Today in 1922, US Patent 1423105 A was issued, an invention of Svend Hansen, for his “Bottle Cap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The object of this invention is to provide a disk with prongs, by .which it may be firmly secured to the cork, so as to withstand the liability to damage in handling.
Today in 1865, US Patent 48791 A was issued, an invention of Justus Chollae, for his “Improved Cooler For Beer and Other Liquids.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
Our invention consists in a peculiar construction and arrangement of portable cooler for beer, cider, and other liquids.
In the construction of our improved cooler a common Water-bucket or other suitable vessel A may be used to receive the cooler proper, B,which consists of an annular chamber nearly fitting the bucket. This annular chamber B is made of galvanized iron or other suitable material. It has a large central space, C, into which the ice is placed for cooling the beer or other liquid. This chamber B is closed at top and bottom, so that the beer is not exposed to the atmosphere, and may be kept under pressure, if desirable.
The beer or other liquid is admitted to the cooler through a tube, D, which is most conveniently made of india-rubber. The stop-cock E is to be inserted into a barrel or other vessel from which the beer or other liquid is to be drawn. A tube, F, extends from the top to near the bottom of the cooler B, and is provided with a stop-cock, G, for the discharge of the beer or other liquid drectly from the bottom of the cooler. The lower end of this tube is perforated with small holes, or otherwise provided with a suitable strainer
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.
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.
This Saturday, the Breastfest moves back to Marin, and will be held this year at the Fairground Island at the Marin Civic center in San Rafael. The fest starts at Noon tomorrow, and tickets are $55 in advance and $65 at the door. Either way, it’s supporting a great cause. Over 60 breweries and 10 wineries coming together in hopes of raising money for a cancer clinic offering alternative treatments for low-income women with cancer. The new location is awesome When I first moved to Marin, we lived near the Civic Center and spent a lot of time there. It’s a great spot for a festival.
The Breastfest is a unique fundraiser in that it is organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of the proceeds goes directly to low-income women who are battling cancer right now. These women are our mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts, cousins and friends and they are truly grateful for your support. This cause is particularly personal to me, as I lost my mother to breast cancer when I was only 21 years old.
For its 15th year of fundraising, The Breastfest beer festival has a new location back in beautiful Marin County at the Marin Center on the Fairground Island. The fundraiser will feature endless eats and bottomless cups at no additional charge. Sip beers from 38 of the best California Breweries while listening to live music and supporting a great charitable cause.
All the Proceeds from the popular event will benefit Oakland’s Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, an award-winning non-profit women’s health provider. A pillar of low-income medical care in the Bay Area, Charlotte Maxwell has supported and saved thousands of lives by providing complementary integrative treatments for low-income women with cancer for 25 years. To date, the Breast Fest is the largest fundraiser for the clinic, which does not receive public funds.
A free-of-charge clinic that specializes in complete care for those who need it most, the clinic’s innovative comprehensive care model supports women medically and financially during treatment, giving a safety net that allows for full recovery.
The festival has also partnered with Lyft to get you to and from the Breastest safely. Get affordable rides within minutes after downloading the mobile app.If you’re new to Lyft, sign up with the promo code BREASTFEST for a free first ride up to $20. Once you download the app, create an account and enter the code in the ‘Payment’ section.Drink responsively and designate a drive or arrange a lift with LYFT!
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.
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:
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.
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.
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.
Earlier today, Bart Watson, the BA’s economist, tweeted a chart from Nielsen entitled “Craft Beer is a Staple Out West and Growing Across the Country.” The chart is from a new report released yesterday, called Tapped In: Craft and Local Are Powerful Trends in the Beer Aisle. It shows three columns of data, including dollar share, percentage change of dollar volume versus last year and changes in dollar share versus last year. This is for “craft beer,” which Nieslen defines slightly differently than the BA, if memory serves.
The top five markets for share of craft beer are on the west coast, three of them in California: San Diego, San Francisco and Sacramento. The bottom five are all midwest and east coast, though only Washington DC is a particularly large market, with the other four being somewhat smaller. The top five each represents market in which craft enjoys roughly one-third of all beer sales, which is amazing to me given where we were just ten or twenty years ago.
In terms of change, Birmingham, Alabama is the surprise winner with an astonishing 63.1% growth in volume over last year. Although equally surprising is San Diego who despite being the third largest market for craft, also grew 22.5% more on a large base, and was the fourth highest in volume growth.
Of the categories Nielsen tracks, cider is the one most on fire, with volume up 43.2%. Next is craft beer with 10.2%, tied with Mexican beer, although craft has the edge in percentage change in value, though I’m not entirely sure how that’s calculated. Super Premium, Premium, and Sub Premium are all trending down, with negative numbers, though not by much. Sub Premium is losing the most ground, down 3.5% by volume.
In addition, Nieksen surveyed beer drinkers about how much they care about their beer being local.
If you’re unfamiliar with Nielsen, they track sales data in primarily larger, chain outlets like groceries, convenience stores, liquor and drug chains, etc. as opposed to beer stores and more independent or unique sales avenues. But because they’ve been collecting consistent data for a number of years, their information is usually pretty reliable and a decent snapshot of what’s going on across the country. Here’s some more of their analysis regarding where people are buying beer.
At the end of June 2015, craft beer accounted for 11.9% of the total dollar volume of the beer category in the U.S. It’s worth noting, however, that craft’s market share varies significantly by channel. For example, it has a much larger share in the grocery channel (20.1%) than the convenience (4.6%) and drug (8.7%) store channels, largely because grocery stores have significantly more floor space available, which allows for greater assortment and options for consumers. That said, however, the convenience channel holds the title for being the leader for overall beer sales, and craft is making a strong run there, growing at a faster pace in the convenience channel (+21.4%) than in grocery stores (+13.7%) for the 52 weeks ending June 20, 2015.
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.
