Pump clips are badges that are attached to handpumps in pubs to show which cask ales are available. In addition to the name of the beer served through the pump, they give other details such as the brewer's name and alcoholic strength of the beer.
They can be made of various materials. For beers that are brewed regularly by the big breweries, high quality plastic, metal or ceramic pump clips are used. Smaller breweries would use a printed plastic pump clip and for one-off beers laminated paper is used. There are variations on the material used, and the gaudiness or tastefulness of the decoration depending on how much the brewery wants to market their beers at the point of sale. Novelty pump clips have also been made of wood, slate and compact discs. Some even incorporate electronic flashing lights. Older pump clips were made of enamel.
The term "pump clip" presumably originates from the clip that attaches it to the pump handle. These could consist of a two-piece plastic ring which clamps to the handle with two screws. Plastic and laminated paper pump clips usually have a white plastic clip fixed with a sticky double-sided pad that simply pushes onto the handle.
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