Friday’s ad is entitled Weekend in Ski Country, and the illustration was done in 1954 by Haddon Sundblom. It’s #90 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, a new couple is arriving at the cabin at the ski resort for the weekend. They must be younger, because in my experience older women do not rush up and hug one another, grinning like cheshire cats, and touching cheeks. The rest of the party is already settled in, drinking beer and eating popcorn by the fire. Out the window, the sun is going down, and skis and poles lean against the cabin, ready for tomorrow’s adventures.
Archives for July 1, 2016
Patent No. 431246A: Mash Machine
Today in 1890, US Patent 431246 A was issued, an invention of Andrew W. Billings, for his “Mash Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
My invention relates to certain improvements in the apparatus for and method of manufacturing beer set forth in Letters Patent No. 324,523, granted to me August 18, 1885; and my invention consists in combining and heating the materials forming what I term the supplemental mash, which consists of raw grain and malt mixed in proper proportions and under conditions as set forth in said patent, as fully set forth hereinafter, so as to adapt the operation to the character of the material acted upon and reduce the length of time required in making the supplemental mash, and also in certain improvements in the apparatus. In this class of apparatus, as ordinarily constructed, the stirrer blades are immovably fixed in position, or are so arranged and fitted for the one kind of mash to be made that they cannot be used for anything else than for an ordinary mash, nor can they be changed in any manner, and they fail to so agitate the mass as to maintain all parts at the same temperature and in the same condition. In the apparatus as constructed by me the blades are easily and readily changed as to number, position on the arms, their angle to the arms and each other without any danger of their working loose while in motion, thus enabling me to make either a very thick or thin mash and successfully operate with any kind of grain (malted or unmalted) or starch, maintain all parts in the same condition, obtain the largest possible percentage of extract, and to use a very much larger percentage of the raw grain.
Oh, Canada Day: Friends, Neighbours, Partners, Allies
This is somewhat of an inside joke. When I was in D.C. a few years ago for the Craft Brewers Conference, I went for a long walk around the city, a little sightseeing. I made my way past the Canadian Embassy, in part because I had been invited to an event there later that same night by my good friend Stephen Beaumont, and I wanted to know where I would be going so as not to get lost. As I ambled past the embassy, I noticed four sleeves on four columns, part of a circular ring of columns, in front of the building. On each, was a word expressing the nature of Canada’s special relationship with America: Friends, Neighbours, Partners, Allies.
I chuckled to myself, but for some reason it stuck in my mind and when I saw Stephen later that day, I badgered him incessantly, repeating to him — in a low, serious voice — Friends … Neighbours … Partners … Allies. I changed the delivery, the emphasis and inflection, each time, like an actor trying out different versions searching for just the right one. If it was funny the first time (and I say charitably it was), by the fiftieth, Stephen’s patience was wearing understandably thin. But I was too far gone, it was an earworm caught in my head like an annoying song that you can’t stop from replaying over and over again until you want to scream. To his credit, he suffered through it for the next few days until the conference was over. But seeing that today is Canada Day, it brought back those four little words and so I’d like to say to everyone I know in Canada: “Happy Canada Day to my Friends … Neighbours … Partners … Allies!”
Patent No. 431372A: Mash Tub
Today in 1890, US Patent 431372 A was issued, an invention of Wenzl Medlin, for his “Mash Tub.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
My invention relates to a combined mash tub and brew-kettle; and it consists in certain features of construction and in combination of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.