What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

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russki
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What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by russki »

Since I had built my keezer, I've been using the stock black handles that came with my Perlicks - while this worked fine, I had to use a whiteboard on the side of the keezer to list the beers on tap for my guests. One day, I was browsing Ebay for tap handles (damn, the custom ones are expensive!) when I saw an old Stroh's tap handle (regular and light are both the same shape):

Image

A light bulb went off - I ordered three of those for about $35 total with shipping, got a can of Krylon Chalkboard Paint from Michaels (with a 50% off coupon), and after some masking tape and spraying, I had 3 custom chalkboard handles for my keezer!!! This should also work with other handles that have a flat area that can be painted.

Now, I didn't think this completely through, and the handles are too big for the tower, but I made them work by turning them different directions. You can still read them just fine, and if I ever build that coffin keezer, they will work great.

Image

And a bit closer:

Image

BTW, the drip trays are magnetic, and I can position them any way I want to fit the tower... Repurposed coffee service 4-inch trays with flat rare earth magnets glued to the bottom if anyone is curious.
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by Beer-lord »

Nice, very nice! Great looking, definitely priced right and functional.
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by FrozenInTime »

Nice!
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Kealia
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by Kealia »

Agreed, that's a great idea. I had one custom tap handle gifted to me by co-workers and I'm still noodling on what to do with the second one. Right now, it's also the standard black handle.
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by DirtRacer »

They look great! Awesome idea and I had no idea there was such a thing as chalkboard paint.
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by Brewbirds »

Those look great Russki.

Does the round part at the top that you used the chalkboard paint unscrew from the turned stems (I'm seeing a brass cap at the top)?

If so and you don't like that they are turned sideways to fit I'm think if you could find a couple more on the cheap you could add an additional stem section to change up the heights and they could all face front.
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russki
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by russki »

Brewbirds wrote:Those look great Russki.

Does the round part at the top that you used the chalkboard paint unscrew from the turned stems (I'm seeing a brass cap at the top)?

If so and you don't like that they are turned sideways to fit I'm think if you could find a couple more on the cheap you could add an additional stem section to change up the heights and they could all face front.
The brass pieces do unscrew from the wooden parts, but the rest is solid and doesn't come apart. I don't mind that they are sideways - the chalkboard parts are on both sides of the handle, and are easily readable. Maybe if I had thought about the spacing, I would have picked slimmer handles to paint - Ebay has tons of options!
In Soviet Russia, beer brews you!
My brews
Fermenting:
Strawberry Rhubarb Wheat (5-gal)(AG)
Cranberry Mead
Buck-Flower Mead
Flanders Red (5-gal)(AG) x 2
On Tap:
Hefeweizen (5-gal)(AG)
Oaked Pear Cider
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by John Sand »

Way cool!
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by mashani »

russki wrote: Image
Sweet! I'll take a pour off the one in the middle please.
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by Inkleg »

Nice, very nice! :)
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by wollffy »

Those are great!
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Re: What is Stroh's good for? Something pretty neat!

Post by Kealia »

This has inspired me to order a blank handle and throw my logo on it. Right now I'm looking at this one but we'll see if eBay plays nice. The goal is to pick one up cheap and then simply print my logo in high quality and stick it on. I'll use reuseable labels in case I want to swap out what is on there.

I'll keep things posted if I actually pull the trigger.
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