Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent Nos. 548587A & 548588A: Machine For Blowing Glass

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Today in 1895, both US Patent 548587 A and US Patent 548588 A were issued, and both are related inventions of Michael J. Owens, under the same name: “Machine For Blowing Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims for the first one:

This invention relates to a partially-automatic machine for blowing glass into pastemolds, the object being to provide a machine which is susceptible of practical use for the rapid production of large quantities of glass vessels or objects of a given shape.

The machine of this invention embodies a means for supporting the blow-pipe with its one end in communication with the air-supplying device and its other in operative proximity to or within the mold; certain means for automatically admitting air through the blow-pipe; a sectional mold, which is adapted to be closed about or adjacent the gathering end of the blowpipe and to be also automatically opened, whereby the paste covered inner surface thereof may be subjected to a sprinkling action; means for automatically effecting the closing and afterward the opening of the mold-sections and for imparting to them while they are closed rotary motions, and means for automatically causing a sprinkling of the paste-lined mold-sections while opened. The automatic operations are instituted by and in consequence of the placing of the blow-pipe which has the gathering of glass thereon in the machine in its position of support and for the reception of air communication therethrough.

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And here’s a description of the claims for the second patent:

This invention relates to improvements in machinery for blowing glass into sectional [O molds, and particularly to the organization in a machine of means for severally and respectively performing automatically and mechanically operations which heretofore have been done manually or through the operation of implements or devices which have been manipulated or in some manner actuated by or dependent upon hand, foot, or lung power.

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With these two patents under his belt, Michael Owns co-founded, along with Edward Drummond Libbey, the Owens Bottle Machine Co., which today is Owens-Illinois. O-I supplies a lot of beer bottles to the brewing industry, of course.

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Patent No. 548618A: Steep Tank

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Today in 1895, US Patent 548618 A was issued, an invention of William H. Prinz, for his “Steep Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a novel construction in a steep-tank employed for steeping barley and like cereals, and more especially relating to a steep-tank for steeping barley to bring the same to a condition for germinating in the manufacture of malt.

The object of the invention is to provide a construction whereby the steeping can be can ried on and the steep-tank emptied under the most favorable circumstances, at the same time providing means whereby the steep-water can be admitted from the upper or lower end of the tank.

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Patent No. 209163A: Improvement In Barrels Or Kegs

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Today in 1878, US Patent 209163 A was issued, an invention of William H. Ewing, for his “Improvement in Barrels or Kegs.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to certain improvements in barrels and other like packages, the heads of the same being of wood, arranged and secured in a novel manner, while the sides, or that part usually made of wooden staves, are made of sheet metal, which is manipulated in the following way: A sheet or plate of metal of suitable thickness and size is passed through a train of rolls or under a hammer in such way as to draw out or lengthen the middle of the plate in one direction. The object of this is to secure the requisite bulge or swell to the barrel or keg, both for convenience in handling and to give additional strength. The sides of the plate which correspond to the ends of the barrel or keg: are stamped or out in any convenient way, so as to form a series of three or more clips, a, thereon. These clips are used for securing the heads, and also chine-hoops, as presently described.

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Patent No. 220773A: Improvement In Bungs And Stoppers For Casks

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Today in 1879, US Patent 220773 A was issued, an invention of William H. Stewart, for his “Improvement in Bungs and Stoppers for Casks.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to bungs and stoppers for faucet holes in lager-beer and ale casks and kegs; and it consists in the exterior form of the bung or stopper, whereby it is adapted to be more easily driven into the cask or withdrawn therefrom when desired.

Heretofore such stoppers made of wood or cork are objectionable, for the reason that the gases readily penetrate the pores of such materials and leave the beer or ale unfit for use in consequence of becoming flat or stale. The wood and cork will become saturated with the liquid, and after being once used will become sour and injuriously affect the beer.

In the use of the elastic bung or stopper I find that great difficulty exists in extracting it in the form in which it has heretofore been made from the aperture in the cask or vessel, on account of the adhesive properties of the rubber, and this especially is the case when using it for lager-beer or ale casks, where the aperture is wood or iron bound. If the bung or stopper is made very hard, or even hard enough to drive easily in the aperture, there is no certainty that the aperture will be perfectly sealed, as the harder the composition the less the elasticity,and the less the certainty of its filling any irregularities that may exist in the aperture. On the contrary, if the composition be made softer to gain more elasticity, then the difficulty of driving in the bung or stopper occurs, as the composition sticks and adheres to the sides of the aperture, and after as shown in Fig. 5, being once driven in is very difficult to extract.

The special object of my invention is to overcome these several difficulties by making a bung or stopper which can be readily driven in or extracted, and which will also perfectly seal the aperture in the cask.

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Ballantine’s Literary Ads: Ellery Queen

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Between 1951 and 1953, P. Ballantine and Sons Brewing Company, or simply Ballentine Beer, created a series of ads with at least thirteen different writers. They asked each one “How would you put a glass of Ballantine Ale into words?” Each author wrote a page that included reference to their beer, and in most cases not subtly. One of them was Ellery Queen, who’s best known for writing a series of mystery stories.

Ellery Queen is not actually one person, but two: Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee. They “were American cousins from Brooklyn, New York who wrote, edited, and anthologized detective fiction under the pseudonym of Ellery Queen. The writers’ main fictional character, whom they also named Ellery Queen, is a mystery writer and amateur detective who helps his father, Richard Queen, a New York City police inspector, solve baffling murders.” Today is the birthday of Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982), and his co-writer, Manfred Bennington Lee, was born the same year (January 11, 1905–April 3, 1971).

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Their piece for Ballantine was done as if it was one of their cases, but it was less a mystery and more a simple contrast of two unrelated events that both took place the same year. It seems a bit forced, actually, and comes across like pure propaganda, even more so than the other ads in this series.

CASE OF THE CURIOUS COINCIDENCE

1840: Edgar A. Poe was preparing to give the world its first detective story, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” an all-time classic marked by three great qualities: Purity of conception, full-bodied plot, and a style and technique of matchless flavor.

1840: Peter Ballantine created his unique ale and sampled his first brew. Setting down his glass, he exclaimed, “Purity!” A second sip made him exclaim, “Body!” a third, “Flavor!”

Edgar Allen Poe’s Tale, Peter Ballantine’s Ale — American classics with the same three great qualities. Even the Ballantine Ale trade-mark carries out the coincidence of “threes.” For the triple overlapping rings made when Peter Ballantine set down his moist glass on the table top created his 3-ring trade-mark. To this day it sets the standard for Purity, Body and Flavor to connoisseurs of ale everywhere.

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Patent No. 7604147B2: Keg With An Inner Bag

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Today in 2009, US Patent 7604147 B2 was issued, an invention of Ian Anderson, assigned to Anheuser-Busch InBev S.A., for his “Keg with an Inner Bag.” Here’s the Abstract:

An interlocking collar (72) secures a bag neck (46) in a keg aperture (42) of an alcohol beverage keg container (22). The interlocking collar is mounted in press fit surrounding relation with a peripheral wall portion of the bag neck. The collar has an outer peripheral wall portion sized larger than that of a keg aperture. The collar (72) has a recessed groove (76) in the collar outer peripheral wall portion for receiving in press fitting and sealing relation a keg flange (40) that defines the keg aperture. The collar outer peripheral wall portion has a resilient edge portion (78) adjacent the recessed groove that deflects to permit the interlocking collar to pass through the keg aperture and receive the keg flange in the recessed groove. The interlocking collar has a plurality of locking passageways (80) placed around the interlocking collar and axially extending through the interlocking collar between the neck and recessed groove. A latch member (82) has a plurality of locking fingers (84) that extend axially through the locking passageways to prevent deflection of the resilient edge portion of the interlocking collar after the collar is placed in the keg aperture.

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Patent No. 3613954A: Dispensing Apparatus

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Today in 1971, US Patent 3613954 A was issued, an invention of Peter D. Bayne, assigned to Schlitz Brewing Co., for his “Dispensing Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:

The invention relates to a dispensing unit for dispensing a beverage containing dissolved carbon dioxide and which utilizes a liquified fluorocarbon gas as a pressurizing medium. The unit includes a closed container containing a beverage having dissolved carbon dioxide. The liquified fluorocarbon gas is contained i a separate reservoir which communicates directly with the headspace of the container above the liquid level. As the beverage is drawn from the container, the volume of the headspace of the container increases, thereby decreasing the pressure in the headspace and resulting in the vaporization of additional quantities of the liquified fluorocarbon gas which act to maintain the desired counterbalancing pressure within the headspace to keep the carbon dioxide in solution in the beverage.

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Patent No. 2096088A: Method And Apparatus For Conditioning And Dispensing Beer

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Today in 1937, US Patent 2096088 A was issued, an invention of Lioyd G. Copeman, for his “Method and Apparatus For Conditioning and Dispensing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for conditioning and dispensing beer, and has to do particularly with beer conditioning and dispensing apparatus of the portable type.

One of the main objects of the present invention resides in the use of solidified CO2 as a cooling and conditioning medium. A further feature of the invention has to do with the immersion of beer conditioning and dispensing means directly in the beer itself, but in such a manner that the beer is not cooled below normal palatable temperature; in the preferred form the beer is even pre-cooled before being placed in the container whereby the main function of the-immersed means is to condition the beer and to some extent maintain the same in its cooled condition.

Other features have to do with wall structure for separating the solid CO2 from the liquid and having a predetermined insulating effect whereby heat transfer will be so retarded as to keep the beer above its minimum palatable temperature.

Other features include the general structure of the portable container and also details of regulable conducting means for varying temperature of the liquid, as-will be more clearly set forth in the specification and claims.

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Patent No. 772888A: Cork Extractor

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Today in 1904, US Patent 772888 A was issued, an invention of Joseph Kaiser, for his “Cork Extractor.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to improvements in devices for extracting corks from bottles. Its which object is to provide a simple inexpensive compact means accompanying every bottle for removing the cork entire.

It consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts hereinafter more fully described, having reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a front elevation of metal strip. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of metal strip, showing projections for engaging cork. Fig. 3 is a modification of the device. Fig. 4 is a partial section showing method of extracting cork. Fig. 5 shows the device used as a cork protector and Wired down, as for shipment.

In carrying out my invention I employ two flexible metal strips, each comprising a shank portion A and a head 2. The shank is provided with a series of spurs 3 on one side or other suitable means for engaging the periphery of the cork. These spurs are preferably formed by indenting the opposite sides of the shank with a prick-punch. The head 2 is preferably round and of a size not to exceed the exposed end of the cork and is perforated,

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Patent No. 3279493A: Valve Assembly For Kegs

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Today in 1966, US Patent 3279493 A was issued, an invention of David Zurit and Michael J. Parisi, assigned to the Tap Rite Products Corp., for their “Valve Assembly For Kegs.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to apparatus for tapping liquid containing vessels, such as beer kegs. The invention will be described as embodied in beer-tapping apparatus, but some features are not so limited within the scope of the appended claims. More particularly, the invention relates to apparatus that fits into the tapping hole of a keg and that has a valve which seals the opening when in one position and which leaves the interior of the keg in communication with a beer line or faucet when in another position.

It is an object of the invention to provide tapping apparatus of the character indicated with an improved vertically extending inlet that can be made long enough for withdrawing the contents of the keg down to the last few ounces of liquid within the keg.

It is a more specific object of the invention to provide a valve of the character indicated with an inlet fitting that turns with the valve and that moves into a position where it is exposed to the free flow of cleaning fluid in the keg when the valve is closed and the keg is in position for Washing.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved valve construction with a static sealing disk having a novel structure for preventing rotation of the seal and having a shape that forms with the other parts of the apparatus a channel for unobstructed drainage of cleaning fluid from the inlet fitting of the value.

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