Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Custom Beer Tap Handles:

1. Will you make just one handle for me? YES!  Most of our customers are buying only one handle, for a kegerator.  While we also serve breweries and restaurants when they need a few handles (we offer bulk pricing too, of course), we are here primarily for you and will be able to assist you in laying out the custom text and graphics you need to create a great tap handle, as a gift, or for your own beer cave.

2. Where is the payment button?  Ordering a customized beer tap handle oftentimes involves too many variables to make a "buy now" button work, but it is ideally suited to e-mail correspondence.  We want to hear from you to make sure you’re getting the best possible version of what you want in a custom beer tap handle.  To place an order, just e-mail us.  We’ll send you quotes, mockups, answers to questions, and finally, when you approve your mockup, we’ll e-mail a Google Checkout invoice to you.  You can pay this by card, on the safe and secure Google system, rather than giving us your payment information.

3. I’m ready to call you, but the phone number isn’t on the website.  Please e-mail us.  If you send us an e-mail, we can answer your question not only with words, but also pictures.  We’ll be able to send you links to examples on our website, as well as show you mockup proofs, in addition to answering your question.  Creating custom one-off craftwork requires a lot of time, so please understand that we’ll be answering your e-mail as fast as possible, but it may not be an instant response.  Chances are that the quick question you have for us is answered on the website already.  Keep reading the FAQ to see if your question’s answer is here, and feel free to e-mail us at any time.

4. How much does it cost?  This is custom work which requires a great deal of setup time just to make one unique piece.  Naturally, if you want one or more copies, you’ll find that we have much lower prices for each additional handle.  We’ve attempted to leave very specific pricing information on the pages that relate to the three types of customization we offer (engraved, labeled, hybrid labeled/engraved).  A quick answer:  $121 (that's the cost of a tap handle using a graphic from our catalog, your custom text, and includes one or more colors of paint applied by hand to the deeply engraved marks of the text and graphic on the tapper, plus $6 shipping; it's what most customers buy).  The end price of your handle will be a combination of pricing steps:  What method of customization do you want (engraving or labeling)?  Do you need us to use a graphic you have sent in, or are you choosing a graphic from our catalog?  Does your graphic require a lot of work to prepare before we can use it, a little work, or is it already crisp, clear, high-resolution, and black and white?  Will your engraved handle be finished by hand-paint-filling the engraved marks, or do you want it to be raw engraving (works on the clear-finished oak taps), which leaves a medium-dark brown mark on the wood?  There’s also shipping ($6) and the optional second side copy or message ($20) to consider.  It takes about 10 minutes to read all the text on the related pages springing from the main tap handle page which discusses your options, but just about every basic "how much does it cost" question can be answered there.  For those questions that remain, e-mail us, send us your custom graphic for a quote, we’re happy to help you!

5. I’d like to call you because my order needs to be expedited.  Even without you calling us, we are already swiftly speeding your order to conclusion.  It benefits us to complete your order as fast as possible to be ready for new orders, so we’re already working hard on the order you placed yesterday.  During the rush holiday season, we know that everyone will be placing last-minute orders, and have increased the hours our staff work in order to accomplish fast, yet quality, results for everyone, equally, in the order in which we received the mockup approvals.  Please let us know at the time you place the order if you have a specific requirement for a completion date, and we’ll do our best to achieve it for you, letting you know if it is likely to be finished in that timeframe.  If you feel you must check in on us, you may e-mail and we’ll get back to you when we have the time available.

6. Did you ship our handle yet?  When we ship your order, we use USPS Priority Shipping, which generates a delivery confirmation code.  The USPS website e-mails you with that number, so you can follow it through the postal system and see when it arrives.  It may be in your spam folder in e-mail, and it may have been sent to the e-mail that your Google Checkout invoice uses.  We understand that you are excited to receive your custom handle, and probably need to get it wrapped up to give as a gift quickly, so you want to know when it will arrive.  Priority Mail typically takes 2-3 United States Post Office days of transit, which includes Saturdays.  Go on, e-mail us to check, it's ok.

7. How should we format our graphic in order to send it to you for use on our custom tap handle?  You can read all about custom graphics here:

8. Do your handles fit our kegerator?  Our keg tap handles all use the same standard fitting as the typical US beer brands use, and it fits the standard equipment in bars, taverns, restaurants, and on most kegerators found in the USA.  The ferrule accepts a 3/8 inch threaded bolt (the bolt sticks up from the beer faucet on the kegerator).  European equipment uses different sizes, like M8 and M10 (metric), but just about everyone else uses 3/8ths inch.

9. You use Google Checkout, but I have PayPal.  We only use Google Checkout to process credit cards, only online (don’t e-mail your card number to us, for your safety!), so please follow the instructions Google gives you in the e-mailed invoice we sent.  You may, alternatively, send a check to us, but this requires a wait, as the check would need to reach us, then our bank, and then be cleared by our bank.  Google Checkout is owned by Google, the search engine company, and offers a very secure online environment in which to process your card.  We never see your card details.

10. I’d like our handle to be shaped like a…  We don’t offer custom shapes, instead, we deeply engrave, or we label, your custom graphics and text on our stock tap handle shapes.  We can still get that special shape on your handle, as a graphic.  There are businesses catering to the breweries that can make any size and shape of handle you can imagine, but they typically charge over $1k for the first handle (the second through 100,000 ^th handles are much cheaper).

11. Do you offer a bulk discount?  Yes.  We can help you get your new beer brand into the first few bars and restaurants, until your require a mass-produced handle.  One custom handle typically costs $115-125, but ordering 3 copies brings the per-handle price down to $75 each, 5 copies down to $70 each, and 10 or more copies to $65 each handle (there may be a small initial setup fee to prepare a persnickety graphic, but some graphic setup is already included, as is all text setup).  E-mail us and we’ll let you know more, and send you mockups.

12. Baseball, Football, University, and other team logos:  We don’t have permission to reproduce pro-team logos, and they very rarely give such permission to small businesses.  We will not reproduce any graphic, logo, or name that is trademarked or copyrighted, unless the owner of that copyright or trademark gives us permission to do so.  We turn down a lot of business by following these rules, but we also help our customers create even more special and unique handles as a result.  By focusing on the recipient’s personality and specialty hobbies or interests, we can make a more meaningful and fun handle, which they appreciate more than a name brand.

13. Do you sell blank handles?  No, sorry!

14. What is your turnaround time?  We typically will create your custom beer tap handle less than a week after you’ve approved your mockup proof.  We use USPS Priority Shipping, which usually takes 2-3 Post Office days, including Saturdays.  Please let us know if you have a deadline and we will give you our best informed guess as to what date we can get your handle in the post.  We regularly rush orders, if at all possible, and can, for $22 instead of our usual $6 shipping rate, bump up your single handle shipping to the Post Office’s "next day" Express Shipping (which often takes closer to two days, due to the early cut-off times for guaranteed delivery).

15. I want to put this handle in an outdoor kitchen or bar:  Our handle bodies and shafts are all hardwood, and all of them are finished with paint or clear polyurethane.  Basically, this is the same as the brightwork (finished wood) on a yacht.  If you leave it outside exposed to the elements, it will eventually show weathering, even though it is capable of being outdoors.  However, if you protect it by covering it when it isn’t in use, or when it is not going to be in use for long periods, then it will last much longer.  Two fast methods you can use to protect your handle:  use a golf club cover, or simply unscrew the handle and store it inside or in a drawer in your outdoor bar.

16. Can you make beer glasses for us too?  No, though it’s a good idea.  Please let us know who you did eventually find to make your glasses, and if you liked the results, of course.  We need a contact for our future customers requiring personalized glasswear.

17. Do you ship to other countries?  Yes!  We’ll need to give you a special shipping quote, the shipping prices and shipping times will be higher, and slower, than our in-country advertized rates, but we do regularly ship overseas and over borders.

18. I’ve read your FAQ and still have questions, please call me…  Please e-mail us instead.  We give you more, not less, attention when we e-mail answers to you.  We really want to help you create a unique and special custom tap handle!