Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 763606A: Combined Brewing Kettle, Hop-Jack Tank And Cooker

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Today in 1904, US Patent 763606 A was issued, an invention of Carl F. Hettinger, for his “Combined Brewing Kettle, Hop-Jack Tank and Cooker.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to brewing-kettles used in the preparation of malt liquors, and has for its object to provide a brewing kettle which may be converted alternately into a cooker or a hop-jack tank without interfering the preparation of malt liquors.

My improved apparatus or kettle being first used as a cooker, the ingredients are the mass is then conveyed into the usual mash is treated and supplemented in the mash-tub the brewing kettle is cleaned for the reception of the wort from the mash-tub. A hop strainer is then put into position in the kettle, so that after the wort has been boiled hops may be added to the wort in the kettle and the latter be used as a hop-jack tank, as will be hereinafter fully described.

The principal object of my invention is to provide one apparatus to serve the purposes and functions of three apparatus, with bet whereby not only a material saving in the cost of installation of a brewery is gained, but also the space occupied by such apparatus may be used for other purposes or the building may be made so much smaller.

My improved combined cooker, brewing kettle, and hop-jack tank consists of a vessel, an agitator therein, a removable telescoping hop-strainer, means for removing the same, a clean-out in the bottom of said vessel, and means for heating the latter; and my invention further consists of the improvements hereinafter more fully described, and pointed out in the claims.

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Patent No. 28939A: Improvement In Beer Stills

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Today in 1860, US Patent 28939 A was issued, an invention of Solomon Godfrey, Loren Barnes, Henry Blish and Solomon S. Smith, for their “Improvement in [Beer] Stills.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The nature of our invention consists, first, in the combination of three or more chambers of a still with bent tubes, radiating perforated tubes, and straight tubes, when arranged in relation to each other, as will be set forth in the following specification.

It consists, second, in the combination of the same with the heater and doubler, as herein after specified.

The object of this arrangement is to divide the beer or high wines into different layers, each to be heated separately by steam passing from the bottom upward through the liquid, thereby effecting a more thorough and rapid distillation than by distributing the liquid in one body.

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Patent No. 216884A: Improvement In Apparatus For Refrigerating Air For Cooling Beer

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Today in 1879, US Patent 216884 A was issued, an invention of Franz Pallausoh, for his “Improvement in Apparatus For Refrigerating Air For Cooling Beer and Other Liquids.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

My invention consists of a vessel fitted inwardly with strips or plates covered with coarse weavings or other material of great capillary power, maintained in a moist state, and arranged in irregular or zig zag lines, in combination with means for forcing a current of air or any other suitable gas through said vessel, the cooling apparatus being located in an ice-box, and the current of air not coming in contact with the ice, all as more particularly hereinafter described, and whereby the ice melts but slowly, and evaporation is actively maintained. The liquid caused to evaporate may be water, ether, alcohol, or any other volatile substance, or a mixture of such substances.

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Patent No. 2643016A: Carton Taping Apparatus And Method

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Today in 1953, US Patent 2643016 A was issued, an invention of Charles W. Steckling, assigned to the Schlitz Brewing Co., for their “Carton Taping Apparatus and Method.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

This invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for sealing with adhesive ‘tape cartons and containers made of corrugated paper board and the like having longitudinally extending closing flaps which meet across the top of the carton.

A primary object of the invention is to apply-a strip of adhesive tape to cartons moving in line in uniformly spaced relationship.

Another object of the invention is to cut the tape between cartons and press down the ends as the cartons continuously move forward in such fashion as to maintain the tape under tension until an adhesive bond is established.

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California Reaches 700 Brewery Milestone

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The California Craft Brewers Association announced today that the number of breweries in the state reached 700, more then at any time in California’s history. The number of breweries has more than doubled in just the last four years. There are more breweries in the Golden State, by a wide margin, then any other state. Eleven of the breweries on the list of the nation’s top fifty craft breweries, as defined by the Brewers Association, are from California.

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California has more breweries than many countries. So it only makes sense that we have our own world class, statewide events. This September, the CCBA will put on the second annual California Craft Beer Summit and Beer Festival in the state capitol of Sacramento.

The three-day Summit includes 24 educational sessions, 60,000 feet of interactive displays, 450 beers, 160 breweries and unlimited tastings. It’s an amazing event, especially the huge beer festival. I’ll be there again this year, and if you work in any part of the beer industry, or want to, you should be there, too. Here’s more information about it from the CCBA’s press release.

“California continues to lead the nation’s craft beer movement and the Summit showcases the wild success of a community united over a common passion: craft beer,” said Tom McCormick, executive director of the CCBA. “CCBA’s signature event is the ultimate opportunity for craft beer enthusiasts to join the tribe, learn from brewers and experts across the Golden State and taste the creativity and passion that serves as the foundation of the industry.”

Reigning as the largest California-brewed craft beer event of its kind, the 2016 Craft Beer Summit and Festival gives attendees a tasting tour through the state’s craft brewing landscape.

“At the Summit, beer lovers and brewers have the chance to experience wonderful techniques and ideas from the best of the industry,” said McCormick. “David Walker from Firestone Walker, Fritz Maytag, the founder of the American craft beer movement, the brewers and owners from AleSmith, 21st Amendment, Russian River Brewing Company, and many others will share their knowledge, history, expertise and passion with every person connected or passionate about the craft beer industry.”

Educational highlights at the Summit include:

  • How to start a career in craft beer from the hiring managers of Mikkeller Brewing San Diego, Russian River Brewing Co. and other growing breweries
  • Advanced homebrew lessons, including how to go “off recipe” and explore yeast management, hosted by the homebrewers now running successful commercial breweries
  • Mock judging at a “Taste Like a Judge” session teaching attendees how rate and taste beers
  • The rise of sour beer as a style, including how to differentiate between sour beers and what you can expect in a wild ale versus a spontaneously fermented sour
  • How to develop a beer list for taproom managers and beer buyers looking to advance their offerings in the craft beer sector

“The Summit has become, in a very short period of time, one of the largest and most significant craft beer events not only in California but across the nation,” said Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of Russian River Brewing Company and president of the CCBA Board of Directors. “The unique part about the Summit is the bringing together of brewers, retailers, wholesalers, suppliers, and consumers all in one location, something I have not experienced to this level at any other event. I’m proud to be a part of this incredible state trade association as well as the second annual Summit.”

Early bird tickets, available online through June 30, 2016, include: 25 percent off the Summit Beer Festival ($45 at early bird, $60 regular price), single-day Summit entry ($99 early bird, $119 regular price) or full weekend packages ($219 early bird, $239 regular price).

Patent No. 243297A: Alcohol Still

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Today in 1881, US Patent 243297 A was issued, an invention of Oliver L. Perin, for his “Alcohol Still.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon a continuous still for the manufacture of alcohol for which Letters Patent were granted myself, Daniel Horan, and Dominick McGoen, July 20, 1880, and has for its object the arrangement of the several elements of the vaporizing-chambers in a novel manner, to be hereinafter described, which is calculated to improve the efficiency of the still, and at the same time will materially cheapen the construction thereof; and it consists in constructing the vaporizing-chamber of the usual rectangular form, and providing a bottom or licor of copper or other suitable material, which shall contain a great number of small perforations. Upon this bottom I erect three (or any odd number more than three) partitions, alternately attached to the opposite end timbers of the chamber. The partitions are made as much shorter than the clear length of the chamber as the width of spaces between the partitions and side timbers of the chamber and between adjacent partitions. At the end of one of the spaces between a partition and its corresponding side timber of the chamber I construct a box or bay with a weir or overflow plate of copper, raised two or three inches above the floor or bottom of the chamber. The partition at the bay is raised higher than the edge of the weir, in order that all beer or mash delivered into the bay shall be compelled to pass over the weir in a thin sheet, and be evenly distributed over the bottom of the chamber as it flows along the next connecting channel. From the next chamber above a down-pipe is’ suspended, which dips into the bay below the level of the Weir-plate sufficiently to form a seal against the steam-pressure in the chamber and prevent the steam ascending to the next chamber above through At the opposite side of the chamber a down-pipe is suspended to dip into the bay of the next lower chamber. The upper end of the down-pipe is raised sufficiently above the floor or bottom of the chamber to which it is attached to maintain a thin sheet ot’ liquid over the perforations in the bottom previously mentioned. The beer or mash flows through the down-pipe into the bay, over the weirplate and down one channel. formed by the partitions previously mentioned, and up the next, and down the next, and so on until it reaches the down-pipe at the opposite side of the chamber, through which it descends to the next chamber below, where the same operation is repeated, the direction of the currents of beer, however, being reversed. Meanwhile the beer or mash, passes over the floor, the steam (introduced first into the lowest chamber but one of the still) and the spirituous vapor ascends from chamber to chamber through the perforations in the bottoms of the chambers, these perforations being of such dimensions that no beer or mash can descend through them against the pressure (usually five or six pounds) in the still. The heat in the steam being transmitted to the beer to expel the spirit, it condenses and works back through the down-pipes to the bottom of the still, where it is drawn oft with the residuals of the beer as slop.

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Patent No. 521650A: Beer Filter

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Today in 1894, US Patent 521650 A was issued, an invention of Carl Hafner, for his “Beer Filter.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

This invention relates to certain improvements vin filters, particularly beer filters. The object of the invention is to provide an improved beer filter exceedingly cheap, simple and durable in construction, and which will thoroughly and economically filter the ,beer 1n an improved manner.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in combination of the parts more fully pointed out hereinafter and particularly described in the claim.

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Patent No. 1029838A: Method Of Finishing And Preparing Beverages

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Today in 1912, US Patent 1029838 A was issued, an invention of Jacob Frederic Wittemann, for his “Method of Finishing and Preparing Beverages.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

The invention relates to a new and improved system or method of enhancing the value of fermented beverages such as beer, wine, cider, etc, by their treatment with the volatile products of the fermentation of such beverages.

The object. of my invention is to treat such beverages when they are matured, clarified or filtered, either or all,, to the required standard, but lacking sufficient incorporation of carbonic acid gas and fermentation ethers, generated during the fermentation of such liquids to impart to them the desired degree of effervescence, flavor and improved character by incorporating with such beverages such volatile fermentation products .while .the latter remain substantially in the same condition, as when generated by the fermentation of such beverages, but at such density or pressure and temperature that the stated object shall be attained, namely, that .the more or less quiescent state in which such beverages mature and clarify most readily, is transformed into a condition of effervescence or a foam-maintaining state at a temperature at which they attended by more or less disintegration, deterioration or other undesirable change in the character or composition of this complex gas, owing to improper treatment thereof, such as overheating during dry me chemical compression or compression in the presence of insufficient cooling medium, or its contact with a more or less impure cooling medium or with disintegrating metal surfaces, or owing to its degeneration or decomposition while kept in storage under high pressure. By my improved method all such undesirable changes or alterations in the composition, flavor and taste of the volatile products of fermentation are avoided when they are incorporated in the desired proportion with a matured, but-as yet more or less unmerchantable, beverage, owing to its lack of a sufficient proportion of such gas. The compression of the gas to the necessary density in which it capable of producing the desired effect in such beverages is preferably effected in part by its retention within the fermenting vessel, up to a pressure within a safety limit, dictated by the nature or construction of such vessel, and with the beverage into which it is to be incorporated by a liquid and gas-forcing mechanism such as a force pump.

As {this invention will find its principal use in the manufacture of beer, I shall hereafter use the term beer as a generic term for all similar beverages and in the accompanying drawing show an embodiment of ,one apparatus for carrying out my new and improved method or process as it would be used in a brewery; but I in no wise confine the use of my invention to beer only, as the process can as readily be applied to the manufacture of other similar beverages and by the use of other constructions of apparatus according to varying conditions or requirements, yet carrying out. the same method in principle.

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Patent No. 430526A: Bottle Filling Machine

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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.

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Patent No. 1764841A: Fermenting Vat

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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.

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