The beer tap handle has been around since the 1800s. For nearly as long, adults have attempted to decipher what beer lies beneath lavish tap handle designs.

"The beer tap handle is a great marketing tool, but it often results in something closer to confusion than good marketing," says Christian Lavender, founder of Kegerators.com and a craft beer advocate who hails from Austin, TX.

The chalkboard tap handle sits atop the beer faucet and allows the beer patron to easily read the beer's name or type, resulting in a clear message. "The taps are very practical and have a nice appearance. They are reusable and allow the bar to quickly label brews without waiting for a matching handle to arrive. With the ever increasing seasonals and one-off brews being made, this definitely can help a bar label a beer that might not have a dedicated tap handle," Lavender says.

The tap board's magic comes from a dual faced chalkboard erasable surface that allows the bar to write in whatever they've got on tap. Here's how they work:

1) Choose a beer to serve.

2) Write the name on the tap board with chalk.

3) Drink. Erase. Repeat.

"This is a great interchangeable tool for bars that have rotating or seasonal beers on tap," says Jeremy McKnight, Manager at Republic National Distributing Company, "and it really saves commercial bars and home brewers a lot of money. Fewer branded tap handles have to be purchased in the end."

Additional information on the Tap Board can be found at the www.TapBoards.com website.

Kegerators.com, www.kegerators.com, is a free online resource for consumers to search, compare, and buy kegerators online, featuring the largest selection of draft beer dispensers from the nation's largest manufacturers. The searchable and easy-to-navigate website arranges kegerators by category, such as single tap, multiple tap, under counter, outdoor, home brew, mini and commercial kegerators. Consumers can also search for kegerators by type or by brand.

SOURCE Kegerators.com