mention that while they are plastic, they are not thin and flimsy. The black center insert is the threaded part, and when locked down, holds the entire handle in place well. I think the real convenience comes when swapping out a keg, all you have to do is swap out a label in the handle. I'll admit that having a seperate custom handle for each brew would look better, but it can get downright expensive when you have ten or more different brews in rotation.

 

[springer]

I have three of these that I will be using. Got them from a friend who owns a bar they are still in the box's . The insert is removable so that you need not change the handle when they change over the seasonal beers. Only thing I need to do is sand the right side as it has the Sam Adams name under the clear.

 

[dblvsn]

I should also mention that while they are plastic, they are not thin and flimsy. The black center insert is the threaded part, and when locked down, holds the entire handle in place well. I think the real convenience comes when swapping out a keg, all you have to do is swap out a label in the handle. I'll admit that having a seperate custom handle for each brew would look better, but it can get downright expensive when you have ten or more different brews in rotation.

+1 I'll toss another of my $.02 into this. These are great handles for the price. In fact I bought 5 more for when I finish my larger keezer this winter. These are nice and solid products. Compared to tossing out $30-$50+/ea. on a wood handle is far too expensive for me. The only real downside is they're plastic and could scratch up over the years. Who's to say a wood handle isn't gonna get beaten up a little either. I'm gonna put my official dblvsn seal of approval on these. Great product for the homebrewer.

 

[IrregularPulse]

This is the style I plan on going with as well.
Good to hear they (the ones the thread are about) are quality handles. Sometimes seeing something online just doesn't do it justice. I could see me getting these if I (read WHEN I) make on of BM's rolling Trashcans Keezers.

 

[drunkatuw]

My sister got me two of the 4" handles for my birthday. They look great on my sanyo. Only problem I've had is that the template on micromatic's website is a little small, so I need to make my own template.

 

[jfrizzell]

The template worked perfect for me. Are you sure you didn't have any of the scaling / fit options selected when printing it?

 

[drunkatuw]

The template worked perfect for me. Are you sure you didn't have any of the scaling / fit options selected when printing it?

Yup, that was the problem. Stupid acrobat defaulting to "Shrink to printable area"

Although I also tried pasting it into photoshop and it was still small. I'll have to tweak it when I get home tonight.

 

[2Kegger]

I just got mine today. I got them from micromatic. They were a little cheaper. I got the metal ones, not the plastic ones. They are heavy and very sturdy. I love them. Couldn't be happier. They have a template on their website in PDF format. I moved it in to Photoshop and made templates. I need to work on the labels a bit, but they are looking awesome already.