Tuesday’s ad is entitled Time Out In The Planting, and the illustration was done in 1954 by John Gannam. It’s #94 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 taking a much-needed break(? – they seem over-dressed, even for yard work) and having some beers on their back porch. When there’s beer, the plants can wait. That’s always been my motto.
Today in 1911, US Patent 963323 A was issued, an invention of Jonas Quigley and Oliver N. Beck, for their “Beer Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
Our invention relates particularly to beer tapping means in which a tap-tube is employed in connection with a casing therefor through which air-pressure is transmitted to the liquid; and our object is to provide an improved device of very simple construction and operation, as fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing, and the novelty of which is specifically pointed out in the claim.
Monday’s ad is entitled The Boss Comes To Dinner, and the illustration was done in 1954 by Douglass Crockwell. It’s #93 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, the boss is coming to dinner. They cook and get ready, then greet the boos and his wife, have dinner — served with beer, of course — then watch television and say goodnight. Afterwards, the man have thought it went well. He’s holding his wife’s hand, holding her hand, and gazing into her eyes, which all the thanks any good wife wants.
Today in 1899, US Patent 628084 A was issued, an invention of John D. Freese, for his “Beer Dispensing and Pipe Cleaning Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The main object of my invention is to provide convenient means for cleaning the pipes in a beer dispensing system so arranged that an operator may clean the pipes by turning on the water at the dispensing end, the water passing into the beer-pipe near the storage end and thence discharging through the beer faucet.
Today in 1911, US Patent 996972 A was issued, an invention of Frank L. Caris and Clarence J. Gardner, for their “Apparatus For Filling Bottles.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to apparatus for use in filling bottles from kegs or barrels, the same being particularly adapted for bottling beer and the like.
One of the objects of the invention is to provide an inexpensive device of this character which can be readily handled by one person, there being improved means for discharging the liquid into the bottle and for permitting the escape of foam back to the keg or other receptacle from which the liquid is drawn.
A further object is to provide apparatus of this type having a nozzle in which is mounted a valve normally maintained in closed position but which can be conveniently held open during the filling operation. With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.
Sunday’s ad is entitled Gulf Coast Shrimp Supper, and the illustration was done in 1954 by John Falter. It’s #92 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, dinner for eight is being prepared for outside, near the bayou, while the guests all enjoy beer in anticipation. The table amongst the trees, with the sunset on the water certainly looks spectacular.
Today in 1934, US Patent 1964836 A was issued, an invention of Abram W. Wheaton, for his beer “Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates, generally, to faucets and the invention has reference, more particularly, to an improved faucet, which while adapted for general purposes, is especially intended for use as a beer faucet.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved faucet having a novel construction of gas separating bafile incorporated therein, said bafile serving to liberate a considerable portion of the carbon dioxide and other gas content of the beer as the same flows through the faucet, thereby greatly reducing the amount of foam ordinarily produced when drawing beer and preventing considerable waste which usually occurs when using ordinary beer faucets.
Another object of the present invention lies in the provision of an improved faucet having a novel sheet metal gas separating baffle of simple, rugged construction, the said baflle being so constructed as to enable the same to be readily inserted into or removed from the faucet and having means to insure its proper installation in the faucet.
Today in 1883, US Patent 280385 A was issued, an invention of Clement A. Maus, for his “Apparatus For and Process of Cooling and Condensing the Foam Which Forms on the Surface of Fermenting Liquor.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
My invention relates to an apparatus for cooling and condensing the foam of fermenting liquors, wort, beer, ale, &c, in which a condensing-chamber operates in conjunction with suitable pipes, a current of cooled and purified air from an ice-reservoir, and a vessel containing the fermenting liquid; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a means for condensing the foam that is forming on the surface of fermenting wort, beer, ale, &c., by blowing on or beating it with a current of cooled air, thus converting the foam into a liquid state again and permitting it to run back into the fermenting body of liquid; second, to provide facilities for counteracting the volatilization of the flavor and fine hop aroma of the wort, beer, ale, &c., while undergoing several stages of fermentation; third, to provide a means for preventing the escape of the volatile portion of the hop aroma and flavor of the fermenting wort, beer, ale, 850., during the first and last stages of the fermenting body. These objects I accomplish by the mechanism illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which the entire apparatus is illustrated by a single figure, which is partially in section to show the construction and arrangement of certain parts more fully.
Today in 1951, US Patent 2559107 A was issued, an invention of Verlin A. Bloxham, for his “Drying Hops.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to an improved process for the drying of hops.
The common process employed, in lowering the moisture content of hops from 75% to 80% to 7 to 11%, involves the use of apparatus including a house-like structure having a reticulated floor upon which the hops are loaded. Beneath the floor there is disposed a heater, commonly direct fired, and the products of combustion from which usually pass through a zigzag or like arrangement of large pipes, located beneath the hop floor, on the way to the stack. Forced draft of air through the hops is not provided, the house being tall compared to its section so as to provide a stack effect, the hop-floor being some twenty feet above ground level. There are a great number of objections to this manner of drying, the major one probably .being the variable quality of the dried product. This variable quality is clue to several factors inherent in the process employed, one of the main ones of which is that the drying is more efficient in the lower portion of the bed, with the result that if the bed is not turned one or more times during the drying process, the drying will not -be uni,- form and hops in one portion of the bed will be of a different moisture content from those in another portion.
The turning of the hops, to ensure uniformity in drying, has its own drawbacks. After the hops dry, they become very fragile and brittle and easily broken, and when the bed is turned to reverse the position of the upper and lower layers, many of the cones which have reached the brittle state will be broken, and the product taken from the dryer will have an excessively high proportion of fines. The labor involved in this operation is, of course, objectionable in addition.
As will be apparent from the above description of the apparatus, the hops are subjected not only to heat by convection from the pipes, but also to radiant heat. For this reason, though ordinary dry bulb thermometers are customarily used in order to control the temperature Within the bed, the lower layers of hops to which heat is radiated will be at temperatures higher than that indicated by the thermometer. This consideration, of course, renders the control by thermometer inadequate and misleading and constitutes one of the reasons for lack of uniformity in the product, since the hop is extremely sensitive to excessive temperature. Further, action of this radiant heat is to raise the temperature to excessive levels of those portions of the enclosure which are seen by the pipes. This results in the successive drying, charring and perhaps final combustion of the combustible material, generally wood, employed in construction of the driers; the loss of the driers by fire is a common occurrence.
A still further serious objection is encountered due to the fact that fines fall from hops through the floor and onto the hot pipes where they become charred and give rise to vapors which in turn pass through the hops and may be condensed on or absorbed by them.
The driers are tall, as referred to above, which increases the difficulty and labor involved in loading, turning and unloading. Floor loading is limited to a depth of about twenty-four inches. The heating system is inefficient, wasting as much as 50% of the heat.
The present invention contemplates the continuous drying of hops, thus avoiding any delay between the harvesting of the hops and the drying operation. This facilitates the harvesting operation inasmuch as it is not necessary to assemble a kiln charge prior to the drying operation for loading into the kiln. Thus, the drying operation and the harvesting operation can be coordinated and carried on simultaneously and continuously.
Saturday’s ad is entitled Showing Off the Latest Project, and the illustration was done in 1954 by Douglass Crockwell. It’s #91 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 has invited another over to their home, only to take them into the workshop to show off the latest hobby that the man has been working on. And apparently he doesn’t collect stamps or coins, but instead make lamps?!? And of course they’re all dressed up as the woodman looks admiringly at his handiwork while his guest hold the book he apparently used as his instructions open, with a finger pointing at the diagram for the lamp he sees before him, come to life. The two women seem waay to happy about the lamp, too. It must have been a very dull evening for this to be the highlight.
