Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 656418A: Device For Drawing Steam Beer

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Today in 1900, US Patent 656418 A was issued, an invention of James O’Connor, for his “Device For Drawing Steam Beer, Etc.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to an apparatus which is designed for drawing liquids under pressure; but it is especially useful when connected with casks containing what is known as steam-beer or beer in which carbonic acid gas is contained to produce a high pressure and head within the cask.

It consists of connections between one or more casks and a distributing-chamber and connections between said chamber and a cylinder containing a piston which is reciprocable within the cylinder, so that when beer is admitted into the cylinder the piston will be moved toward the opposite end until the de sired amount of beer has been admitted, which is shown by a suitable recording device. The beer is drawn from the cylinder through a discharge-cock, and the gas in the beer is so diffused and caused to escape from the beer that little or no foam results when it is drawn from the cylinder. A second cylinder in line with the first contains a piston, the piston-rod connecting the pistons in both cylinders, so that they move in unison. A four-way cock is interposed between the cylinders, and water under pressure is brought through this cock and allowed to enter the second cylinder while the beer is entering the first and the cock is turned so as to allow the water to escape from this cylinder and to enter the first cylinder to return the piston therein to its normal position after the boot has been drawn.

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Patent No. 3397871A: Beer Carbonator

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Today in 1968, US Patent 3397871 A was issued, an invention of William J. Hasselberg, for his beer “Carbonator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The carbonating of beverages generally is effected by the pressed flow of carbon-dioxide (CO into the beverage as it is conveyed into sealed receptacles, subject to later draft therefrom for consumption. Beer is one of the principal beverages of this kind. When the beverage is drawn from the storage receptacle for transfer to containers for marketing the beverage, there has to be a charging of the beverage with carbon-dioxide. With beer this re-carbonization has to be done with considerable care in order to get the desired quality thereof when it is to be drawn from containers for consumption. The desire is to so carbonate the beer that when poured from a marketing container into a container for drinking, the beer displays the quality expected of good beer. Carbonating means, heretofore and currently in use, have fallen far short of such attainment. Further, there is a great need for larger capacity carbonating devices.

The main objects of this invention are: to provide an improved structuring of a carbonator for charging a beverage before, or as, it is packaged for consumption; to provide an improved structuring of a carbonator of this kind especially adapted for charging beer that has been held in storage receptacles for a considerable period before being packaged for consumption; to provide a carbonator of this kind structured to inject into, and mix with the beverage flow from the storage receptacle, the carbon-dioxide (CO in a mist-like form so that when the beverage is poured from the marketing container into a drinking container the beverage displays a quality closely simulating that of champagne; to provide a device of the class which will force rapid binding of the CO gas with the beer flow; to provide means to split up the beer flowing through a conduit into two chambers, and injecting precisely controlled CO gas into the beer flowing therethrough and, by continuing flow the charged beer returns to a conduit for packaging or storage; and to provide an improved carbonator of this kind of such simple construction as to make very economical the manufacture thereof, and exceedingly gratifying the beverage resulting from the use thereof.

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Patent No. 681056A: Refrigerating And Tapping Box

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Today in 1901, US Patent 681056 A was issued, an invention of Joseph Irr Jr., for his “Refrigerating and Tapping Box.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The primary object of this invention is to provide a very simple, efficient, and compact refrigerating-box for the reception of a beer keg and for the convenient tapping of the same. In order that the beer-faucet may be conveniently operated, it must be at a fairly well defined height above the floor, while for the necessary connections to be conveniently made to the tapping-tube it must project a certain distance above the top of the beer keg. The result is that with an ordinary construction of cabinet to allow room for the insertion of a keg with the tap-tube would require the faucet to be placed at an inconvenient height, ‘wherefore the best that has and tapping of the keg all arranged in one compartment. There may be as many of these compartments laterally as desired. Where there is more than one compartment, the faucets may be provided in but one of them and properly connected with the others.

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Patent No. 680836A: Apparatus For Cleansing Faucets And Their Connections

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Today in 1901, US Patent 680836 A was issued, an invention of Joseph J. Danks, for his “Apparatus For Cleansing Faucets and Their Connections.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

I have invented certain new and f useful Improvements in Apparatus for Cleaning the viscous deposits and other impurities which collect in beer-dispensing faucets and their pipe or hose connections leading from the kegs or barrels from which the beer is drawn. Its main objects are to facilitate changing the connections for cleansing the dispensing apparatus and for drawing beer or other liquid to be dispensed, to save time, and to avoid waste both of the beer or liquid to be dispensed and of the cleansing materials.

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Beer In Ads #2007: And Saw A …

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Friday’s ad is for Carlsberg, from the late 1950s. With a polar bear emerging from the foam of the glass of beer, the text reads “—Og Så En,” which Google translates as “And saw a …” though there must be another meaning for that phrase. It’s still a pretty cool illustration, though.

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Peter Parley’s Definitions Of Beer

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Today is the birthday of Samuel Griswold Goodrich, an American writer who wrote under the pseudonym Peter Parley (August 19, 1793-May 9, 1860). He was a very prolific writer, of mostly non-fiction and children’s books, with around 170 titles, with an estimated sales total of around 8,000,000 copies of his books sold during his lifetime. One of his most popular titles, “Peter Parley’s Geography for Children,” is believed to have sold 2,000,000 copies alone! He also published magazines, such as “The Token,” almanacs and much more.

One of his books, Peter Parley’s Illustrations of Commerce, was published in 1849. It’s essentially a dictionary of goods that can be sold which Goodrich defines in the beginning of his Preface as “the exchange of commodities for other articles, or for some representative of value, or for which other commodities can be procured.” There are short entries defining and describing a wide range of items under that loose definition. Not surprisingly, a few of them are about beer or the ingredients that are used to brew it. His books were aimed at a general audience, rather than brewers or others knowledgeable about beer, so they definitions are interesting when viewed in that context.

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Beer

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Ale

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Barley

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Malt

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Hops

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Spruce Beer

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Pewter

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Crack A Book For The Next Session

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For our 115th Session, our host will be Joan Villar-i-Martí, who writes Blog Birraire. For his topic, he’s chosen The Role of Beer Books, to sum up the topic says. “I believe the importance of books for the beer culture makes them worthy of another Session.”

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Here’s his full description of the topic:

The discussion at hand is “The Role of Beer Books”. Participants can talk about that first book that caught their attention, which brought them to get interested in beer; or maybe about books that helped developing their local beer scene. There’s also the bad role of books that regrettably misinform readers because their authors did not do their work properly. There are many different ways to tackle this topic.

The Session has been about books before just once, and it was about those that hadn’t already been written. I believe that their importance for the beer culture makes books worthy for another Session.

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So before Friday, September 2, crack open some beer books, and some beer, and write about the intersection between the two. Prose seems to be the preferred vehicle, but I don’t see why you couldn’t resort to iambic pentameter or some other poetic form. Rhyming optional. Publish your findings, and then post a comment with a link to your post at the original announcement. Happy reading.

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Patent No. 434430A: Keg And Barrel Washing Machine

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Today in 1890, US Patent 434430 A was issued, an invention of Joseph J. Danks, for his “Keg and Barrel Washing Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of my invention is to produce a keg and barrel washing machine which will be simpler of construction, more convenient to use, less expensive, and more durable than similar previous machines. A machine similar to this is shown and described in Patent N 0. 330,550, for a keg-washing machine, dated November 17, 1885, and granted to H. Binder.

That machine has two independent support ing-frames with a keg-holder supported by-one frame and a valve supported by the other, with their respective axes parallel and an operative mechanical connection between them, consisting of gearing or its equivalent. The principle of construction of that machine requires such a mechanical connection between the keg holder and the valve, and also is limited in operation to an oscillating turning motion. The Valve part or plug has two side openings near each other, which, with the oscillating motion necessary, causes uneven wear on one side of the valve-plug and in time causes the valve to leak, when the machine must be repaired, and since such machines are worked continuously such wear results soon and is objectionable.

In order to attain the objects above mentioned, I have devised my machine so that the axis of the valve and that of the keg holder may coincide, and so that the valve plug and holder may be rigidly connected together, and hence no operative mechanical connection be required between the valve and keg-holder, thus having a simple and inexpensive arrangement with a single frame. Further, I make but one side opening in the valve plug and am enabled to rotate the keg holder and valve in either direction continuously, thus avoiding undue wear of the parts.

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MillerCoors Buys Revolver Brewing

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MillerCoors has been in an acquisitive mood here of late. Over the last month, they’ve bought controlling interests in two small breweries — Hop Valley and Terrapin — and last week they announced they’re acquiring a majority interest in Texas’ Revolver Brewing, which opened in 2012. But their brewmaster was Grant Wood, who had previously brewed at the Boston Beer Co. at their Jamaica Plain facility, and was an experienced and talented brewer. I think that really got them off to a fast start, and when I tried their beer at GABF the first year they were there, he was making some terrific beers, not surprisingly.

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Here’s the press release:

Tenth and Blake Beer Company, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, announced today an agreement to acquire a majority interest in Granbury, Texas-based Revolver Brewing. Revolver Brewing is highly regarded in the Texas craft beer community for its flagship brand Blood & Honey, a uniquely approachable craft beer that has quickly become one of the leading craft brands in the Dallas-Fort Worth Market.

“We are excited to be joining the Tenth and Blake family, which shares our commitment to brewing great craft beer,” said Rhett Keisler, Revolver Brewing co-founder and president. “This partnership will allow us to maintain our brewery and operations in Granbury, while providing us with the additional resources to invest in and accelerate the growth of the Revolver brand in Texas.”

Founded in 2012 by father and son Ron and Rhett Keisler, along with seasoned master brewer and cicerone Grant Wood, Revolver Brewing has made incredible waves in the Texas craft beer community in a mere four years. Revolver Brewing calls Granbury home and is currently distributed in Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin and surrounding areas.

Revolver Brewing will operate as a separate business unit of Tenth and Blake. Revolver’s management and employees will continue to create, brew, package, market and sell Revolver’s portfolio of brands.

“We have tremendous respect for the quality and innovation that Revolver Brewing has brought to the Texas craft community and are thrilled to have such a terrific team and portfolio join Tenth and Blake,” said Scott Whitley, president and CEO of Tenth and Blake. “Our main priority will be to work with the Revolver team to support its continued success and make sure its beer is enjoyed by even more consumers in Texas.”

Revolver Brewing joins other leading crafts in the Tenth and Blake portfolio, including Blue Moon Brewing Company, Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Crispin Cider Company, Saint Archer Brewing Company, and, following expected closes in the third quarter, Terrapin Beer Company and Hop Valley Brewing Company. For more information on Revolver Brewing and its portfolio of brands, visit RevolverBrewing.com.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2016. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

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