Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 517400A: Pitching Casks

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Today in 1894, US Patent 517400 A was issued, an invention of Louis Wagner, for his “Pitching Casks.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

It is the object of my present invention to provide for heating the interior of casks, such as those used for the storage and transportation of beer, for the purpose either of applying new pitch to the same or for the purpose of melting and removing the old and impure pitch to allow of the reapplication of a fresh coating. By my improvements I provide for heating the casks interiorly in a rapid, thorough and economical manner, and at the same time enable the heat so applied to be accurately tempered in order that the heat and fuel may not be wasted or the interior of the cask or the pitch, injured. For this purpose I combine with a suitable heating chamber analogous in construction to a steam boiler and having an air inlet, a steam injecting apparatus adapted to force into the heating chamber such amount of air as will together with the steam when highly superheated produce the volume of vapor necessary for heating the cask. The steam jet forms the motive power for passing the vapor to be heated through the heating chamber and for applying it interiorly to the cask, and at the same time serves by the regulation of its amount to accurately determine the temperature of the vapor at the point where it performs its heating function. I further provide a stand of improved character to receive the Cask or keg while it is being operated upon.

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Patent No. 27615A: Corkscrew

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Today in 1860, US Patent 27615 A was issued, an invention of M.L. Byrn, for his “Corkscrew.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The object of this invention is to manufacture cork screws possessing greater strength and durability and which may be made andL sold at a less cost than those of the present construction.

My invention consists in combining’ with the gimlet screw a T handle and forming the handle and screw in one or in two pieces as will be hereinafter described and represented.

The greatest advantage obtained by my invention, in the combination with an ordinary gimlet-screw of a handle making it serve thereby as a cork-screw, is strength and cheapness, over those made with a spiral twist of steel wire gradually tapering from the handle to the point. Such cork screws can be made to enter a cork with sufficient ease, but they are very liable to break of in drawing the cork from the bottle in consequence of the smallness and brittleness of the wire forming the spiral stem, and too in the hurry of opening bottles the screw is not always driven straight into the cork and the small point is very likely broken off by coming in Contact with the neck of the bottle, besides such screws are used for breaking the wire which is used on many bottles for keeping the cork from being driven out by the force of gas in the bottle, such screws are not strong enough. for this purpose and are frequently broken by the carelessness of servants in using them for other purposes than drawing corks from bottles.

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Beer In Ads #1862: Facts Versus Fallacies #50

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Saturday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 50 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “50,” and in this one the message is simple. Pass legislation for a prohibition and thousands will lose their jobs, entire industries will be decimated, governments will lose large sums of tax revenue and, after all that, it won’t even stop people from drinking alcohol. So yeah, that sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it?

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Orval Day 2016

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Merchant du Vin, which was started by Charles and Rose Ann Finkel, is an importer of beer. But not just another importer, but one of the earliest in America to begin bringing in some of the world’s best beers. Like many people, one my first introductions to Belgian beer was Orval, which they started importing in 1978, along with others like Lindemans, Rochefort, Westmalle and others. This year, they’ve decided to promote Orval by creating “Orval Day” to celebrate the beer. It’s certainly one of my favorites. So it may be a marketing ploy, but so are many other holidays, and I think the beer is so good that it deserves its own day.

Here’s the info about Orval Day from Merchant du Vin’s website:

On March 26th, devotees of Orval Trappist Ale – and even some folks who haven’t tried it yet – will convene upon their favorite bar to celebrate one of the world’s most unique beers. Orval was the first Brett beer to land on US shores, and has become the favorite beer for many star American brewers. Orval sells one beer, brewed to exquisite perfection within the walls of Notre Dame d’Orval Monastery in Belgium. It’s delicious when it leaves the brewery, but also evolves in the bottle for five years or more. A portion of the proceeds from Orval Day will be donated to MAP International.

2016 will be the first year of Orval Day: visit our events page to find a great beer.

I last visited Orval in early 2014, so I thought I’d share a few of the photos I took of the brewery and abbey during that trip. Enjoy. And happy Orval Day.

Orval Day Tour

Patent No. 1995814A: Steam Boiler

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Today in 1935, US Patent 1995814 A was issued, an invention of Thomas J. Parker, for his “Steam Boiler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to boilers and more particularly to electrically heated boilers for generating steam. The boiler herein shown and described is a miniature boiler particularly adapted for generating steam for cleansing and sterilizing fluid conduits, such as beer coils, but obviously the invention may be applied to various uses requiring steam under pressure.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a boiler in which steam of desired pressure may be quickly and efficiently generated. Another object is to provide for heating the water in the boiler to generate steam by means of a novel and very efficient electric heating element mounted in direct heat contact on and surrounding a generating cylinder which is part of the circulatory system of the boiler.

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Patent No. 4507325A: Process Of Brewing With An Adjunct Of Highly Fermentable Sugar

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Today in 1985, US Patent 4507325 A was issued, an invention of Kenneth H. Geiger, assigned to Labatt Brewing Company Limited, for his “Process of Brewing with an Adjunct of Highly Fermentable Sugar.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention provides an improved brewing process which utilizes an adjunct comprising a highly fermentable sugar. In the process, brewers’ yeast is allowed to act upon a, preferably all-malt, wort until said yeast is partially developed, following which, the adjunct is introduced into the partially fermented wort in a manner which will not have adverse effects on the yeast and the brewing process carried to completion. The adjunct is introduced over a period of time such that the Plato value of the fermenting wort substantially does not increase and osmotic shock is avoided. The process is especially advantageous when used to produce the so-called light beers.

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Beer In Ads #1861: Facts Versus Fallacies #49

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Friday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 49 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “49,” and this is another weird one, equating workmen’s compensation cases, which at the time was new law, to drinking. One of the prohibitionist’s arguments was that drinking in the workplace was a dangerous problem, but statistics show that in federal workmen’s comp cases only one involved intoxication, and that one was thrown out. Statistics from other states show similar results, with very few cases involving alcohol, taking the wind out of the propaganda sails for prohibition.

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Beer In Ads #1860: Facts Versus Fallacies #48

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Thursday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 48 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “48,” and this is another weird one, equating personal wealth with whether or not a state is wet or dry. Statistics at the time suggested that in wet states, people’s personal per capita wealth was much greater than people in dry states. I’m not sure about the causation question, or other factors, but it’s certainly an interesting strategy.

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Patent No. 882862A: Beer Cooling And Purifying Apparatus

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Today in 1908, US Patent 882862 A was issued, an invention of Valentine F. Boehm, for his “Beer Cooling and Purifying Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, and in the description it probably includes a summary, but the OCR did a pretty bad job and it’s all but unreadable. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
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Beer In Ads #1859: Facts Versus Fallacies #47

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Wednesday’s ad is another one for the Pennsylvania State Brewers Association, from 1915, No. 47 in series they did from 1915-17 called “Facts Versus Fallacies.” I have no idea how many were done but some of the them are numbered into low triple digits, suggesting there were a lot of them, all in an effort to stop Prohibition from happening and win over support for beer. This ad, marked “47,” and details the failed efforts of a prohibition in neighboring Ohio. They quote several prominent citizens in Ohio, including a former U.S. president. Their conclusion. “The fallacy of Prohibition is best shown by the fact that whenever tried it has proven a failure, because it is neither just nor practical.”

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