Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 2354093A: Brewing Apparatus

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Today in 1944, US Patent 2354093 A was issued, an invention of Berthold Stein, for his “Brewing Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention relates to brewing apparatus, more especially adapted for the achievement of certain improvements in the art of brewing beer, ale, near beer, or the like, with the principal object of making a more palatable and stable malt liquor, because a decided need exists for such improvement, inasmuch as a great many people do not. like to drink the present malt liquor of such general class particularly because of the unpalatable taste or odor.

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Also, today in the same year, US Patent 2354092 A was issued, another invention of Berthold Stein, for his “Art of brewing beer, ale, or near-beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention relates to certain improvements in the art of brewing beer, ale, near beer, or the like, with the principal object of making a more palatable and stable malt liquor, because a decided need exists for such improvement, inasmuch as a great many people do not like to drink the present malt liquor of such general class particularly because of the taste unpalatable or odor.

The drawing file with this patent looks virtually identical to the other one, too.
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Patent No. 3746550A: Method Of Continuous Mashing

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Today in 1973, US Patent 3746550 A was issued, an invention of Lars Karl Johan Ehnstrom, for his “Method of Continuous Mashing.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention relates to a method of continuous mashing in connection with micro-biological processes, where the mash is heated to a predetermined temperature which is intended to be maintained uniformly when the mash passes through a mashing stage in which enzymatic reactions take place.

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Duvel Invests In Firestone Walker

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Earlier today Firestone Walker Brewing — in a carefully worded press release — announced that Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker “will combine their two companies in the USA.”

Here’s they said it on their website, at Firestone Walker news:

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And this was the press release sent out:

July 16, 2015 – Kansas City, Mo., & Paso Robles, Ca. – In an agreement signed earlier this week, Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat will combine their two companies in the USA. The California brewery will continue to operate independently in Paso Robles under its current leadership of David Walker and Adam Firestone.

David Walker and Adam Firestone, joint founders of Firestone Walker said: “The Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat families have combined forces to broaden their capacity and scope as brewers. Long admirers of each other’s beers, culture and breweries, the two teams saw the perfect fit for an alliance. The partnership will allow Firestone Walker to develop our capacity across the US in a conservative and thoughtful way by consummating a life long tie with this family-owned international craft brewer, who continue their commitment to participating in the American Craft Revolution.”

“The relationship I have built with David and Adam made Firestone Walker the perfect fit for future growth,” said Michel Moortgat, CEO of Duvel Moortgat. “We share the same values; have a great mutual respect for each other’s achievements and a deeply-held belief in exceptional quality as a platform for long-term success. Bringing Firestone Walker together with Boulevard, Ommegang, Duvel and the other craft breweries in our family creates a stronger platform in the USA for us both and allows us to collaborate on brewing in different locations across the USA”

“The most important thing that we can do for Firestone Walker is to help David and Adam manage the exponential growth that their team and their brewery is experiencing right now by providing financial and production capacity to support them,” said Simon Thorpe, President of Duvel Moortgat USA. “We are not integrating our organizations. Both Boulevard and Ommegang are also enjoying tremendous success and we still have much to do in realizing our dream for both these breweries.”

The transaction between Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker is expected to close later this year. It is an agreement between two private, family-owned companies, so no financial or contractual details will be disclosed.

It will be interesting to see how this is the same or different from the deal Duvel did with Boulevard Brewing almost two years ago, from which Boulevard seems to have emerged unscathed and doing well, both in terms of quality and public perception. At this point, it appears it may be similar, with very little changing in terms of day to day operations of the brewery and with all the key people remaining in place.

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Patent No. 860390A: Hop-Jack

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Today in 1907, US Patent 860390 A was issued, an invention of George Edward Laubenheimer, for his “Hop-Jack.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The Object of this invention is to provide a hop jack in which the screen or strainer is so constructed that the wort quickly drains oh and the hops are quickly and, thoroughly sparged and removed from the greater portion of the surface of the screen by mechanical means, thereby obviating n great deal of the manual lahoi’ usually required where a lalsc bottom is employed.

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Patent No. 5648246A: Process For The Continuous Preparation Of Wort

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Today in 1997, US Patent 5648246 A was issued, an invention of Christiaan Willem Versteegh, assigned to Heineken Technical Services B.V., for his “Process For The Continuous Preparation Of Wort.” Here’s the Abstract:

This invention relates to a process for the continuous preparation of wort, including the continuous enzymatic conversion of malt in one rotating disc contactor and separation of spent grain from mash in a separation unit. Further, a process for the continuous preparation of wort, including the continuous gelatinization and enzymatic liquefaction of a mixture based on unmalted grain, malt and/or an enzyme source and water in a rotating disc contactor, addition of malt and/or enzyme source to the product obtained, enzymatic conversion of the product obtained and separation of the spent grain from the mash in a separation unit.

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Patent No. 4212950A: Fermenting Apparatus

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Today in 1980, US Patent 4212950 A was issued, an invention of Robert P. Adams, assigned to The Virtis Company, Inc., for his “Fermenting Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:

Apparatus providing for the growth of cells in a nutrient bath under controlled conditions includes a pressure vessel with a surrounding dimpled jacket. The pressure vessel is adjustably mounted on three vertical mounting columns, from which it is thermally isolated. Temperature control for the pressure vessel is achieved by a closed heat transfer system which includes a pair of heat exchanger sections in series, one for heating and one for cooling the heat transfer fluid. A removable head or lid for the pressure vessel is lifted by three cables running through a common pulley mounted above the pressure vessel. Impeller blades for agitating the contents of the fermenting apparatus have a drive shaft that extends through the head and is connected to a gear box by a removable driving link. The gear box, and an associated drive motor, are affixed to a common mounting bracket that is pivotable to permit maximum displacement of the head.

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Patent No. 2894844A: Canning Process And Product

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Today in 1959, US Patent 2894844 A was issued, an invention of James G. Shakman, assigned to the Pabst Brewing Co., for his “Canning Process and Product.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

[This invention is for an] improved process for canning substances which are processed during the general course of canning and which contain a gas, or contain vaporizable liquid, or are capable of expanding and so are capable of producing internal pressure in the can during such processing.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a new and improved process for canning carbonated liquids, such as beer and other carbonated beverages, which are normally canned with a head space above the liquid level.

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Patent No. 927893A: Beer-Pipe-Cleaning Apparatus

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Today in 1909, US Patent 927893 A was issued, an invention of John R. Steiger, for his “Beer-Pipe-Cleaning Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to a new and useful beer pipe cleaning apparatus and consists in providing means whereby a circulation of the cleansing material may be made through the pipes. It further consists of means for directing the flow of the cleansing material first in one direction and then in the other through the pipes. It further consists in providing an ejector for forcibly directing water and air through the pipes.

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Patent No. 2324312A: Bottle Feeding Mechanism

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Today in 1943, US Patent 2324312 A was issued, an invention of George J. Meyer Jr., Charles Steckling, and Joseph F. Classen, for their “Bottle Feeding Mechanism.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention relates to feeding mechanism adapted for use in connection with bottle handllng machines, such as cappers, fillers and labelers, although the invention is also applicable to the feeding of cans and other articles.

A bottle-handling machine, such as a capper, is commonly provided with a traveling carrier having means for holding the upstanding bottles in spaced relation to present the bottles successively to the operation of the machine. It is also common practice to provide the machine with a conveyer for conducting the bottles to the carrier, the successive bottles on the conveyer being usually in abutting or closely spaced relation. The spacing of the bottles on the carrier is ordinarily somewhat greater than the bottle diameter and because of this and other factors it is necessary to provide some means for controlling the feed of the bottles to the carrier, so as to suit the bottle spacing or bottle pitch of the carrier. Various mechanisms have heretofore been devised for this purpose, but they have been open to certain objections, such as relatively complicated construction and excessive rubbing and agitation of the bottles.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved form of feeding mechanism which will effect the safe and accurate transfer of bottles to the traveling carrier of a capping machine or other bottle-handling machine, which will minimize rubbing or marking of the outer walls of the bottles, which will reduce agitation or jostling of the bottles, which is adapted for high-speed operation, which will accommodate bottles of different diameter, and which is capable of inexpensive manufacture and easy mounting.

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Patent No. 765112A: Beer-Cooler Tank

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Today in 1904, US Patent 765112 A was issued, an invention of Robert Surry Valentine, for his “Beer-Cooler Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The object of the invention is to provide a construction of tank of the type referred to which will admit of the thorough cleansing thereof with facility; and to this end the invention includes the combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

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