Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #1873: Backyard Barbecue

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Wednesday’s ad is entitled Backyard Barbecue, and the illustration was done in 1947 by Stevan Dohanos. It’s #4 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, four men and two women are in a backyard on what looks like a beautiful spring day. One of the men is grilling steaks on the ginormous stone barbecue while the two women toss the salad and butter buns. The other three guys are holding, choosing or drinking beer but not contributing to the meal, the lazy weasels. I keep thinking there must be two more women out of the scene, because in postwar American everyone traveled in pairs, at least in the typical advertising of the day.

004. Backyard Barbecue by Stevan Dohanos, 1947

Portland’s Early Bars

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portland
The city of Portland, Oregon was founded in 1845, incorporated on February 8, 1851, and the charter creating the city became effective April 6, 1851. In my regular searches, I’ve turned up a number of photos of early saloons, bars and taverns in Portland and it seemed like today was as good a day as any to share them.

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This is the Columbia Saloon, which served Henry Weinhard beer and had a bowling alley inside.

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The Fountain Saloon, also known as Hergert’s Saloon, was located E Union and Russell. Henry Elias Hergert Sr. (1876-1937) is shown behind the bar.

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The exterior of Hergert’s Saloon.

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Another view inside Hergert’s Saloon.

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The White Eagle Saloon, built in 1905. According to one source, it “was at once an opium den, bordello and wild watering hole, a trifecta that resulted in so many ugly bar fights that the place eventually earned the nickname ‘Bucket of Blood,'” and is considered haunted. “One spirit is blamed for most of the mischief: The ghost of Sam Warrick, an early White Eagle cook and bartender who spent his last days living above the bar. A ghost with a prankster side, he’s been known to toss large containers of mustard across the kitchen with great force, startling the cook who’s taken over his old post.”

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Inside the White Eagle, which is now operated by McMenamins.

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Erickson’s Saloon, built in the 1880s. Here’s a history of the place.

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Erickson’s card room.

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The Gem Saloon and Oro Fino Saloon and Theater, located on First Street between Oak and Stark, in 1876.

And finally, below is the Oregon Experience Documentary “Beervana,” about how beer culture has evolved in Portland. Happy Birthday Portland.

Patent No. EP0262762A1: Valve For Beer Keg

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Today in 1988, US Patent EP 0262762 A1 was issued, an invention of James N. Dewes, James P. Hagan, and Jeffrey W. Gunn, for their “Valve For Beer Keg.” Here’s the Abstract:

A valve (10) for use with a beverage container is fully compatible with, and enhances the utility of, conventional automatic filling equipment. The valve is preferably of formed of plastic components and is therefore can form an economical throw-away unit in combination with a plastic keg. A cylindrical outer cage (18) includes a plurality of lengthwise apertures (20,22,24,26,). A transversely-oriented deflector plate is fixed to an inner cage (30) that is movable with respect to the outer cage. springs (38) urge the inner and outer chambers of the valve to closed positions. The valve is arranged so that both chambers are opened by the insertion of the filling head of a conventional automatic racking machine. The plate deflects a pressurized beverage input, lessening agitation and turbulence, whereby only minimal, if any, foam or head is generated during the filling process.

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Patent No. 580303A: Apparatus For Cleaning Pipes

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Today in 1897, US Patent 580303 A was issued, an invention of Henry E. Bailey, for his “Apparatus For Cleaning Pipes.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

In using beer and other malted liquors there is found a tendency to the formation of slime and other offensive matter that is deposited therein by the liquid from which it emanates. This deposition will soon produce a cloudy appearance and objectionable taste in the liquid that flows through the pipe.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus that will chemically dissolve the slime and other depositions in the pipe and then, by a flow of clear water which passes through the apparatus,thoroughly cleanse the pipe of all improper matter and restore it to a condition of purity and cleanliness.

US580303-0

Beer In Ads #1872: New Beau

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Tuesday’s ad is entitled New Beau, and the illustration was done in 1947 by Douglass Crockwell. It’s #3 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, an experience that no one really has to go through anymore is shown in all its awkward uncomfortableness. A man who presumably has a date with the girl sitting as far away from as she can on the sofa is being interrogated by her father, while Mom is carrying a tray of beers in with one for each of them. If you’re old enough to drink beer, I’m thinking you are probably too old to have to go through that. But why are they all smiling?

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Patent No. 3244326A: Apparatus For Dispensing Fluid Material

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Today in 1966, US Patent 3244326 A was issued, an invention of Glen C. Bull Jr., for his “Apparatus For Dispensing Fluid Material.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present invention comprises, in brief, maintaining a substantially constant desired pressure on a body of beer within a spigotted container of draught beer by incrementally admitting gas under pressure from a reservoir into an expansible bag within the container, to preserve the effervescence of the beer and to discharge desired quantities of beer when the spigot is opened.

The primary object of this invention is, therefore, to effectively, economically, and safely store, transport, and incrementally dispense beer at a nearly constant pressure from a packaged unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide for the u safe, convenient, and economical handling, storing,l preserving, transporting, and/or dispensing of any liquid which requires a continuous surface pressure, or freedom from contamination by air or other similar infuences, or a covering membrane which will effectively follow the liquid surface as the liquid is dispensed, or any combination of these requirements, at a pressure which remains nearly constant as the liquid is dispensed.

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Beer In Ads #1871: Moving Day

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Monday’s ad is entitled Moving Day, and the illustration was done in 1946 by Stevan Dohanos. It’s a second #2 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. There are just a couple of these I know about, and I’m not sure why they duplicated the number. New ads were created roughly every month and were published in the popular monthly magazine of the time, so possibly they ran concurrently in magazines reaching different groups of people. In this ad, a family is moving. The house is nearly packed up (hopefully that painting is staying behind on the junk pile!) though I’m not sure what’s going to happen to the bird or the goldfish bowl. As the truck is undoubtedly nearly full, they’re thoughtfully rewarding the movers by pouring them glasses of beer.

002b. Moving Day by Stevan Dohanos, 1947

Inside A Brewery Circa 1892

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poths
If you’re a regular reader, you’ve probably noticed that this year’s project is posting “Historic Beer Birthdays” with as much information as I can find about each person. It’s been a lot of fun, especially getting to know more about a lot of the early brewers and breweries that make up the history of our brewing industry. One especially fun find was this piece of breweriana which I found when looking into Frederick J. Poth (whose birthday was March 20, 1840). His father, Frederick A. Poth (born March 15, 1840) founded the F. A. Poth & Sons’ Brewery, and his other son Harry A. Poth (July 11, 1881) also worked for the family business. It was one of the largest breweries in Philadelphia in its heyday.

Around 1892, they had a local printer, Avil Printing Co., create a lavish Souvenir Album of 20 pages, with 26 illustrations done by A. M. J. Mueller. The prints are Chromolithographs, a popular process at the time. The booklet presumably would have been given to bars, wholesalers and maybe even consumers as a promotional item, but as these things go, this one is pretty awesome, and gives a great glimpse into the inner workings of a turn of the century American brewery.

Here’s its description from “The Library Company of Philadelphia,” founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731.

Album containing 26 lithographic illustrations documenting the Philadelphia brewing complex at the northwest corner of Thirty-first and Jefferson Streets, including exterior and interior views of individual buildings within the complex and detailed scenes of laborers operating equipment and transporting the finished product to and from railroad stations. Shows exterior and interior views of the office building, boiler house, stable, and malt house; exterior views only of pitching house, pitching yard, and shipping department; interior views of private offices, beer stube, refrigerating machines and engine room, brew house, fermenting room, beer storage, racking room, wash house, and kiln house; and modes of transport including a delivery wagon loaded with barrels of beer approaching the F.A. Poth depot at Trenton, New Jersey. Includes a “bottled by” list on the last page with names and addresses next to two F.A. Poth bottles of beer. Under the list: “100,836 barrels were sold between January 1, 1890 and January 1, 1891.”

Established in 1865 by Frederick August Poth at the northeast corner of Third and Green Streets, and moved to Thirty-first and Jefferson Streets in 1871. Incorporated in 1877, and later renamed F.A. Poth & Sons, Incorporated.

This is the hardbound cover.
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Opening the book, you’re greeted by the title page.
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General View of [the] Plant.
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Office Building & Beer Strube.
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Main Office.
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Private Offices.
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Boiler House & Interior.
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Refrigerating Machines & Engine Room.
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Interior Brew House.

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Fermenting Room.
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Beer Storage.
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Beer Storage.
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Racking Room & Wash House.
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Pitching House & Pitching Yard.

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Shipping House & Refrigerator Car.

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Stable & Interior.

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Malt House.
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Interior Malt House.
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Kiln House.

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Depot at Trenton, N.J.
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Patent No. 988899A: Apparatus For Cleaning Beer-Pipes

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Today in 191a, US Patent 988899 A was issued, an invention of Theodore Diem and John J. Ryan, for their “Apparatus for Cleaning Beer-Pipes.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Our invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cleaning beer pipes and has for its object the provision of such an apparatus which shall be of simple construction and eflicient in operation.

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Beer In Ads #1870: Family Musicale

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Sunday’s ad is entitled Family Musicale, and the illustration was done in 1946 by Mead Schaeffer. It’s #2 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, at least four family members are performing — though it’s an odd combination of organ, violin, cello and harmonica — but it looks like a fifth is just arriving, case under his arm (with a possible sixth behind him), as the two apparently talentless men of the family watch. But at least they get to drink beer during the concert.

002a. Family Musicale by Mead Schaeffer, 1946