Tuesday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from 1962. After a day of duck hunting, no matter where you are, the beer will taste the same. I love that one of the guys is drinking so much faster than the other one. His glass is empty while the guy on the right with the flannel sleeve hasn’t even touched his, and must be thinking. “Dude, you gulped your beer down already!?!”
Archives for July 21, 2015
Patent No. 2048266A: Beer Cooling And Dispensing System
Today in 1936, US Patent 2048266 A was issued, an invention of Thomas Alfred Jenkins, for his “Beer Cooling and Dispensing System.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to improvements in beer cooling and dispensing systems and consists in the construction; combinations and arrangements as herein described and claimed.
The general object of my invention is the provision, in a manner-as hereinafter set forth, of a beer cooling and dispensing system that is complete in arrangement; unique in design; attractive; durable; sanitary; efficient and economical in operating performance.
The basic thought and purpose of conception, as embodied in this invention, is the creation of a beer cooling and dispensing system, wherein the cooling tank is simple; the means for cooling highly efficient and the entire system complete in function and sanitary throughout. Means for filtering the beer are practical in every sense and perform the important function of protecting various valve protecting elements. Means for controlling pressure; retaining gases and for flushing and emptying the entire system during cleaning periods are provided.
Pyramid Closes Berkeley Brewery
North American Breweries announced today that effective immediately, they’ve closed the Pyramid Brewery that’s been located in Berkeley, California since 1997. That leaves just the Walnut Creek alehouse remaining in California, after they closed the Sacramento brewpub in 2013.
At Pyramid’s website, it offers only the following by way of explanation.
The Pyramid Berkeley Alehouse is now closed.
Thank you so much for your support and patronage over the years! We also want to thank our employees for their dedicated service. Our other locations remain open and available to provide great beers and a wonderful experience. We hope to see you there.
The East Bay Express has a bit more of the story, explaining “Berkeley’s Pyramid Alehouse (901 Gilman St.) is now permanently closed, according to a message on the restaurant and brewery’s answering machine.”
Of course, the story isn’t complete without acknowledging that they haven’t been brewing at that location since 2013, when the brewers voted to unionize and shortly thereafter the company suspended brewing claiming it was to “fix a quality issue.” Which was obvious nonsense, especially now that the closure has gone from temporary to permanent. The original “temporary” period to “fix” the brewery was supposed to be 6-9 months, which meant it should have reopened and brought back the laid-off brewers sometime between March and June of 2014, or a little over one year ago.
This is, at least in part, what happens when breweries become part of larger businesses like equity firms, who only care about profit and bottom lines, and not the businesses themselves. Pyramid is part of North American Breweries (NAB), and was created in 2009 when equity firm KPS Capital Partners (KPS) bought it along with Magic Hat, Portland Brewing, Labatt’s USA, Genesee and a couple of other brands. In 2012, KPS sold NAB to Cerveceria Costa Rica, a subsidiary of Florida Ice & Farm Co., for $388 million.
East Bay Express later added this update, apparently from a press release from NAB:
The company decided to close its Berkeley facility in order to prepare the building for sale — “after an extensive evaluation process. “We have made the decision to focus our West Coast production in our Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington locations,” said CEO Kris Sirchio.
Frankly, that’s about as believable as the celebrity or political figure embroiled in scandal who retires “to spend more time with his family.” I’m sorry to see the brewery go, but frankly NAB has become a difficult company with many layers to get through before finding an actual live person who can, or will, answer questions about the company’s brands. When Sacramento closed, I spent hours on websites and phones just trying to find someone who would comment or answer questions, and this time I’m not even going to try, given how awful it was last time. One commenter on the EBE piece said, “[w]ord on the street is that another brewery is looking to purchase the property,” so perhaps we’ll have good news about the location soon.
R.I.P. Pyramid Berkeley 1997-2015.
Patent No. 2645893A: Hop Picking Machine
Today in 1953, US Patent 2645893 A was issued, an invention of Emil Clemens Horst Jr., for his “Hop Picking Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a hop picking machine especially designed as a portable unit and especially useful in accommodating variations in the positioning and size of the growing hop vines and also designed with a wide degree of latitude for accommodating variations in the operation of the machine itself.
Another object of the invention is to provide a generally improved hop picking machine.
A further object of the invention is to provide a hop picking machine of the field harvesting type in which substantially all of the hops stripped from the vines are retained in the machine and are not lost upon the ground.
Patent No. 734305A: Process Of Preserving Beer
Today in 1903, US Patent 734305 A was issued, an invention of Francisque Crotte, for his “Process Of Preserving Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to, the preservation of beer or other liquids; and the object of the invention is to provide a process by which the organic or germ life in the beer is rendered harmless, so that the beer will keep without deterioration for a great length of time.
The invention consists of the process of preserving beer which comprises the steps of placing a suitable preservative substance in a receptacle in contact with the beer to be treated and then passing through said substance, receptacle, and the beer an electric current of high tension, said current being of such direction, strength, tension,and character as to induce a cataphoric transference of said preservative substance through the receptacle into the beer.
The invention consists also in certain other combinations of steps hereinafter described and claimed, all however, involving the same principle of cataphoric action.