Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 511600A: Bottle And Stopper Therefor

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Today in 1893, US Patent 511600 A was issued, an invention of Everett Ellis, for his “Bottle and Stopper Therefor.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in beer bottles and cork Stoppers therefor; and it consists substantially in such features thereof as will hereinafter be more particularly described.

In all manner of beer bottles heretofore employed in which cork-Stoppers are used it has been necessary always to employ a cork-screw or other implement for withdrawing the cork or stopper after the same has been forced or expanded into the bottle by any of the usual well known corking machines for the purpose. `The use of a cork-screw or other implement for extracting the cork or stopper is always attended with a great deal of trouble and inconvenience, besides wasting lots of time in many instances, and some forms of which are expensive as for instance that form of device usually applied to counters and which are designed to extract and cast away the cork by one movement of lever or handle.

The object of my invention is to provide a bottle and stopper therefor which shall enable the withdrawal of the latter from the bottle without the aid or use of any manner of cork-screw or other additional or outside device or implement whatsoever, thereby enabling beer or other similar liquids or fluids to be corked up in bottles all ready for use, and ready to be opened by a simple operation of the hand.

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Patent No. 1985739A: Vehicle Body For Barrels

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Today in 1934, US Patent 1985739 A was issued, an invention of Paul Murray, for his “Vehicle Body For Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates Ito vehicle bodies for the transportation of barrels and particularly for the transportation of half barrels of beer.

The objects of my invention are to provide the economical and efficient handling of beer half barrels.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2016

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It’s day forty-two, and the last one, of my Christmas canter to today featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

2016 was the forty-second year that Anchor has made their Christmas Ale, and from 1987 through the present day, each year Anchor’s Our Special Ale has included spices, a different combination of them every time. Generally the base beer has been a spiced brown ale, although it has been varied from time to time, as well. This forty-second label is a “1,000 Mile Tree,” or “Pinus Solitarius.” This is what I was drinking yesterday, and also what I’ll be drinking today, as well. I’d like especially thank Anchor Brewery historian Dave Burkhart for his kind assistance in this project and for answering my questions about the progression of the beer. Have a Malty Christmas and a Hoppy New Beer.

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Patent No. 531356A: Apparatus For Carbonating Beer

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Today in 1894, US Patent 531356 A was issued, an invention of Carl Barus, for his “Apparatus For Carbonating Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of my invention is to produce improved apparatus for impregnating beer, or the like, with carbonic acid gas.

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Beer In Ads #2135: Damsleth’s Julöl

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Saturday’s holiday ad is for a Norwegian beer, from 1940. It was created by well-known Norwegian cartoonist, illustrator and ad-man Harald Damsleth. It depicts a young girl flying in a red boat filled with at least five kegs and two dragon’s heads at either end. The word “Julöl” is in the snow below, and the “J” is a broom. Maybe it’s from some Norwegian folktale I’m unfamiliar with, but it looks like it’s from an odd dream. Although the girls is smiling, and there are birds flitting about nearby, so it can’t be all bad.

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Patent Nos. 3115149A & 3115150A: Tapping Valve For Beer Kegs

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Today in 1963, both US Patent 3115149 A and US Patent 3115150 A were issued, and both are related inventions of Victor A. Sariotti and Arthur J. Tonna, assigned to the Burgermeister Brewing Corp., under the same name: “Tapping Valve For Beer Kegs.” There’s no Abstract, although the description for both patents is virtually identical, as is the accompanying drawings, although you can see a few minute differences if you look at them side by side:

This invention relates to the valve art, and more particularly to an improvement in a tapping valve for beer kegs.

One of the well known and long used beer keg pressurizing and dispensing systems is known as the Golden Gate system. in such a system the keg is characterized by the presence of a fitting in its upper wall for connection to a source of pressurized gas, a normally closed fill opening in its side Wall, a tapping valve fitted into the side wall adjacent the bottom wall, and a tapping device adapted to be fitted into the valve and locked thereto by rotative movement, the rotative movement being effective to open the valve. Reverse rotative movement of the tapping device serves to close the valve and to free the tapping device for disengagement from the valve.

In the valves of this type which are in use, the outlet port of the valve is located as much as an inch or more above the bottom of the keg. As a consequence, this port is uncovered to the pressurized gas before the keg is fully emptied. The keg still contains a number of quarts of beer. To minimize the loss of this beer, the keg is tipped, tipping blocks being regularly provided for this purpose, to maintain the valve outlet port submerged as long as possible. Even so, many ounces of residual beer remain in the keg and is lost to the purchaser.

it has been suggested that the valve be provided with a radially disposed tubular extension, the inlet opening of which is disposed immediately adjacent the bottom of the keg when the valve is open, thereby enabling substantially complete draining of the keg. The patent to Lamoureux 2,545,620 discloses such an arrangement. But while the tubular extension type of valve shown in this patent enables a substantially complete emptying of the keg, it does not lend itself to conventional keg handling practice.

Such kegs are returned to the brewery for cleaning while the valve is closed and subsequent refilling. Caustic solution is employed in the cleaning operation, and the tubular extension will entrap and retain an amount of cleaning solution, thereby rendering the use of such a valve unsatisfactory in practice.

In summary, the present invention is an improvement on the described tubular extension type of valve, in that means are embodied in the valve to render it self-clearing of cleaning fluids during the cleaning operation.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2015

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It’s day forty-one of my jolly jog to Christmas featuring all 42 labels from Anchor’s Christmas Ale — a.k.a. Our Special Ale — all different beers (well, mostly different) and all different labels, each one designed by local artist Jim Stitt, up to and including this year’s label.

2015 was the forty-first year that Anchor made their Christmas Ale, and from 1987 through the present day, each year Anchor’s Our Special Ale has included spices, a different combination of them every time. Generally the base beer has been a spiced brown ale, although it has been varied from time to time, as well. This forty-first label was was a “California Christmas Tree,” or “Cedrus Deodara.”

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Patent No. 2226009A: Hop Separator

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Today in 1940, US Patent 2226009 A was issued, an invention of George E. Miller, assigned to the Clemens Horst Company, for his “Hop Separator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a separator. and especially to a machine for separating stems, leaves and like foreign material from picked hops.

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