Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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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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Patent No. 20140008367A1: Beverage Delivery Can

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Today in 2014, just last year, US Patent 20140008367 A1 was issued, an invention of six people including Jim Koch, and assigned to the Boston Beer Co., for a “Beverage Delivery Can.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beverage delivery can may comprise various configurations. Such configurations may comprise various aperture shapes, sizes, and configurations and various shapes, textures, configurations, and dimensions of the lid and surface of the can. A beverage can may comprise various exterior shapes such as a tapered shape, a faceted shape, a pint glass shape and the like. In embodiments, the beverage can may comprise various types of nucleation devices. In embodiments, various external packaging may be used with one or more beverage delivery cans.

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This not the can, at least not yet, that Boston Beer put their Samuel Adams Boston Lager and other beers in, a prototype for which is below. This can design more resembles their proprietary glass, so perhaps we’ll one day see this can on store shelves.
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Patent No. 640860A: Combination Beer Bottle & Glass

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Today in 1900, US Patent 640860 A was issued, an invention of William Baum Jr., for a “Combination Beer Bottle and Glass.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described in the application like this. “The invention consists of the combination, with a main body portion or bottle, of a top portion detachably mounted thereon and adapted to be used as a drinking cup or glass, and a base portion also detachable mounted on the body portion and adapted to act as a support for the detachable cup portion.” It seems like an interesting idea, perfect for travel since you wouldn’t have to pack a glass, but I don’t think it ever quite caught on.

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Patent No. 3784059A: Beverage Can Drinking Holder

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Today in 1974, US Patent 3784059 A was issued, an invention of John Katzakian, for a “Beverage Can Drinking Holder.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beverage can drinking holder including an annular sleeve encircling the upper end margin of a beverage can wherein the sleeve has an interior surface gradually tapering radially inwardly progressively upwardly for receiving and seating the upper end edge of the can. The sleeve includes an annular upper end edge forming a drinking lip encircling the sleeve and spaced above the upper edge of the can a distance sufficient to provide an overflow reservoir for receiving an expanding volume of foam and beverage from the can below. In addition, a sharp rigid can-piercing element is carried within the sleeve for driving an opening into the top of the can. A stein or mug-like holder assembly includes a pair of spaced annular members for receiving the opposite ends of the can wherein one of the members is movable between advanced and retracted positions to permit insertion of the can therebetween and subsequent holding of the can by moving the movable member to its advanced position.

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Patent No. 20100000997A1: Double-Ended Openers Beverage Can

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Today in 2010, just five years ago, US Patent 20100000997 A1 was issued, an invention of Erik L. Southers, for a “Double-Ended Openers Beverage Can.” Here’s the Abstract:

The invention relates to a beverage can with an opener at each end allowing the user to drink from the first end while opening the second end which results in the liquid rapidly evacuating the beverage can. The beverage can is particularly useful for chug-a-lugging beer.

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Patent No. D216422S: Beer Can

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Today in 1970, US Patent D216422 S was issued, an invention of Karl Koch, for an ornamental design for a “Beer Can.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described simply as a “can circular in all cross sections and the side opposite that shown is the same in appearance as the side shown except that the label area is replaced by a continuation of the barrel motif.”

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Patent No. 1166599A: Mash And Strainer Tank Machine

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Today in 1916, US Patent 1166599 A was issued, an invention of Andreas R Keller, for a “Mash and Strainer Tank Machine.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description, the overview states the “invention relates to new and useful improvements in mash and .strainer tank machines, and is designed to increase the efficiency of such machines by improving the mixing, percolation, heating or cooking, straining, and drawing-off features, thereby overcoming the predominant and objectionable disadvantages of the machines now in use.”
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Don’t Bet Dollars To Donuts Or Drinking

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I think we can all agree that doughnuts are high in calories. I suspect few people would try to defend them as being a health food. Alcohol, on the other hand, is trickier. There are clear health benefits and, for some, health risks, too. But in order to paint alcohol as something worse than it is, prohibitionist groups feel no need to be truthful or avoid being misleading. To wit, today Alcohol Justice tweeted that “[t]here are the same amount of calories in a glass of wine as there are in a doughnut.”

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To ad insult to injury, the image they used to hammer home their point depicts not one doughnut, as the text is singular, but a pile of them, in fact eleven doughnuts are visible, though some just partially. And look at that glass of wine. Does that look like the standard 5 ounces? It sure doesn’t to me. That looks like a short pour, all in effort to deceive and mislead, as if just a tiny amount of wine is equal to nearly a dozen doughnuts.

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The truth, of course, is different. A standard glass of red wine — 5 ounces — is around 125 calories, while a doughnut is 195 calories. That’s from doing a simple Google search for calories in a glass of red wine and calories in a doughnut. Not surprisingly, calories in doughnuts vary widely, and according to a list on Calorie Lab can range from around 100 to nearly 400, and apparently Krispy Kreme doughnuts are even higher, ranging from 200 to 400.

Alcohol Justice included a link with their tweet to a story at Redbrick, a student publication from the University of Birmingham in England. That’s also where they snagged the photo of the glass of wine. Who knows where the pile of doughnuts came from.

The article AJ is using for their own purposes, Should Alcohol Show Calories?, has its own share of inconsistencies, not that they’d matter to Alcohol Justice. Redbrick states that a “large glass of wine is about 200 calories, which is the same as a doughnut” but then, of course, it links to a British drinks calculator showing that a standard glass of wine is 175 ml, or less than 6 ounces. So to make their analogy of a doughnut and a glass of wine being equivalent they have to pour a larger glass than is considered the standard amount. Naturally, AJ ignores that and even tries their best to make it appear that drinking a small glass of wine is like eating almost a dozen doughnuts, at least that’s the visual message they’re sending.

I had hoped we’d see more honesty from the prohibitionists in 2015, but I guess that was a foolish hope on my part. I think I need a doughnut, or maybe a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, which at 175 calories is still less than my glazed doughnut.

World’s Drunkest Countries

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An online article today on Business Insider examines the World Health Organization’s most recent Global status report on alcohol and health 2014. Entitled Here Are The Drunkest Countries In The World, it gives the highlights of the WHO report. Unfortunately, in my experience WHO tends to lean on the side of prohibitionists in their approach to alcohol, highlighting primarily the bad aspects while ignoring the positive. As a result, WHO tends to be all doom and gloom about alcohol in the world. It’s a somewhat odd position. At any rate, they use the map below, showing per capita alcohol consumption by country, as of 2010 (but it’s the same data in the 2014 report).

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See the chart full size.

One thing to notice is that despite the hue and cry from U.S.-based anti-alcohol groups, American consumption has been flat or down since its 1980 high point, and worldwide we’re pretty much in the middle of the consumption scale, not the lowest or the highest, as they’d have us believe. Canada drinks more than we do. So does Australia and most of Europe, especially Eastern Europe and Russia.

But even with WHO’s very conservative view of drinking alcohol, American patterns of risky drinking is even lower than average, squarely in the second-lowest category. For example, Mexico may drink less than Americans per capita, but still manages to drink in a more risky manner, and Canada and us are the same, despite out-drinking Americans. Likewise, Western Europe, which drinks more than most, engages in the least risky behavior, at least as WHO defines it.

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See the chart full size.

So if we accept the way WHO comes up with that statistic — stated as by considering “the usual quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion, proportion of drinking events when drinkers get drunk, proportion of drinkers who drink daily or nearly daily, festive drinking, drinking with meals, and drinking in public places — then overall there’s a lot less risky drinking in the world than the first chart would have us believe. While per capita consumption seems to follow the expected bell curve, risky behavior does not, with far less dark spots. The riskiest countries are concentrated in just a few nations, and looks even larger than it really is because one of the countries is geographically very big. The countries in the second-riskiest tier looks to be less than ten nations, suggesting that a majority of places to do not engage in a great deal of risky drinking, which is frankly what I’d expect. Either way, I’m not sure hardly any deserve the title “drunkest countries.”