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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Home For The Holidays Session

November 19, 2015 By Jay Brooks

session-the
For our 106th Session next month our host will be yours truly, who writes this here Brookston Beer Bulletin. For my topic, I’ve chosen Holiday Beers, by which I mean this.

For seasonal beers, the Solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza/Mithra time of the year is my mostest favorite. This past weekend, we had our fifteenth annual holiday beer tasting for the Celebrator Beer News, and sampled 42 of this year’s Christmas beers. Here’s how I’ve described them in the introduction of the tasting notes for the holiday edition each year:

Holiday beers are by design no one style, but are a chance for individual breweries to let their talent and imagination run wild. At the holidays, when people stop their busy lives and share some precious time with family and friends, the beer they choose should be equally as special as the time they’re sharing. So a holiday beer should be made to impress, to wow its audience, to stand out. That’s the only criteria that should be met by one of these beers. Will it impress? Different breweries, thankfully, do this in many, many different ways. Some use unusual spices or fruits, some use special malts or hops, some use other uncommon ingredients like spruce or rye, and some make a style that itself is unusual. So there’s nothing to tie these beers together apart from their celebration of the season. That makes it both a delight and a challenge to judge. Ultimately, perhaps more than any other tasting, these beers are simply a matter of what you like and our judging is a matter of what we like. So try them and discover for yourself the many flavors of this holiday season.

Beer and hat of Santa Claus

As I said, I really enjoy the variety of holiday and winter seasonals, and they often seem especially well-suited to colder weather. I don’t really care what they’re Celebrating, be it:

Christmas
Miller-xmas-beer-1

Xmas
Xmas-Brew

Chanukah
CHAN2015_TAP

Winter Solstice
AVBC-winter-solstice

Krampus
krampus

Festivus
full-pint-festivus

And despite the fact that the rightwing nutjobs insist there’s a war on Christmas because people use “holidays” to be inclusive instead of “Merry Christmas,” a lot of seasonal beer labels from the first half of the 20th century used “holiday” rather than Christmas. And what do you know, civilization didn’t end. And that’s usually the time that conservatives point to as being what we need to return to, when America was a more innocent place, pre-1960s. But they drank holiday beers, what do you know? And as far as I can tell, nobody freaked the fuck out like they do today. After the brouhaha with Starbucks cups, it actually made me want to go to Starbucks — a place I don’t normally frequent — just because of how ridiculous it all was.


Potsoi-holiday-brewing Armanetti-holiday-beer
Kellers-holiday-beer Peoples-holiday-beer
Chief-Oshkosh-holiday-brew-tree E-and-B-holiday-brew-label-2
Special-Holiday-Beer-Labels-The-Peoples-Brewing Holiday-Special-Beer-Labels-Remmler-Brewing
Walters-Holiday-Beer-Labels-Walter-Brewing Kochs-Holiday-Beer--Labels-Fred-Koch-Brewery
holiday-brew-label Christmas-Brew-Beer-Labels-Auto-City-Brewing

So for this Session, write about whatever makes you happy, so long as it involves holiday beers.

  • Discuss your favorite holiday beer.
  • Review one or more holiday beers.
  • Do you like the idea of seasonal beers, or loathe them?
  • What’s your idea of the perfect holiday beer?
  • Do have a holiday tradition with beer?
  • Are holiday beers released too early, or when should they be released?
  • Do you like holiday beer festivals?

Those are just a few suggestions, celebrate the holiday beers in your own way. Happy Holidays!

So start your holiday celebration early. It’s never too soon. To participate in the December Session, on or around Friday, December 4, write your post, then leave a comment below or shoot me an e-mail or copy me (@Brookston) in your Twitter feed with your link.

christmas-beer-coaster

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, The Session Tagged With: Announcements, Holidays

Patent No. 2813638A: Palletizer

November 19, 2015 By Jay Brooks

patent-logo
Today in 1957, US Patent 2813638 A was issued, an invention of Frank H. Miller Jr., assigned to Miller Engineering Corp., for his “Palletizer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a palletizing device and to the method of operation thereof, and in particular to a palletizing device which is completely automatic in operation.

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Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Packaging, Patent

The Big Brewers: Global Spread

November 19, 2015 By Jay Brooks

earth-flag
Looking for something else this morning, I found this map created by Reuters from 2013, showing the dominant beer company for each country, effectively showing “the global reach” of each of the four biggest companies at that time. This was created the last time rumors were circulating about an ABI takeover of SABMiller, in October of 2013.

big-4-global-spread

So I took the map and quickly replaced the teal of SABMiller with ABI blue to show what the global reach might look like post-buyout.

big-3-global-spread-post-sale

And here’s a side-by-side comparison. There will be a lot more blue.

big3-vs-big4

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Business, Europe, Infographics

Patent No. 133152A: Improvement In Apparatus For Curing Hops

November 19, 2015 By Jay Brooks

patent-logo
Today in 1872, US Patent 133152 A was issued, an invention of Nehemiah E. Hinds, for his “Improvement in Apparatus for Curing Hops.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to an Improvement in kilns for curing hops; and consists, first, of a series of tubes connected with a steam generator outside of the kiln, arranged within the kiln in such a manner as to discharge the steam beneath the hops and permit it to pass up through the hops, thereby thoroughly saturating them, the object of this part of the invention being to keep the hops thoroughly dampened while undergoing the bleaching process; secondly, of a pair of frames, covered with canvas, arranged within the kiln in such a manner as to be swung down upon and I completely cover the hops, the object of this part of the invention being to partially confine the steam, but more especially the fumes of the brimstone, within the kiln, and only permit them to escape slowly through the canvas—the united objects of the two parts of the invention being to produce a kiln that will cure hops in a manner far superior to the kilns heretofore in use.

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Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Hops, Law, Patent

Beer In Ads #1733: Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij

November 18, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Wednesday’s ad is for Heineken’s Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij, which was established in 1873. A few years before, 1864, Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought the Haystack Brewery, later changing its name to HBM, which essentially means Heineken’s brewery or beer company. I suspect this ad is from the late 1800s, as it resembles ones from that time period.

HI_HEIN_010327_001

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, Heineken, History

Patent No. 713975A: Bung And Tapping Device For Beer-Barrels

November 18, 2015 By Jay Brooks

patent-logo
Today in 1902, US Patent 713975 A was issued, an invention of Philipp Forg, for his “Bung and Tapping Device for Beer-Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The object of this invention is to provide an improved bung for beer-barrels and also an improved beer-barrel tapping device which is adapted to be used in connection therewith; and with these and other objects in view the invention consists in a beer-bung for beer-barrels and a tapping device for beer-barrels constructed as hereinafter described and claimed.

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Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Barrels, History, Kegs, Law, Patent

Daguerreotypes Of Beer

November 18, 2015 By Jay Brooks

daguerreotype-2
Today is the birthday of Louis Daguerre, the inventor of the daguerreotype process of photography, one of the earliest successful methods of creating photographs. He was French, an artist as well as a photographer, and “became known as one of the fathers of photography. Though he is most famous for his contributions to photography, he was also an accomplished painter and a developer of the diorama theatre.” When I took some photography classes in college, my great aunt gave me some daguerreotypes taken by my great-grandfather along with some glass plates that I was able to develop in a dark room. There were even a few showing the construction of the clock tower at Kutztown University (his alma mater and near where I grew up in Pennsylvania), which was finished in 1910. Sadly, none of my family daguerreotypes involve beer, since they were for the most part teetotaling mennonites for a majority of the time they worked the farm after arriving here in 1745 from Berne, Switzerland, fleeing religious persecution. I, on the other hand, am such a disappointment (not really, the farm was sold before I was born and they even drove cars and had the occasional beer by the time I was born).

But first, what is a daguerreotype?
Daguerreotype_process

Here’s the basics from the Wikipedia entry:

The daguerreotype process, or daguerreotypy, was the first publicly announced photographic process, and for nearly twenty years, it was the one most commonly used. It was invented by Louis-Jaques-Mandé Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839. By 1860, new processes which were less expensive and produced more easily viewed images had almost completely replaced it. During the past few decades, there has been a small-scale revival of daguerreotypy among photographers interested in making artistic use of early photographic processes.

To make a daguerreotype, the daguerreotypist polished a sheet of silver-plated copper to a mirror finish; treated it with fumes that made its surface light-sensitive; exposed it in a camera for as long as was judged to be necessary, which could be as little as a few seconds for brightly sunlit subjects or much longer with less intense lighting; made the resulting latent image on it visible by fuming it with mercury vapor; removed its sensitivity to light by liquid chemical treatment; rinsed and dried it; then sealed the easily marred result behind glass in a protective enclosure.

Viewing a daguerreotype is unlike looking at any other type of photograph. The image does not sit on the surface of the metal, but appears to be floating in space, and the illusion of reality, especially with examples that are sharp and well exposed is unique to the process.

The image is on a mirror-like silver surface, normally kept under glass, and will appear either positive or negative, depending on the angle at which it is viewed, how it is lit and whether a light or dark background is being reflected in the metal. The darkest areas of the image are simply bare silver; lighter areas have a microscopically fine light-scattering texture. The surface is very delicate, and even the lightest wiping can permanently scuff it. Some tarnish around the edges is normal, and any treatment to remove it should be done only by a specialized restorer.

Several types of antique photographs, most often ambrotypes and tintypes, but sometimes even old prints on paper, are very commonly misidentified as daguerreotypes, especially if they are in the small, ornamented cases in which daguerreotypes made in the US and UK were usually housed. The name “daguerreotype” correctly refers only to one very specific image type and medium, the product of a process that was in wide use only from the early 1840s to the late 1850s.

daguerrotype-coaster

So while I don’t have any daguerreotypes of my own that involve beer, there are a few of them out there, and I’ve selected some of the best ones I came across. A lot of early photographs, as mentioned above, are mis-identified as daguerreotypes when in fact they might be another early photographic process. So the ones I found are identified as daguerreotypes, but of course it’s hard, if not impossible, to be sure. At any rate, this is just for fun, so if you have evidence that one is not strictly speaking, a daguerreotype, let me know, and if you know of one I missed, send me a link to it or as as an attachment.

NYC-hist-society-1906-1905
Munchen Hoffbrau Interior, c. 1896-1905, by Robert L. Bracklow (New York Historical Society).

man-with-beer-1899
Man with Beer, 1899.

4-men-with-beers-1850s
Four men posing with mugs of beer, c. late 1850s.

4-guys-and-their-mugs-of-beer-1880
Four [More] Guys and Their Mugs of Beer, c. 1880.

st-louis-beer-garden-1860
St. Louis Park Beer Garden, South Broadway, c. 1860. Daguerreotype by Thomas M. Easterly.

frances
Self-portrait of Frances Benjamin Johnston, from 1896. “Fannie” was one of the earliest American female photographers and photojournalists.

paper-moon-1910s

Paper Moon, c. 1910. Paper moon backgrounds appear to be a popular backdrop from photographs at events.

paper-moon-2

Another paper moon, date unknown.

Molson-1858
Thomas Coffin Doane, taken at the Molson family brewery after the fire, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 1858.

union-house-bar-pre-1858
Union House Bar, Bidwell, California. “A fire destroyed the first Union House (also known as Fitzgerald House) August 2, 1854 along with most of the town. Upon careful study of the dark sign on the right, these are the words: “OFFICE FEATHER RIVER & OPHIR WATER CO”. This company was incorporated Feb. 6 1855. Apparently the second Union House was constructed during the winter and spring of 1855. I believe this daguerreotype was taken in the summer of 1855 after the Union House had been resurrected.”

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Related Pleasures Tagged With: History, Photography

Patent No. 2262863A: Lauter Tank

November 18, 2015 By Jay Brooks

patent-logo
Today in 1941, US Patent 2262863 A was issued, an invention of Robert C. Schock, for his “Lauter Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Lauter tanks, as is known, are provided with two bottoms, a false or inner bottom which is in the nature of a screen or a perforated plate or a slotted plate permitting the wort to pass therethrough, and a lower bottom which collects the wort that has filtered through the false bottom.

It has heretofore been’ proposed to remove the wort which is passed through the false bottom, by a large number of separate pipes, one for each subdivision of the lauter tank, and these pipes, generally speaking about twelve to thirty-two in number, having an equal number of discharge valves or cocks, lone for each pipe. ‘I’he control of the wort by means of such a multiplicity of valves was difficult and not at all times possible.

Furthermore, in some of the lauter tanks heretofore used, the outside bottom was entirely flat and in consequence there would be an adherence of the wort to the bottom, so that the wort would accumulate on such bottoms and bring about a harmful condition of uncleanliness, favorable to the generation of bacteria in undesired quantities, unless carefully cleaned after each use.

The object of the invention here is to provide l an outside bottom which prevents a building up of sediment or under dough, and to replace the said multiplicity of pipes and valves by three valves which can be readily controlled and regulated in accordance with the practice of determining the amount of sugar in the wort, and thereby determining the density of flow of the l wort as it bypasses through the saccharometer chambers, and in the event that the flow in any of the chambers which is so governed by the three valves is not of the desired order, it can be throttled until the flow shall have been equalized.

For this purpose, the improvements in the lauter tank forming the basis of this invention are, first, the provision of three manifolds concentrically arranged to render each of said manifold saccharometer grant. Secondly, the invention consists in providing the outside bottom with a series of concentric channels, each V-shaped in cross-section, the apex of the V being provided with the outlet pipes which discharge the wort into the aforesaid manifolds, such V-shape formation providing the outside bottom with concentrically disposed inclined walls, to enable a free flow of the wort which is passed through the false bottom in such a manner as to maintain the inner walls of these V-shaped circumferential members clean of the wort, by promoting faster running thereof and thus to prevent the formation of undesirable accretions of solid matter from the wort, also to aid in preventing under dough and to prevent any possible generation of undesired bacteria.

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Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing, Wort

Beer In Ads #1732: Home Of Gold Medal Beer

November 17, 2015 By Jay Brooks


Tuesday’s ad is for Stegmaier Brewing Co., from between 1933-1945. The “Home of Gold Medal Beer” was Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. I love these grand illustrations of breweries, testaments to industrialization, this one was a postcard. I’m not sure why there’s a passenger train chugging by, maybe that’s how the brewery executives commute to and from work?

Stegmaier_Brewing_Company,_home_of_gold_medal_beer,_Wilkes-Barre,_Pennsylvania

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, History, Pennsylvania

Patent No. 1832587A: Method Of And Apparatus For Dealcoholizing Beer

November 17, 2015 By Jay Brooks

patent-logo
Today in 1931, US Patent 2061240 A was issued, an invention of Claude B. Schneible, for his “Method of and Apparatus for Dealcoholizing Beer and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to -a method of and apparatus for dealcoholizing beer and the like and will be readily understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

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Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Non-Alcoholic, Patent, Science of Brewing

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