Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2011

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It’s day thirty-seven of my seasonal scurry 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.

2011 was the thirty-seventh 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 thirty-seventh label was was a “Great Basin Bristlecone Pine,” or “Pinus longaeva.”

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Patent No. EP0244031B1: Device For The Storage And Cooling Of Beer Intended For Supply To A Tap

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Today in 1989, US Patent EP 0244031 B1 was issued, an invention of Johannes Antoinetta Michael Ummels, for his “Device For The Storage And Cooling Of Beer Intended For Supply To A Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention relates to a device for the storage and cooling of beer and the supply thereof to a tap via a water cooled beer pipe (python), which device further comprises at least one storage container and a cooling element arranged parallel thereto, consisting of a jacket with a cooling water inlet and an outlet, which jacket accommodates a beer pipe in the shape of a brake coil and a heat exchanger containing a pipe for passing a cooling medium e.g. freon. The invention also relates to a tap installation provided with such a device.

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Patent No. 616336A: Means For Racking Beer

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Today in 1898, US Patent 616336 A was issued, an invention of Emil Kersten, for his “Means For Racking Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention relates to means for racking beer contained in casks partly filled with chips or shavings, for attracting and retaining the heavier substances forming part of the products of fermentation, and for fining the beer.

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for first drawing the beer in a perfectly pure and fine state from such cask without causing the beer to become turbid when running close to the sedimentcovered bottom and chips in the cask, and then drawing the remaining portion of the beer from the cask with as little sediment as possible.

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Patent No. D533739S1: Goalie Mask Beer Dispenser

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Today in 2006, US Patent D533739 S1 was issued, an invention of Brian Miesieski, Devin Kelly, and Geoff Blanck, assigned to the Labatt Brewing Company Limited, for their “Goalie Mask Beer Dispenser.” There’s no Abstract, although this is the entire claim:

The ornamental design for a goalie mask beer dispenser, as shown and described.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2010

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It’s day thirty-six of my seasonal scoot 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.

2010 was the thirty-sixth 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 thirty-sixth label was was a “Maidenhair Tree,” or “Ginkgo biloba.”

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Patent No. 185565A: Improvement In Liquid Forcing Apparatus

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Today in 1876, US Patent 185565 A was issued, an invention of Wilhelm Noll, for his “Improvement in Liquid Forcing Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention consists in the combination of an air-pump and an air Washer or purifier, with a tapping-plug and a discharge tube, the several parts being connected with each other so as to be portable and capable of being attached to a barrel or keg.

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Beer In Ads #2129: I Was Curious At Christmastime

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Sunday’s holiday ad is for Schlitz, from 1948. This is a holiday-themed ad from a long-running series of ads Schlitz did that were all three-panel cartoons that all began with someone being “curious” about Schlitz beer, trying it in the second panel and then finally declaring it fit for human consumption … I mean great, usually saying now they understood what Schlitz was the beer that made Milwaukee famous, basically self-referencing their slogan. In this one, it’s a Christmas party, with a gift exchange, though it seems odd that they decorated the tree outside, but had none indoors.

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Patent No. 3780198A: System For Carbonating Beverages

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Today in 1973, US Patent 3780198 A was issued, an invention of Leo F. Pahl and Norman H. Jones, assigned to the Crown Cork & Seal Co., for their “System For Carbonating Beverages.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

It is one object of this invention to reduce the cost of carbonating beverages.

It is another object of this invention to improve sanitation. in the carbonation of beverages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a carbonating system for beverages which is easily cleaned.

It is a still further object of this invention to achieve specified levels of carbonation in beverages with a high degree of accuracy.

It is also an object of this invention to achieve a specified level of carbonation without requiring numerous and continuous manual adjustments.

It is an additional object of this invention to permit filling of beverages at a low pressure.

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Anchor Christmas Ale 2009

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It’s day thirty-five of my flash forward 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.

2009 was the thirty-fifth 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 thirty-fifth label was was a “Monterey Cypress,” or “Cupressus macrocarpa.”

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