Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 639761A: Underback

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Today in 1899, US Patent 639761 A was issued, an invention of Frederick Orth and Frederick Schimper, for their “Underback.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to an improved construction of the underback, a vessel into which the unfermented beer flows from the hop-back to be conveyed by the pump to the surface cooler. Heretofore this underback was made in the form of a small open vessel which required constant watching and attendance to prevent an overflow and to regulate the ratio between inflow and outflow. If in spite of precautions an overflow would take place, the employees would be apt to become scalded, and the shutting of the cooks would be accompanied with considerable difficulty. By our construction all the above objections are overcome, and after the cooks have been opened and the pump started the beer will be delivered without liability of running over and without requiring any attention whatever.

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Anchor Spruce Beer

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After posting a different Anchor Christmas Ale label every day for the last 42 days, I guess I’m not quite ready to let go just yet. Old-timers like me may also remember that Anchor made a Spruce Beer in 1991 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Great American Beer Festival.

I recall it being available on draft at GABF that year, but the remaining beer was then bottled in six-packs and sold until it was gone. I picked up several six-packs during that time, and apparently I am one of the few people to have really enjoyed the beer. It had a very fragrant nose, almost like Pine-Sol or a spruce cleanser, but it was much more muted in the flavor.

Unfortunately, Anchor rarely ever mentions it anymore. Even Fritz Maytag apparently thought it was too strong on the spruce character. There’s nothing about it on their website, and the only mention I could find was in a Modern Brewery Age article from 1991:

The Anchor Brewing Co. is presenting a draft of brewing history with a “spruce beer” that will be sold only in the city of San Francisco and in Colorado. The production of the brew will commemorate the 10th Great American Beer Festival to be held in Denver in early October.

Spruce beer is a revival of an old brewing tradition that was originated centuries ago in Northern Europe. Spruce beer was also a part of United States colonial history, as it was required by the Continental Congress to be part of every American soldier’s rations in 1775.

According to Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing Co.’s president and brewmaster, spruce beer is one example of many beers popular in pre-industrial Europe and America, which were brewed at home with locally available flavors and spices.

“This tradition includes everything from root beer to wassail,” Maytag noted. “Making this historic beer is a gesture of exploration and celebration. It’s an essay, an attempt to reach back into brewing history to honor the 10th anniversary of The Great American Beer Festival, and to celebrate our modern brewing Renaissance.”

Personally, I wish they’d brew it again, but I’m almost certain that will never happen. Anyway, here’s what the label looked like. It’s a shame I don’t have any to open for Unbottling Day.

Patent No. 511600A: Bottle And Stopper Therefor

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Today in 1893, US Patent 511600 A was issued, an invention of Everett Ellis, for his “Bottle and Stopper Therefor.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in beer bottles and cork Stoppers therefor; and it consists substantially in such features thereof as will hereinafter be more particularly described.

In all manner of beer bottles heretofore employed in which cork-Stoppers are used it has been necessary always to employ a cork-screw or other implement for withdrawing the cork or stopper after the same has been forced or expanded into the bottle by any of the usual well known corking machines for the purpose. `The use of a cork-screw or other implement for extracting the cork or stopper is always attended with a great deal of trouble and inconvenience, besides wasting lots of time in many instances, and some forms of which are expensive as for instance that form of device usually applied to counters and which are designed to extract and cast away the cork by one movement of lever or handle.

The object of my invention is to provide a bottle and stopper therefor which shall enable the withdrawal of the latter from the bottle without the aid or use of any manner of cork-screw or other additional or outside device or implement whatsoever, thereby enabling beer or other similar liquids or fluids to be corked up in bottles all ready for use, and ready to be opened by a simple operation of the hand.

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Patent No. 1985739A: Vehicle Body For Barrels

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Today in 1934, US Patent 1985739 A was issued, an invention of Paul Murray, for his “Vehicle Body For Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates Ito vehicle bodies for the transportation of barrels and particularly for the transportation of half barrels of beer.

The objects of my invention are to provide the economical and efficient handling of beer half barrels.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2016

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It’s day forty-two, and the last one, of my Christmas canter to today featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

2016 was the forty-second year that Anchor has made their Christmas Ale, and from 1987 through the present day, each year Anchor’s Our Special Ale has included spices, a different combination of them every time. Generally the base beer has been a spiced brown ale, although it has been varied from time to time, as well. This forty-second label is a “1,000 Mile Tree,” or “Pinus Solitarius.” This is what I was drinking yesterday, and also what I’ll be drinking today, as well. I’d like especially thank Anchor Brewery historian Dave Burkhart for his kind assistance in this project and for answering my questions about the progression of the beer. Have a Malty Christmas and a Hoppy New Beer.

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Patent No. 531356A: Apparatus For Carbonating Beer

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Today in 1894, US Patent 531356 A was issued, an invention of Carl Barus, for his “Apparatus For Carbonating Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of my invention is to produce improved apparatus for impregnating beer, or the like, with carbonic acid gas.

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Patent Nos. 3115149A & 3115150A: Tapping Valve For Beer Kegs

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Today in 1963, both US Patent 3115149 A and US Patent 3115150 A were issued, and both are related inventions of Victor A. Sariotti and Arthur J. Tonna, assigned to the Burgermeister Brewing Corp., under the same name: “Tapping Valve For Beer Kegs.” There’s no Abstract, although the description for both patents is virtually identical, as is the accompanying drawings, although you can see a few minute differences if you look at them side by side:

This invention relates to the valve art, and more particularly to an improvement in a tapping valve for beer kegs.

One of the well known and long used beer keg pressurizing and dispensing systems is known as the Golden Gate system. in such a system the keg is characterized by the presence of a fitting in its upper wall for connection to a source of pressurized gas, a normally closed fill opening in its side Wall, a tapping valve fitted into the side wall adjacent the bottom wall, and a tapping device adapted to be fitted into the valve and locked thereto by rotative movement, the rotative movement being effective to open the valve. Reverse rotative movement of the tapping device serves to close the valve and to free the tapping device for disengagement from the valve.

In the valves of this type which are in use, the outlet port of the valve is located as much as an inch or more above the bottom of the keg. As a consequence, this port is uncovered to the pressurized gas before the keg is fully emptied. The keg still contains a number of quarts of beer. To minimize the loss of this beer, the keg is tipped, tipping blocks being regularly provided for this purpose, to maintain the valve outlet port submerged as long as possible. Even so, many ounces of residual beer remain in the keg and is lost to the purchaser.

it has been suggested that the valve be provided with a radially disposed tubular extension, the inlet opening of which is disposed immediately adjacent the bottom of the keg when the valve is open, thereby enabling substantially complete draining of the keg. The patent to Lamoureux 2,545,620 discloses such an arrangement. But while the tubular extension type of valve shown in this patent enables a substantially complete emptying of the keg, it does not lend itself to conventional keg handling practice.

Such kegs are returned to the brewery for cleaning while the valve is closed and subsequent refilling. Caustic solution is employed in the cleaning operation, and the tubular extension will entrap and retain an amount of cleaning solution, thereby rendering the use of such a valve unsatisfactory in practice.

In summary, the present invention is an improvement on the described tubular extension type of valve, in that means are embodied in the valve to render it self-clearing of cleaning fluids during the cleaning operation.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2015

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It’s day forty-one of my jolly jog to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

2015 was the forty-first year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and from 1987 through the present day, each year Anchor’s Our Special Ale has included spices, a different combination of them every time. Generally the base beer has been a spiced brown ale, although it has been varied from time to time, as well. This forty-first label was was a “California Christmas Tree,” or “Cedrus Deodara.”

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Patent No. 2226009A: Hop Separator

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Today in 1940, US Patent 2226009 A was issued, an invention of George E. Miller, assigned to the Clemens Horst Company, for his “Hop Separator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a separator. and especially to a machine for separating stems, leaves and like foreign material from picked hops.

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Carol Ann Duffy’s John Barleycorn

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Today is the birthday of Scottish poet and playwright Carol Ann Duffy, who is also currently the Poet Laureate of Great Britain. In 2009, she wrote a poem entitled “John Barleycorn” for a BBC2 program “The Culture Show,” which aired November 26, 2009. They describe it as “a lament for, and a celebration of, the Great British Pub, and was “filmed in various bars in Glasgow, including The Horseshoe Bar, The Vale and The State Bar.”

When it first came out, my friend, and British beer historian, Martyn Cornell, referred to it as “one of the best,” which is high praise indeed. He wrote about it in a piece entitled “The best ever poem in praise of the pub.” He also believes that each and every pub that is mentioned in the poem is a real one, which is pretty cool.

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John Barleycorn, by Carol Ann Duffy

Although I knew they’d laid him low, thrashed him, hung him out to dry,
Had tortured him with water and with fire, then dashed his brains out on a stone,
I saw him in the Seven Stars, and in the Plough.
I saw him in the Crescent Moon and in the Beehive.
In the Barley Mow, my Green Man, newly born, alive, John Barleycorn.

I saw him seasonally, at harvest time, in the Wheatsheaf and the Load of Hay,
I saw him, heard his laughter in the Star and Garter and the Fountain and the Bell,
The Corn Dolly, the Woolpack and the Flowing Spring.
I saw him in the Rising Sun, the Moon and Sixpence and the Evening Star.
I saw him in the Rose and Crown, my Green Man, ancient, barely born, John Barleycorn.

He moved through Britain, bright and dark, like ale in glass.
I saw him run across the fields, towards the Gamekeeper, the Poacher and the Blacksmith’s Arms.
He knew the Ram, the Lamb, the Lion and the Swan,
White Hart, Blue Bull, Red Dragon, Fox and Hounds.
I saw him in the Three Goats’ Heads, the Black Bull and Dun Cow, Shoulder of Mutton, Griffin, Unicorn.
Green Man, beer-born, good health, long life, John Barleycorn.

I saw him festively, when people sang for victory, for love and New Year’s Eve,
In the Raven and the Bird in Hand, the Golden Eagle, the Kingfisher, the Dove.
I saw him grieve and mourn, a shadow at the bar, in the Falcon, the Marsh Harrier,
The Sparrowhawk, the Barn Owl, Cuckoo, Heron, Nightingale.
A pint of bitter in the Jenny Wren for my Green Man, alone, forlorn, John Barleycorn.

Britain’s soul, as the crow flies, so flew he.
I saw him in the Holly Bush, the Yew Tree, the Royal Oak, the Ivy Bush, the Linden.
I saw him in the Forester, the Woodman.
He history: I saw him in the Wellington, the Nelson, Marquis of Granby, Wicked Lady, Bishop’s Finger.
I saw him in the Ship, the Golden Fleece, the Flask
The Railway Inn, the Robin Hood and Little John.
My Green Man, legend-strong, reborn, John Barleycorn.

Scythed down, he crawled, knelt, stood.
I saw him in the Crow, Newt, Stag, all weathers, noon or night.
I saw him in the Feathers, Salutation, Navigation, Knot, the Bricklayer’s Arms, Hop Inn, the Maypole and the Regiment, the Horse and Groom, the Dog and Duck, the Flag.
And where he supped the past lived still.
And where he sipped the glass brimmed full.
He was in the King’s Head and Queen’s Arms. I saw him there:
Green Man, well-born, spellbound, charming one, John Barleycorn.

Even better, here’s Duffy reading her poem for the original BBC2 program, “The Culture Show,” in 2009: