Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Taco Bell Introduces Beer

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Taco Bell announced today the opening of their first Taco Bell Cantina in Wicker Park, Chicago. The new restaurant had a soft opening today, with a grand opening scheduled for September 22. A second one will open in San Francisco later this month. One aspect about the new concept, known as “urban” restaurants, that stands out is they will serve beer, along with wine, rum, vodka and tequila.

From the press release:

“These new urban restaurants are a critical part of our growth strategy in markets where people experience our brand differently,” said Brian Niccol, chief executive officer, Taco Bell Corp. “Today’s consumers are living in more urban settings and our new restaurants cater to their lifestyle in adapting our traditional restaurant concept to fit their modern needs.”

The Taco Bell Urban Concept incorporates five consumer trends that balance relevancy and brand authenticity:

  1. Urbanization: The Taco Bell Urban Restaurant Concept reflects the Millennial trend of seeking more urban environments to live, work and play. These restaurants are ideally suited to fit in with pedestrian areas without drive-thrus.
  2. Digitization: Every point of the customer’s ordering journey is optimized through technology, including digital menu boards, TV monitors and Taco Bell mobile ordering and payment app pick up.
  3. Localization: Taco Bell incorporated the local architecture of the neighborhoods each restaurant serves.
    • The Wicker Park restaurant’s brick walls and prismatic glass were restored to help preserve the 100-year-old building. The location also features a mural designed by local artist, Revise CMW, which serves as a nod to the neighborhood’s history as an artistic hub.
    • The San Francisco restaurant, located near AT&T Park, features a patio and mobile pick-up window to cater to the quick pace, tech savvy and vibrant community.
  4. Green: The new urban locations will be more energy efficient with systems including LED lighting, use of reclaimed elements where possible and recycling.
  5. Transparency: An open kitchen design and food served in open face baskets gives customers a look inside Taco Bell’s quality ingredients.

Taco Bell Cantina restaurants will be the first and only Taco Bell restaurants to serve alcohol to customers who are of legal drinking age. The San Francisco restaurant will serve beer and wine only, while Wicker Park will serve beer, wine, sangria and twisted Freezes. Cantina restaurants will also feature a new tapas-style menu of shareable appetizers – including nachos and rolled tacos – during designated hours each evening, in addition to the full standard Taco Bell Menu.

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According to the Chicago Tribune:

The menu features three 16-ounce frozen drinks that look straight out of the Kwik-E-Mart; spike your cherry-red Cantina Punch, electric-yellow Cantina Margarita or Ninja-Turtle-green Mountain Dew Baja Blast with your choice of Captain Morgan rum ($6.19), Ketel One vodka ($6.69) or Don Julio tequila ($7.19).

You’ll also find Steelhead wine ($4) in individual-size twist-off bottles, and two taps pouring Dos Equis ($4) and Fat Tire ($4.50).

Toast to the fact you’re drinking in a Taco Bell over a new menu of what the brand is calling Shareables — essentially, appetizer baskets. Choose from regular or chili-cheese nachos, quesadilla triangles, mini taquitos (called “rolled tacos”) and, surprisingly, chicken tenders, which are actually the best of the bunch.

The new T-Bell also comes with exposed brick, an open kitchen and a fancy new name: Taco Bell Cantina.

But give up your dreams of a drink after closing time at your local bar. Taco Bell Cantina will serve wine, beer and liquor until only 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and midnight Friday and Saturday. 1439 N. Milwaukee Ave.

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Expect to see Alcohol Justice and the prohibitionists going apoplectic over this news.

Patent No. 20110225686P1: Hop Plant Named ‘HBC 342’

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Today in 2011, US Patent 20110225686 P1 was issued, an invention of Eugene G. Probasco and Jason Perrault, for their “Hop Plant Named ‘HBC 342.’” Here’s the Abstract:

A new hop plant named ‘HBC 342’ is disclosed. The cones of ‘HBC 342’ mature in late September to early October, and yield a crop of 2400 to 3000 pounds per acre. ‘HBC 342’ is used for its late maturity, high alpha acid content and exceptional yield.

Patented one year and a day after ‘HBC 394’ (a.k.a. Citra) by the same pair, this one has yet to be given a name, as far as I know, although it has been used in some commercial beers. For example, Stone Brewing used in a collaboration they did with Jamil Zainasheff and Julian Shrago that was called Beachwood/Heretic/Stone Unapologetic IPA and also a draft beer they brewed at Stone Liberty Station, and called The Lupulin Loop. Also Sacramento’s New Helvetia created Little Beast/Sloppy Sessions IPA with the hop. At least one source says its aromatics give the aroma of watermelon, while HopUnion refers to it as a “High alpha variety with a pleasant aroma,” describing is as exhibting “Mild citrus, tropical fruit and melon notes.”

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Patent No. 6790112B2: Recreational Floatation Device With Integral Cup Holder

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Today in 2004, US Patent 6790112 B2 was issued, an invention of Donald P. Kirk, assigned to Captain Noodle, Inc., for his “Recreational Floatation Device With Integral Cup Holder.” Here’s the Abstract:

A recreational flotation device (10) is provided which is designed to support a user (S) floating in water while affording a convenient holder for beverage containers. The device (10) comprises an elongated body (12) formed of synthetic resin material and having a density such that the body will float in water (e.g., extruded polyethylene). The body (12) presents a pair of opposed butt ends (14, 16), with at least one of the butt ends (14,16) being recessed to define a receptacle (18) integral with the body (12) for receiving a beverage container (24) therein. A preferred alternative device (110) is provided wherein the body (112) includes a pair of differently dimensioned receptacles (118,120) respectively located at the ends (114, 116) and integrally formed with the body (112).

So this is without a doubt one of the stranger beer-related patents I’ve come across. Who thinks I have to have my beer with me in the pool, it’s just too hard to keep it on the edge of the pool. Although I suppose if you were floating down a river it might come in handy.
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Patent No. PP21289P3: Hop Plant Named ‘HBC 394’ (a.k.a. Citra)

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Today in 2010, US Patent PP21289 P3 was issued, an invention of Eugene G. Probasco and Jason Perrault, assigned to the Hop Breeding Company, L.L.C., for their “Hop Plant Named ‘HBC 394.’” Here’s the Abstract:

A new hop plant named ‘HBC 394’ is disclosed. The cones of ‘HBC 394’ mature in early September, and yield a crop of 1200 to 1600 pounds per acre. ‘HBC 394’ is used in brewing for its bittering and aromatic properties.

You undoubtedly know this hop by its more familiar trade name: Citra. But is as so often the case with new hops, when it was first patented, it had not yet been named. Brian Yeager has a nice write-up of that process, mentioning Citra specifically, from 2011 in All About Beer magazine, entitled Hop Forward, Breeding tomorrow’s hops… today.
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Patent No. 0472298B1: Keg For Draft Beer

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Today in 1995, US Patent 0472298 B1 was issued, an invention of Yutaka Fujimoto, Takaaki Furuhashi, Katsuoki Kawanishi, and Ryo Sakazume, assigned to Sapporo Breweries Limited, for their “Keg For Draft Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

A keg for a liquid to facilitate cooling of the liquid retained in the keg and to keep the temperature of the cooled liquid in the keg, comprising:
   a keg body for retaining the liquid therein and having an upper face (3), a lower face (5), a side face (4) and a mouth piece (2) for providing the liquid into the keg body and ejecting the liquid therefrom, said keg body being formed of a keg inner cylinder (1) for constituting a container for the liquid and a keg outer cylinder (6), said keg inner and outer cylinders being laminated together to form a space and air being removed from the space to form a vacuum adiabatic layer (VL) therebetween; characterized in that the keg outer cylinder (6) substantially covers the keg inner cylinder (1) except one of the upper and lower fades (3, 5) of the keg body, and in that a cooling face (Cz) is formed on said one of the upper and lower faces (3, 5) of the keg body where the inner cylinder (1) is not covered so that the liquid inside the inner cylinder (1) can be cooled through the cooling face and the temperature of the liquid inside the inner cylinder is kept by the adiabatic layer defined between the inner and outer cylinders.

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Patent No. 2481897A: Device For Separating Leaves, Stems, And Other Material From Hops

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Today in 1949, US Patent 2481897 A was issued, an invention of Zack Anderson, for his “Device For Separating Leaves, Stems, and Other Material From Hops.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention pertains to separators and particularly to a machine for separating leaves, stems, and other material from hops.

The present invention relates to a machine for separating the hops from the leaves, stems, and other material more efficiently than has heretofore been accomplished. Due to novel features of the machine the separating action is positive and precise. These novel features also enable the machine to accomplish precise results under varying hop-crop conditions.

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Patent No. 264185A: Refrigerator

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Today in 1882, US Patent 264185 A was issued, an invention of James Miller of Oakland, California, for his “Refrigerator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to the class of refrigerators; and it consists generally in the construction and arrangement of peculiar vessels, providing for the holding of the substance to be kept cool, and a surrounding and underlying water-space.

It consists particularly in a deep vessel with vertical sides, and provided with a centrally perforated false bottom, upon which a holding-vessel of smaller diameter and extending above the exterior vessel is placed, whereby a surrounding and underlying water-space is formed.

It further consists in the provision of an airtight cover for the holding-vessel, all of which will hereinafter fully appear.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical, and effective refrigerating device for containing any substance or article which should be kept cool.

I can’t say for certain if this was even used by breweries, but the shape seems to suggest that it may have been.
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Patent No. 1003014A: Automatic Keg Washing And Sprinkling Machine

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Today in 1911, US Patent 1003014 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Strohl, for his “Automatic Keg Washing and Sprinkling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a combination can-piercing device and drinking cup.

One of the principal objects of the invention is the provision of :a drinking cup provided with can-piercing instrumentalities depending from its bottom wall, guide means for attaching the cup to the top of a beverage can and sealing means associated with the cup and guide means to prevent leakage between the top of the can and the outside of the cup after the top of the can has been pierced.

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Patent No. 3758008A: Tapping Assembly For Beer Kegs

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Today in 1973, US Patent 3758008 A was issued, an invention of Mack S. Johnston, for his “Tapping Assembly for Beer Kegs and the Like.” Here’s the Abstract:

A keg adapter for beer kegs and the like with gas and liquid passageways containing normally closed valves, which when opened permit compressed gas to be admitted to the keg and beer to be withdrawn therefrom, said valves being biased toward the closed position by actuators which contain permanent magnets. A tapper is connected to a source of compressed gas and to a beer faucet and contains a tap rod, which, when manually actuated, seals the tapper to the adapter and interconnects the gas source and the faucet with the interior of the keg.

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Patent No. 5553327A: Hat Made From Cardboard Beer Container

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Today in 1996, US Patent 5553327 A was issued, an invention of Anthony R. Koecher and Kevin M. Schoeller, for their “Hat Made from Cardboard Beverage Container and Method of Making the Same.” Here’s the Abstract:

A hat is constructed from a cardboard product container, for example a 24-pack beer package including a product logo and other graphics thereon. The hat provides a new use for a previously wasted container material, and enables fans or collectors to display their loyalty and support of a particular brand.

This is certainly an odd one to have been patented. I’ve definitely seen hats made from 12-pack containers or similar packages, but I don’t think I knew the process was one that could be, or had been, patented.
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