Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 2009382A: Beer Filter

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Today in 1935, US Patent 2009382 A was issued, an invention of George Blaufuss, for his beer “Filter.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of the present invention is to generally improve and simplify the construction and operation of filters of the character described; to provide a filter in which a filtering medium such as diatomaceous earth, or the like, is used and applied to the surface of a cylinder to form a thick filter cake through which the liquid to be filtered must pass; to provide means for continuously removing impurities collected on the surface of the filter cake and also a portion of the filter cake so as to gradually decrease the thickness of the cake; and further, to provide means for continuously discharging the impurities and material removed from the surface of the filter cake.

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Beer In Ads #1987: Do-It-Yourself Decorators

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Friday’s ad is entitled Do-It-Yourself Decorators, and the illustration was done in 1956 by Pruett Carter. It’s #118 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, two couples are Do-It-Yourself Decorators and appear to be fans of artist Piet Mondrian. Because it looks like they’re following one of his paintings and using to make a rug matching it. How much beer have they been drinking?

118. Do-It-Yourself Decorators by Pruett Carter, 1956

Patent No. 3897569A: Malting

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3897569 A was issued, an invention of Ronald Horgan, for his “Malting.” Here’s the Abstract:

An improved malting process comprises the steps of steeping barley or other cereal grain to initiate germination thereof, subjecting the germinated grain to a treatment to restrict further growth and respiration of the grain, and malting the grain in a relatively short period. The treatment may be a mechanical treatment such as pumping the grain in water, or it may be a temperature or chemical treatment. The subsequent malting may be carried out at a temperature between 20 DEG and 40 DEG C and the malting period is less than 48 hours.

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MillerCoors Buys Hop Valley Brewing

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MillerCoors announced today that they’ve acquired a majority interest in Hop Valley Brewing of Springfield and Eugene, Oregon.

Here’s the press release:

Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, announced today an agreement to obtain a majority interest in Eugene, Ore.-based Hop Valley Brewing Company. Hop Valley is known as a leader in the IPA space, producing a wide variety of acclaimed beers including Alphadelic, its flagship IPA, Citrus Mistress and Alpha Centauri.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved to date, and even more excited about the future for our company and our employees,” said Charles “Chuck” Hare, Hop Valley Brewing Company co-founder. “From the get-go, it has always been about the beer, and we are looking forward to working with Tenth and Blake to get our beers – made right here – to even more consumers.”

Since opening their original brew pub in Springfield, Ore. in 2009, Hop Valley has stayed true to its name producing award-winning IPAs throughout the Pacific Northwest region. The brewer has since added to its production with a 30,000-square-foot brewery and tap room in Eugene, Ore. and currently distributes in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho and Vermont.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with the Hop Valley team, to add an incredible roster of brands that complement our portfolio perfectly,” said Scott Whitley, president and CEO of Tenth and Blake. “I’m looking forward to working with Chuck and his team to support the continued growth and success of their innovative IPAs and award-winning beers.”

“This is a great opportunity for us and our brewery,” said Trevor Howard, Hop Valley co-founder and brewmaster. “We will continue to craft all of our core brands and innovate with seasonal and small-batch brews like we always have – with the same commitment to quality, taste, and creativity.”

Hop Valley Brewing Company joins other leading crafts in the Tenth and Blake portfolio, including Blue Moon Brewing Company, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Saint Archer Brewing Company and, following an expected closing in August 2016, Terrapin Beer Company. For more information on Hop Valley Brewing Company and its portfolio of brands, visit HopValleyBrewing.com.

Hop Valley Brewing Company will operate as a separate business unit of Tenth and Blake. The management team at Hop Valley will continue to lead the business and will retain an ownership interest. The transaction is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2016. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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This is actually the second acquisition this month for Tenth and Blake, MillerCoors’ craft division. Back in 2011, they bought a minority stake in Georgia’s Terrapin Brewing, but last week they acquired a majority stake.

Taking The Pils: Drinking Pils For The Next Session

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For our 114th Session, our host will be Alistair Reece, who is Fuggled. For his topic, he’s opening up a bottle or bottles of pilsners, and states his goals quite simply in his announcement, all about Pilsners:

What I want folks to do is put down their IPAs, their Belgians, their sours, their barrel aged stuff, and hunt out a few pilsners to compare and contrast, whether they be Czech, German, Belgian, American, etc, etc. Try to get examples of Czech and German in particular to see the differences. Most of all though I just want people to re-discover what I consider the pinnacle of the brewing craft, so off hunting you go!

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So before next Friday, pick up a couple of pilsners, or more, and get with the drinking and the tasting and the note-taking. Then come back by Friday, August 5, and report on the results of pilsner fact-finding mission. Post your findings, and then post a comment with a link to your post at the original Fuggled announcement.

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Patent No. 2845196A: Bottle Crates

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Today in 1958, US Patent 2845196 A was issued, an invention of Percy Charles Brett and Cecil Roy Brett, for their “Bottle Crates.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to bottle crates such as crates for beer bottles, .and has for its object to provide a crate without criss-cross partitions which divide the box into individual bottle compartments, but one which nevertheless will retain the bottles snugly in position and will prevent the bottles accidentally falling out should the crate assume an inclined position. By obviating the partitions a crate can be made much smaller in overall dimensions as compared with a partitioned crate for the same number of bottles, and expense is reduced while the space occupied during storage and transit is also considerably reduced.

According to the invention a crate comprises an open topped rectangular box having no compartments for individual bottles and having a main elongated retaining ledge on the respective inside faces of the walls and extending from end to end thereof, said retaining ledge lying parallel to the bottom and open top of the crate and located at the height of the shoulder of the bottles for which the crate is designed. A central partition may be provided spanning opposite walls in combination with retaining ledges also parallel to the bottom and open top of the crate at the same height as the main retaining ledge. For example the central partition in one form terminates upwardly above the level of the retaining ledges and is provided with a hand-grip hole above said level, and the central retaining ledges are strip-s secured respectively to the faces of the partition. The ledges may be formed by strips of half-round section wood or the like secured by their fiat faces to their respective walls.

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Patent No. 433015A: Vent Bung And Bushing

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Today in 1890, US Patent 433015 A was issued, an invention of John Meyer, for his “Vent Bung and Bushing.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to bungs and vents, and is particularly intended for kegs and casks for beer, ale, and similar liquors, but is of course applicable to all vessels for storing liquids. Its object is to provide a vent-bung, which will at all times prevent the escape of gases from the vessel and preclude the admission of air, except when it is necessary to induce a flow of the liquid from the faucet of the vessel, which Vent will require no attention after the keg is filled and vent-bung inserted until it again be necessary to fill the vessel.

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Beer In Ads #1986: Quiet Evening At Home

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Thursday’s ad is entitled Quiet Evening at Home, and the illustration was done in 1956 by Douglass Crockwell. It’s #117 in a series entitled “Home Life in America,” also known as the Beer Belongs series of ads that the United States Brewers Foundation ran from 1945 to 1956. In this ad, a couple is enjoying a Quiet Evening at Home. He’s reading a book, she’s working some needlework, while their kitten plays with a ball of yarn on the sofa next to her. Full pilsner glasses of beer sit on the end table between them. Seems like a pretty good way to spend an evening.

117. Quiet Evening At Home by Douglass Crockwell, 1956

Patent No. 2291367A: Device For Warming And Reconditioning Beer

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Today in 1942, US Patent 2291367 A was issued, an invention of Albert A. Bezosky, for his “Device For Warming and Reconditioning Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a device designed for reconditioning stale beer, or beer which has become flat or too cold for immediate consumption.

An important object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which may be used primarily by bartenders, and one which is of the electrical portable type which may be readily and easily immersed in a glass of beer, by the bartender, thereby replacing the head on the beer, or tempering it to render the beer exceptionally palatable.

An apparatus for treating liquid by submersion, comprising a body of pistol-like construction, electric wires extending through the body and terminating in a socket at one end of the body, said body including a handle extended at right angles with respect to the body, an electric plug adapted to be fitted in the socket, resistance wires extending from the plug and disposed in parallel relation with the handle, said resistance wires being in circuit with the wires extending through the body, and said resistance wires being formed into a loop at the free end thereof.

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From Sewer To Brewer: Making Beer From Urine

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If that headline surprised you, it really shouldn’t have. But like the beer made from John’s beard, or the chicha Dogfish Head made using human spit, it just sounds unappetizing. Until you remember that it’s all sterilized and boiled so the finished product is as sanitary as any other beer.

So when I saw the headline from Reuters, “Belgian scientists make novel water-from-urine machine,” and another, First We Feast, “Scientists Have Finally Discovered a Way to Turn Human Urine Into Beer,” my first thought was “sure, why not.” The story, it turns out, is about a team of researchers at Ghent University who have invented a “machine that turns urine into drinkable water and fertilizer using solar energy, a technique which could be applied in rural areas and developing countries.” The explanation of how it works, from Reuters:

While there are other options for treating waste water, the system applied at the University of Ghent uses a special membrane, is said to be energy-efficient and to be applicable in areas off the electricity grid.

“We’re able to recover fertilizer and drinking water from urine using just a simple process and solar energy,” said University of Ghent researcher Sebastiaan Derese.

The urine is collected in a big tank, heated in a solar-powered boiler before passing through the membrane where the water is recovered and nutrients such as potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus are separated.

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First We Feast added:

The scientists recently put their invention to the test during a 10-day festival in Ghent. Using the hashtag #PeeForScience, the team encouraged festival-goers to stop by their stand and donate to the cause by relieving themselves. The researchers ended up collecting a whopping 1,000 liters of pee from everyone who participated.

The team believe its machine will have its biggest impact in rural areas, wherever water is scarce and throughout the third world. But apparently as in other projects the Ghent team was involved in, they’ll use some of the water collected to make beer. Program director Derese called this part of the plan “from sewer to brewer.”

There’s many old jokes about American beer being horse piss, so maybe now it really can be. If it reduces costs even a little, you know the megabrewers would be willing to give it a try.

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