Friday’s ad is entitled Holiday Buffett, and the illustration was done in 1952 by Douglass Crockwell. It’s #76 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, another couple is arriving at a Christmas party already in progress. They’ve got some catching up to do, since everyone has a beer in their hand. I hope that centerpiece tree is not their only one, but I do remember relatives having small, pathetic trees in the sixties when I was a kid. But if there’s room for a holiday buffet, then it’s too small.
Archives for June 17, 2016
Patent No. 430526A: Bottle Filling Machine
Today in 1890, US Patent 430526 A was issued, an invention of Joseph J. De Kinder and Hermann Roemer, for their “Bottle Filling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
Our invention relates to bottle-filling machines; and it consists of certain improvements, which are fully set forth in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.
While our invention relates to bottle-filling machines in general, it is especially adapted to beer-bottling, in which heretofore great difficulty has been experienced by reason of the great tendency of the beer to foam and of the difficulty of accomplishing the proper feeding of the beer from the barrel and of the loss of carbonic acid by exposure to the atmosphere. It is the object of our invention to overcome these difficulties and to accomplish a regular feeding of the liquid from the reservoir or supply without objectionable foaming in the bottles 0r Overflowing of the liquid.
In carrying out our invention we employ a convenient receptacle or vessel provided With delivery-tubes for delivering the liquid to the bottles, and connect this vessel with the barrel or supply-reservoir, and by means of certain devices, hereinafter more fully described, control the flow of the liquor from the barrel or reservoir by the level of the liquor in the delivery-vessel. By this means the supply of liquor in the delivery-vessel is replenished from the reservoir as the liquor is allowed to flow into the bottles Without the possibility of overflowing, for the moment the liquor in the delivery-vessel reaches a certain height the flowing of the liquor from the reservoir is automatically stopped and cannot begin again until the liquor-level has again fallen. This We accomplish by controlling the supply of air to the barrel or reservoir, as is hereinafter more fully described.
Patent No. 139976A: Improvement In Apparatus For Pitching Barrels
Today in 1873, US Patent 139976 A was issued, an invention of George Sichler, for his “Improvement in Apparatus For Pitching Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
My invention has for its object to furnish an improved apparatus for rolling beer-kegs after they have been pitched to keep the pitch spread over the inner surface of the kegs until they have become so cool that the pitch will not flow. The invention consists in the three cross-bars, the six-posts grooved upon their inner sides, the two adjustable crossbars, the two skids, the adjustable blocks, their connecting-round, and the tilting and weighted skid, constructed and operating in connection with each other as hereinafter fully described.
Homebrewers Pick The Best Beers In America 2016
For the 14th straight year, the readers of Zymurgy magazine were asked to send in a list of their 20 favorite commercially available beers. With a record number of votes in the poll’s fourteenth year — over 18,000 votes. The results were not exactly shocking, and most of the beers and breweries that got the most votes were what you’d expect, I think, but it’s an interesting list all the same, but boy is there a lot of complaining going on in the comments. The results are, as usual, printed in the latest issue, July 2016.
Top Rated Beers
KEY: T indicates tie / (#) indicates rank last year / [Arrow indicates their movement over the previous year].
Four of the top ten are California beers (the same number as last year), with again 24 making the list. This is the eighth year in a row AHA members chose Pliny the Elder as the top beer. This also the seventh consecutive year that Bell’s Two Hearted Ale came in second.
1. Russian River Pliny the Elder [↔]
2. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale [↔]
3. The Alchemist Heady Topper (6) [↑3]
4. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA (3) [↓1]
5. Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin (T33) [↑28]
6. Founders Breakfast Stout (5) [↓1]
7. Three Floyds Zombie Dust (8) [↑1]
8. Bell’s Hopslam Ale (7) [↓1]
9. Goose Island Bourbon Country Brand Stout (15) [↑6]
T10. Stone Enjoy By IPA (4) [↓4]
T10. Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA [↔]
12. Founders KBS (17) [↑5]
13. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (T12) [↓1]
14. Lawson’s Finest Liquids Sip of Sunshine (not on last year’s list)
15. Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA (9) [↓6]
T16. Founders All Day IPA (27) [↑11]
T16. Sierra Nevada Celebration (T28) [↑12]
18. Cigar City Jai Alai (40) [↑22]
19. Boulevard Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale (T33) [↑14]
20. Firestone Walker Wookey Jack (10) [↓10]
21. Arrogant Bastard Ale (T17) [↓4]
22. Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ (32) [↑10]
23. Deschutes Black Butte Porter (21) [↓2]
T24. Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro (T12) [↓12]
T24. Tröegs Nugget Nectar [↔]
26. Firestone Walker Union Jack (T22) [↓4]
T27. Founders Backwoods Bastard (44) [↑17]
T27. Russian River Blind Pig I.P.A. (16) [↓11]
T29. Lagunitas IPA (30) [↑1]
T29. Odell IPA (T24) [↓5]
T29. Russian River Consecration (T19) [↓10]
32. Sierra Nevada Torpedo Extra IPA (T12) [↓20]
33. Tree House Julius (not on last year’s list)
T34. Ballast Point Victory at Sea (T49) [↑15]
T34. Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (T28) [↓6]
T34. Fat Head’s Head Hunter (T45) [↑11]
T34. Firestone Walker Double Jack (T24) [↓10]
38. North Coast Old Rasputin (31) [↓7]
T39. Oskar Blues Ten Fidy [↔]
T39. Russian River Supplication (T19) [↓20]
T39. Topping Goliath pesudoSue (not on last year’s list)
T42. Firestone Walker Parabola (T22) [↓20]
T42. Surly Todd the Axe Man (not on last year’s list)
44. Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter (T41) [↓3]
45. Russian River Pliny the Younger (T49) [↑4]
T46. Prairie Artisan Ales Bomb! (not on last year’s list)
T46. Surly Furious (35) [↓11]
T46. Victory DirtWolf Double IPA (T45) [↑1]
49. Maine Beer Lunch (not on last year’s list)
T50. Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (not on last year’s list)
T50. New Belgium La Folie (T41) [↓9]
Brewery Rankings
Brewery rankings are based on total votes received by each brewery’s beers. This year’s top brewery is the same as last year, Russian River Brewing Co., in Santa Rosa, Calif. Russian River again placed five beers in the top 50, including both its Plinys. Founders Brewing finished second, while Bell’s Brewery came in third. Six California breweries made the list (two less than last year), with five from Colorado, and two each from Michigan and Pennsylvania. Again, (#) indicates their rank last year, while [Arrow indicates their movement over the previous year].
1. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, CA [↔]
2. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI (4) [↑2]
3. Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Kalamazoo, MI [↔]
4. Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA (2) [↓2]
5. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA & Mill River, NC (6) [↑1]
6. Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA (5) [↓1]
7. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, CA (9) [↑2]
8. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE (7) [↓1]
9. Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, CA & Chicago, IL (8) [↓1]
10. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR [↔]
11. Avery Brewing Co., Boulder, CO (12) [↑1]
12. Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, IN (14) [↑2]
13. New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO (11) [↓2]
14. Goose Island Beer Co., Chicago, IL (16) [↑2]
15. Surly Brewing Co., Minneapolis, MN (18) [↑3]
16. Oskar Blues Brewery, Longmont, CO (15) [↓1]
17. The Alchemist, Waterbury, VT (not on last year’s list)
T18. Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO (not on last year’s list)
T18. Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO (13) [↓5]
20. New Glarius Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI (17) [↓3]
21. Cigar City Brewing, Tampa, FL (T23) [↑2]
22. Victory Brewing Co., Downington, PA (T25) [↑3]
23. Left Hand Brewing Co., Longmont, CO (not on last year’s list)
24. Tree House Brewing, Monson, MA (not on last year’s list)
25. Tröegs Brewing Co., Hershey, PA (19) [↓6]
Best Portfolio
They also determined which breweries got the most votes for different beers that they produce, and called that list “best portfolio.” The number following their name is how many of their beers got at least one vote. (#) indicates their rank last year, while [Arrow indicates their movement over the previous year].
1. Stone Brewing Co. [67 Beers] (2) [↑1]
T2. Bell’s Brewery, Inc. [47 Beers] (3) [↑1]
T2. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. [47 Beers] (1) [↓1]
4. Avery Brewing Co. [42 Beers] (5) [↑1]
5. New Belgium Brewing [41 Beers] (4) [↓1]
6. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery [39 Beers] (T6) [↔]
T7. Firestone Walker Brewing Co. [38 Beers] (T8) [↑1]
T7. The Bruery [38 Beers] (T8) [↑1]
9. Boulevard Brewing Co. [37 Beers] (not on last year’s list)
10. Founders Brewing Co. [33 Beers] (not on last year’s list)
Top Imports
With a few ties, several imports also received votes as readers’ favorite beers. For at least a third year in a row, Unibroue’s La Fin du Monde claimed the number one spot among imports. Again, (#) indicates their rank last year, while [Arrow indicates their movement over the previous year].
1. Unibroue La Fin Du Monde, Canada [↔]
T2. St. Bernardus Abt 12, Belgium (2) [↔]
T2. Guinness Draught, Ireland (4) [↑2]
4. Saison Dupont, Belgium (5) [↑1]
T5. Orval, Belgium (T6) [↑1]
T5. Rodenbach Grand Cru, Belgium (3) [↓2]
7. Chimay Grande Reserve/Blue Label, Belgium (T6) [↓1]
8. Duchess De Bourgogne (not on last year’s list)
9. Weihenstephan Hefeweissbier, Germany [↔]
10 Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout, England (8) [↓2]
Patent No. 1764841A: Fermenting Vat
Today in 1930, US Patent 1764841 A was issued, an invention of Hans Kock, for his “Fermenting Vat.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
My. invention relates to improvements in fermenting vats, and the object of the improvements is to provide a vat which can be used for fermenting beer and other liquors, storing the beer and filling the same into hot ties. With this object in view my invention consists in forming the vat at its top with an opening adapted to have either one of the attachments necessary for fermenting the beer, storing the same and filling the same into bottles secured thereto, and constructing such attachments so that they can be readily mounted on and dismounted from the said vat.
Patent No. RE22889E: Stationary Type Hop Picking Machine
Today in 1947, US Patent RE22889 E was issued, an invention of Florian F. Dauenhauer, for his “Stationary Type Hop Picking Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
Hops are raised on a trellis sixteen to eighteen feet in height. When ripe, the vines are out about four feet from the ground, the strings supporting their upper ends to the wire or trellis overhead being either broken by pulling on the vines or cut. Hand picking of hops, owing to the conditions surrounding the growing of hops, the shortness of the season, scarcity of labor and the like, is very expensive and the best hand picking leaves a large percentage of foreign material in the hops and the necessary sacking, boxing and delay in getting hand picked hops to the dry house often results in the discoloring, bruising and flattening of the hops themselves and entails many objectionable incidents.
My invention is an improvement over Patents Nos. 1,054,119 and 1,054,551 covering an apparatus and method for picking hops. In the patents, the picker drums are arranged in two horizontal rows with the drums in the upper row being disposed vertically above the drums in the lower row. The passage between the two rows of drums in the patented devices is therefore restricted in depth between each pair of drums and is of greater depth between adjacent sets of drums. This results in a passage having varying depths and the vines will be unnecessarily compressed each time they are moved through the restricted portions of the passage. The breakage of parts of the vines takes place more readily because of this. Moreover, the arrangement of the drums in vertical pairs leads to another disadvantageous feature of the machine. The hops are picked only where the vertical pairs of drums occur and no picking takes place between adjacent pairs of drums. The picking operation is therefore not continuous throughout the length of the passage.
One of the objects of my invention is to provide a hop picker in which the picking of the hops is continuous throughout the length of the passage through which the vines are moved. A further object of my invention is to provide a passage of uniform depth throughout. A more complete picking of the hops results and there is less breakage of the vines since the vines are carried through a passage of uniform depth rather than through one where the depth varies between each pair of successive drums.
A further object of my invention is to provide a novel vine carrier made of endless cables and carrying vine grasper bars, the bars in turn having vine gripping jaws that are automatically closed on the vines at the feeding end of the machine and are automatically opened so as to free the vines at the exit end of the machine.