Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Cigar City Bought By Fireman Capital

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In an exclusive this morning, Brewbound is reporting that Fireman Capital to Purchase Cigar City. According to Brewbound, “Cigar City, a leading independent brewery based in Tampa, Fla., has agreed to sell controlling interest to Boston-based private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners, which already owns majority stakes in Oskar Blues, Perrin Brewing and the Utah Brewers Cooperative outfit that includes the Wasatch and Squatters brands.”

The overall entity created by Fireman Capital for their brewery acquisitions is United Craft Brews LLC, incorporated in Delaware. The SEC Form D lists Fireman Capital’s address is Waltham, Massachusetts, but information on OpenLEIs lists a registered address in Delaware, but Oskar Blues’ Longmont address as Headquarters for United Craft Brews. Last year, Westwood was still asking Does Oskar Blues Still Own Oskar Blues? This will undoubtedly continue to muddy the waters surrounding the answer to that question.

Rumors had been swirling that ABI was considering Cigar City as their next target for acquisition, and founder Joey Redner confirmed that he’d gotten as far as signing an LOI. But ABI let their exclusivity period pass without executing a formal purchase agreement, leaving Cigar City free to entertain other potential buyers.

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Cigar City’s website posted a joint press release about the transaction:

Oskar Blues Brewery Rolls up a Cigar City Blunt

Longmont, CO, & Tampa Bay, FL — Oskar Blues Brewery announced the acquisition of Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing. Putting months of acquirement rumors to rest, the decision is driven by mutual irreverence, respect and desire to stay true to craft beer roots.

The combination stems from the want to take risks, sniff out bullsh*t and grow against-the-grain in an era of increasing competition within craft beer. The collaboration will match years of large-scale growth, expansion expertise and resources of Oskar Blues with the strength of Cigar City’s local following to help both breweries strengthen their future position. Similarly to Oskar Blues, Cigar City’s award-winning brews are well known and respected within the craft community.

“Cigar City is facing next-level challenges and we needed to develop next-level skills and resources to meet them. But, we got into beer out of passion and an unwavering desire to travel our own path. We didn’t want to just shove our round peg into some f*cking square hole and hope for the best. Florida craft beer drinkers want something they can proudly stand behind. These guys get that. They wrote the book on keeping it real,” says Joey, founder of Cigar City Brewing. Joey will remain as CEO of Cigar City following the transaction.

Since 2009, Cigar City Brewing achieved a near constant growth pattern reaching nearly 60,000 barrels in 2015, placing the Tampa Bay area and the state of Florida on the craft beer map. The partnership will provide additional investment for Cigar City’s infrastructure growth within Florida.

“What Cigar City has done for the community of Florida craft beer is impressive. It’s important for our culture to do business with people we want to hang out with and Joey and the gang fit,” Dale Katechis, Soul Founder of Oskar Blues, stated about the new partnership.

Oskar Blues Brewery is the funky brewpub that started brewing beer in 1999 in the small town of Lyons, CO and is responsible for starting the craft beer in-a-can movement in 2002 with Dale’s Pale Ale. In 2008, the brewery expanded down the street to Longmont, CO. and added an additional brewery in Brevard, NC in 2012. Oskar Blues brewed 192,000 barrels in 2015 and announced another brewery in Austin, TX scheduled to open in May of 2016.

Terms of the acquisition are not disclosed.

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Patent No. 20140072691A1: Method And Device For Adding Hops In Beer Manufacture, And Also Hop Product

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Today in 2014, US Patent 20140072691 A1 was issued, an invention of Ludwig Scheller, Rudolf Michel, and Patrick Bahns, for their “Method and Device for Adding Hops in Beer Manufacture, and Also Hop Product.” Here’s the Abstract:

The invention relates to a method for adding hops in beer manufacture, having the following process steps; a) separation of a sub-quantity (07 a) of water and/or wort (07) and/or beer as an aqueous fluid, b) addition of hop extract (10) in liquid or pasty form to the separated aqueous fluid (07 a), c) production of a macroemulsion (13) of the hop extract by emulsifying the hop extract (10) in the aqueous fluid (07 a), d) increasing the pressure in the macroemulsion (13) of the hop extract to a feed pressure of in particular higher than 100 bar, e) production of a microemulsion (17) of the hop extract by feeding the pressurized macroemulsion (13) through a gap or a valve (16) or by feeding the pressurized macroemulsion against a baffle plate, f) at least partial return of the microemulsion (17) of the hop extract to the beer manufacturing process.

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Patent No. 1950714A: Container And Cooler

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Today in 1934, US Patent 1950714 A was issued, an invention of Ernest Joseph D’Aoust and Herbert Lawrence Dickens, for their “Container and Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention relates to a container and cooler, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing that forms part of the same.

The invention consists essentially of the unit combining the means for refrigerating and the container as pointed out in the claim for novelty following a description in detail of the parts making up the unit.

The objects of the invention are to cool liquids such as beer, especially contents being continually drawn upon thereby making it possible to maintain the volume of liquid in constant use in a palatable condition while a considerable volume remains unchilled, which are ideal conditions for dispensing beer and many liquids, especially where they are sold by the glass; to facilitate the transport of beer and some other beverages, particularly those beverages liable to deterioration from changes of temperature and therefore deliver the container with its contents in as fit a state as when it left the brewery, factory or other production centre; to utilize dry ice, artificial ice, natural ice or chemical refrigerants to the best advantage for cooling containers and introduce the cooling medium with ease; and generally to provide for restaurants, hotels, merchants, dwellings and places of entertainment, a convenient form of container from which the beverage will be delivered in a wholesome condition and which will not materially add to the cost of the invention to the consumer.

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Patent No. 1218724A: Beer Cooler

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Today in 1917, US Patent 1218724 A was issued, an invention of William F. Vosseler, for his “Beer Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to beer coolers of the type in which a coil is provided through which the beer must pass in the presence of a cooling medium.

The simplest Way of cooling beer as it is pumped from a barrel to a faucet is to send it through a coil which is packed in ice. In coils for this purpose, there must be as little obstruction to the flow of beer as possible. There must be also as much of an exposure to the ice as possible.

Accordingly in the Patent No. 1,099,329, of June 9th, 1914, to William Vosseler, is described a device in which an open coil is mounted in an ice box so that ice can be packed down inside the coil as well vas around it. This is the best way of quickly and adequately cooling the beer as it passes through a cooler, but it opens the way to a number of difficulties. The first of these is that to make a strong coil which will Withstand the jamming down in it of ice, it is hard to provide against agitating the beer during its passage through the coil. In the next place, it is difficult to hold the coil in place in the box against these strains, and finally it is requisite to make the whole structure as inexpensive as possible.

It is the object of my invention herein to provide against these difficulties so as to have an open coil of great durability and cheapness, in which there is little or no obstruction to the flow of the beer to cause it to foam out of the faucet, which is very undesirable.

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Patent No. 2193445A: Beer Keg

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Today in 1940, US Patent 2193445 A was issued, an invention of Siesel E. Canaday, for his “Beer Keg.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention relates to a beer keg of the type in which beer is transportedfrom the brewery to the user and which is designed to be cooled in the original container and from which container the cooled beer is vended from time to time.

In this type of beerkeg a cooling coil is dissition accessible from the outside of the keg for ready and quick attachment to a cooling system at the users place of business.

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Patent No. 62864A: Beer Faucet

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Today in 1867, US Patent 62864 A was issued, an invention of Thomas Marsh, for his “Beer Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention herein described can be advantageously used for tapping a cask which .contains beer or other fluid confined under pressure. ‘The common method of tapping a beer cask, employed, is, first, to force inward, to the distance perhaps of half the thickness of the head of the cask, the plug which is always inserted in a hole made in one of the heads” for this purpose, and then placing the faucet or spigot upon its end against the plug so partially driven in, with a well-directed blow replug the hole with the end of the faucet. and at the same operation expel -into the interior of the Cask the former plug which filled the hole. It often happens that the pressure exerted by the beer is so great as to be able to resist the introduction of the faucet, especially if the latter is not exactly fitted to the hole, in which case the contents of the Cask will escape. The invention ‘described is intended to afford a convenient and certain means for tapping a cask in place of the means above described.

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Patent No. WO2004020570A1: Effervescent Hop Tablet

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Today in 2004, US Patent WO 2004020570 A1 was issued, an invention of James F. Boyd, assigned to Yakima Chief Inc., for his “Effervescent Hop Tablet.” Here’s the Abstract:

Effervescent formulations of hop adjuncts for use in the process of beer brewing, or more generally the manufacture or production of malt beverages are disclosed. These manufacturing processes can include primary fermentation, when added to the wort, secondary fermentation, when added to the green beer, and storage, when added to beer. The effervescent product includes an effervescent material, such as a carbonate compound, combined with brewing kettle hop adjuncts. The hop adjuncts may include any combination of conventionally derived hop materials or extracts, including alpha acids, beta acids, resins and oils. Preferably, the effervescent formulations are formed into the shape of a tablet, and serve to simplify and improve the efficiency and metering of the hop adjuncts into the brewing process.

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Patent No. 3870810A: Inhibiting Beer Gushing

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3870810 A was issued, an invention of Anthony Martin Humphrey, for his “Inhibiting Beer Gushing.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention provides a method for reducing the tendency of beer to gush by incorporating in the beer 1 to 20 percent based on the weight of iso- alpha -acids in the finished beer of an unsaturated fatty acid having from 10 to 20 carbon atoms. The invention includes hop extracts containing said unsaturated fatty acid and also includes methods of making said extracts.

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Patent No. 722509A: Cooler For Kegs Or Casks

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Today in 1903, US Patent 722509 A was issued, an invention of Samuel M. J≥ House, for his “Cooler for Kegs or Casks.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in coolers for kegs or casks, and has for its object to provide the kegs or casks with an interior receptacle one end of which opens through one head of the keg, and into this receptacle may be placed cracked ice, liquid air, or any cooling substance for the purpose of cooling the contents of the keg or cask.

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Patent No. 148297A: Improvement In Casks For Preserving Beer

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Today in 1874, US Patent 148297 A was issued, an invention of Ole Heggem, for his “Improvement in Casks for Preserving Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

That which I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is —

1. The combination, with a beer-cask, of a collapsible bag, capable of filling the entire interior of said cask, and secured to the interior of the cask at its mouth, by means of the head of the cask being set in against the edges of said bag, lying between the edges of the head and the staves, said head being provided with an open vent, as specified.

2. In combination with the bag and cask, the head, provided with a vent-hole, guarded by the plates at each side, and having the grooves 0, as specified.

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