Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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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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Carol Ann Duffy’s John Barleycorn

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Today is the birthday of Scottish poet and playwright Carol Ann Duffy, who is also currently the Poet Laureate of Great Britain. In 2009, she wrote a poem entitled “John Barleycorn” for a BBC2 program “The Culture Show,” which aired November 26, 2009. They describe it as “a lament for, and a celebration of, the Great British Pub, and was “filmed in various bars in Glasgow, including The Horseshoe Bar, The Vale and The State Bar.”

When it first came out, my friend, and British beer historian, Martyn Cornell, referred to it as “one of the best,” which is high praise indeed. He wrote about it in a piece entitled “The best ever poem in praise of the pub.” He also believes that each and every pub that is mentioned in the poem is a real one, which is pretty cool.

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John Barleycorn, by Carol Ann Duffy

Although I knew they’d laid him low, thrashed him, hung him out to dry,
Had tortured him with water and with fire, then dashed his brains out on a stone,
I saw him in the Seven Stars, and in the Plough.
I saw him in the Crescent Moon and in the Beehive.
In the Barley Mow, my Green Man, newly born, alive, John Barleycorn.

I saw him seasonally, at harvest time, in the Wheatsheaf and the Load of Hay,
I saw him, heard his laughter in the Star and Garter and the Fountain and the Bell,
The Corn Dolly, the Woolpack and the Flowing Spring.
I saw him in the Rising Sun, the Moon and Sixpence and the Evening Star.
I saw him in the Rose and Crown, my Green Man, ancient, barely born, John Barleycorn.

He moved through Britain, bright and dark, like ale in glass.
I saw him run across the fields, towards the Gamekeeper, the Poacher and the Blacksmith’s Arms.
He knew the Ram, the Lamb, the Lion and the Swan,
White Hart, Blue Bull, Red Dragon, Fox and Hounds.
I saw him in the Three Goats’ Heads, the Black Bull and Dun Cow, Shoulder of Mutton, Griffin, Unicorn.
Green Man, beer-born, good health, long life, John Barleycorn.

I saw him festively, when people sang for victory, for love and New Year’s Eve,
In the Raven and the Bird in Hand, the Golden Eagle, the Kingfisher, the Dove.
I saw him grieve and mourn, a shadow at the bar, in the Falcon, the Marsh Harrier,
The Sparrowhawk, the Barn Owl, Cuckoo, Heron, Nightingale.
A pint of bitter in the Jenny Wren for my Green Man, alone, forlorn, John Barleycorn.

Britain’s soul, as the crow flies, so flew he.
I saw him in the Holly Bush, the Yew Tree, the Royal Oak, the Ivy Bush, the Linden.
I saw him in the Forester, the Woodman.
He history: I saw him in the Wellington, the Nelson, Marquis of Granby, Wicked Lady, Bishop’s Finger.
I saw him in the Ship, the Golden Fleece, the Flask
The Railway Inn, the Robin Hood and Little John.
My Green Man, legend-strong, reborn, John Barleycorn.

Scythed down, he crawled, knelt, stood.
I saw him in the Crow, Newt, Stag, all weathers, noon or night.
I saw him in the Feathers, Salutation, Navigation, Knot, the Bricklayer’s Arms, Hop Inn, the Maypole and the Regiment, the Horse and Groom, the Dog and Duck, the Flag.
And where he supped the past lived still.
And where he sipped the glass brimmed full.
He was in the King’s Head and Queen’s Arms. I saw him there:
Green Man, well-born, spellbound, charming one, John Barleycorn.

Even better, here’s Duffy reading her poem for the original BBC2 program, “The Culture Show,” in 2009:

Patent No. 20100323060A1: Method Of, And Apparatus For, Flavor Recovery In Beer Brewing

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Today in 2010, US Patent 20100323060 A1 was issued, an invention of Wilhelm Wolfgang-Peter, assigned to Krones Ag, for his “Method of, and Apparatus for, Flavor Recovery in Beer Brewing.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beer-brewing method, and an apparatus implementing the method, where vapors escaping from the wort during a boiling phase are passed, on the steam side, to a rectifying column connected to a wort boiler and the vapors are rectified, at least one flavor-containing distillate being recovered from the vapors and being fed to the wort following the boiling phase.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2014

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It’s day forty of my fast festive flurry 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.

2014 was the fortieth 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 fortieth label was was a “Giant Sequoia,” or “Sequoiadendron giganteum.”

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Patent No. 6666358B1: Beer Container

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Today in 2003, US Patent 6666358 B1 was issued, an invention of William Field Warwick, for his “Beer Container.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beer container comprises an inner hollow shell of blow moulded PET to hold beer, an outer hollow shell of moulded high density polyethylene enclosing and supporting the inner shell and a spear structure including a dispenser tube extending from a bottom interior region of the inner shell through to a dispensing outlet at the top of the outer shell. The spear structure incorporates valves for supply of pressurizing gas into the interior of inner shell and for dispensing beer through the dispensing outlet, both valves being formed of PET. When the container has been emptied of beer, the outer shell can readily be separated from the inner shell and spear structure to allow separate recycling of the high density polyethylene material and the PET material.

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