Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 3422448A: Tapping Device For Beer Kegs And The Like

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Today in 1969, US Patent 3422448 A was issued, an invention of Mack S. Johnston, for his “Tapping Device for Beer Kegs and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s his introduction in the description:

The present invention relates to a new improved tapping device for drawing fluid such as beer from containers such as beer kegs or barrels, using a gas to drive the fluid from the container. In particular, the invention relates to a new improved tapping device usable with conventional beer kegs and comprising a sub-unit, called a keg adapter, which constantly seals the keg, and a subunit, called a coupler, which is attached to the beer dispensing apparatus in a restaurant or tavern and is readily connected to the keg adapter so that the tapping device is automatically in operating condition.

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Beer In Ads #1434: ‘Round The Clock And ‘Round The Calendar

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Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1953. “‘Round the clock and ’round the calendar — day in and day out — Schlitz quality is assured by hundreds of special, rigid safeguards.” I understand how brewing works, so what exactly might be these “hundreds of special, rigid safeguards?” As a later series of Schlitz ads wondered, “I was curious.” And I especially love this description of the beer. “The light, dry and winsome flavor of Schlitz sparkles.” I don’t drink nearly enough winsome beers anymore.

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Patent No. 718253A: Concentrated Hopped Wort And Process Of Producing Same

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Today in 1903, US Patent 718253 A was issued, an invention of Herbert Amos Hobson of London, England, assigned to the Concentrated Beer Company Ltd., for his “Concentrated Hopped Wort and Process of Producing Same.” There’s no Abstract, or any drawings filed with the application, but here’s the introductory overview:

This invention relates to the production of a hopped wort from which beer, either alcoholic or non-alcoholic, maybe produced by the mere addition of yeast and water or of water alone, as the case may be.

In the ordinary brewing process the malt is first mashed and the hops are then added to and boiled in the wort or extract of malt, with the result that the bitter of the hop is unfavorably affected, objectionable resinous matters are extracted, and the volatile aroma of the hops is to a great extent lost, and these undesirable results are partly due to the length of time for which the boiling is continued and partly to the high boiling-point of the liquor in which the hops are boiled. It is the object of this invention to avoid these defects and to produce a hopped wort, preferably in a concentrated state, possessing the keeping qualities necessary for export purposes and adapted for the production, in the locality or country of consumption, of beer possessing the characteristic qualities of beer brewed in the ordinary manner.

While there weren’t any images in the filing, this is a flowchart of Alternative Sources of Hopped Wort from a homebrewing website in South Africa.

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Patent No. 1328079A: Process Of Mashing

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Today in 1920, US Patent 1328079 A was issued, an invention of Charles B. Davis, for his “Process of Mashing.” There’s no Abstract, and there’s not much of an introduction or overview, he just dives right into a detailed explanation of his invention. It’s curious that the patent office approved it three days before Prohibition took effect in 1920, although he first applied for the patent in 1915. Davis probably didn’t make too many sales over the subsequent thirteen years.
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Beer In Ads #1433: The Mellow-Dry Beer

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Monday’s ad is for City Club Beer, a brand made by Schmidt’s, from 1951. It’s a beautiful illustration, by Howard Scott, a prominent American illustrator from the 1930s on. I’m not quite sure what “mellow-dry” is, but it sure seems to put a smile on these two men. I think they’ve been out working in the garden, so probably any cold beer would taste pretty good, mellow-dry or not.

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Beer In Ads #1432: The Long Arm Of The Beer

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Sunday’s ad is another one for Ballantine Ale, this time from 1947. It’s another great illustration, but the disembodied arms holding the beer seem just a little bit creepy to me. But for one of the few times (maybe the only time) I can recall, both the bottle and the glass are half-full, which is nice to see for a change. Also, the way the Borromean rings of the Ballantine logo are shown, with the beaded bubbles slightly larger, it reminded me of the way a bicycle chain looks, as if the three rings were made out of a bicycle chain, which would be kind of interesting.

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Patent No. 3228413A: Keg Tapping Device

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Today in 1966, US Patent 3228413 A was issued, an invention of Frederick F. Stevens Jr., for a “Keg Tapping Device.” There’s no Abstract, but there’s this from the description:

The general object of this invention is to provide an improved device for tapping kegs or similar containers, the device being relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy and safe to use, and sanitary.

A more particular object of this invention is to provide a tapping device which eliminates any danger of parts being blown from the device during the attachment of the device or a part thereof to a keg.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tapping device which is usable with conventional kegs, of the type having cylindrical sleeves defining the tapping openings, without any modification of the kegs. In keeping with this object, a further object is to provide a tapping device which is usable with kegs having cylindrical tapping opening-deiining sleeves of various axial lengths.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tapping device which does not require a cylindrical sleeve or other complicated keg structure at the tapping opening and which may be used with a simplified keg, of lower cost than present conventional kegs, having a tapping opening consisting of nothing more than a simple round opening passing through a flat Wall of the keg.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a tapping device of the foregoing character which consists of one part or sub-assembly, called the keg unit, adapted to be permanently, or at least semi-permanently, attached to a keg so as to remain with the keg through a number of fillings and emptyings of the keg, and another part or sub-assembly, called the tavern unit, which is adapted 3,228,413 Patented Jan.. 11, 1966 to be attached to the cooling and drawing equipment at a tavern and which remains at the tavern.

Another object of this invention is to provide a keg unit for a tapping device as set forth in the preceding paragraph, which keg unit replaces the plug conventionally used in the tapping opening during shipment of the keg and which is completely leakproof so as to avoid any danger of the beer going flat because of loss of pressure.

Another object of this invention is to provide a tapping device including a safety means for automatically bleeding air from the associated keg to maintain the pressure in the keg at a safe level in the event the pressure tends to rise above such level. In keeping with this object, a further object of the invention is to provide a tapping device wherein excess pressure may be manually bled from the keg without uncoupling any part of the device from the keg and without loss of beer.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method of assemblying a keg unit of the foregoing character with a keg whereby an improved and safe mounting of the unit to the keg is obtained together with maximum utilization of the space provided by the tapping opening.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a keg having combined therewith in a permanent or semi-permanent manner a tapping unit designed for cooperation with a complementary unit at the point of use, the tapping unit being joined to the keg in an improved manner providing simplicity of construction, strength and safety, among other benefits.

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Patent No. 4068005A: Accelerated Fermentation Of Lager Beer

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Today in 1978, US Patent 4068005 A was issued, an invention assigned to Miller Brewing Company, for the “Accelerated Fermentation of Lager Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:

A method of accelerating the fermentation of a lager-type beer comprises conducting the fermentation at an elevated temperature with or without exogenous agitation while maintaining the dissolved carbon dioxide concentration in the fermentation liquor at a level approximating that found in a fermentation liquor during a normal supersaturated lager-type bottom-fermentation. The level of dissolved carbon dioxide is maintained at about 1.5 to about 2.0 cc per cc of beer by use of an overpressure of 2-20 psig of carbon dioxide.

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Beer In Ads #1430: Is This Something Special?

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Friday’s ad is for Ballantine Ale, from 1954. It’s a beautifully illustrated ad, done by Dorothy Monet, a well known advertising artist of the day. It depicts an elegant dinner party, made all the more “special” by serving Ballantine Ale, of course, on a silver tray. There’s some great ad copy, referring to is as a “sociable beverage” and that it has the “time-honored flavor of all” which contains the “lightness and liveliness Americans prefer in their brewed beverages.” I’m convinced.

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