Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 664185A: Keg, Barrel, Or Cask

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Today in 1900, US Patent 664185 A was issued, an invention of Charles W. Stran, for his “Keg, Barrel, Or Cask.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to improvements in kegs, barrels, or casks, and pertains more especially to an article of the character indicated that is made of sheet metal.

The object of this invention is to provide a keg, barrel, or cask that possesses great strength and durability, whose heads cannot become displaced, that can be made with facility, and that is exceedingly simple in construction and comparatively inexpensive.

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Next Session Questions The Friendliness Of Breweries

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For the 107th Session, our host will be Dan Conley, who writes the brewery blog for the Community Beer Works in Buffalo, New York. For his topic, he’s asking us to consider whether breweries are our friends, or not, by bluntly asking the question. “Are breweries your friends?” Dan goes on to explain what he’s looking for in his announcement for the January Session:

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To be in business nowadays you pretty much have to have a social media presence. This is especially true in the beer world, where some breweries have basically built themselves on their personality. And yet, at the end of the day, we’re also selling you something.

I believe this is the first Session to be hosted by a brewery rather than beer blogger. [It’s not, but he’s correct that there haven’t been many. Ed.] How do you feel about that? Do you want your feeds clear of businesses, or do you like when a brewery engages with people? Can you think of anyone who does it particularly well, or poorly? As the person who does our social media, which I think is very good (although not quite good enough), I struggle with this problem. I’m on both sides, and rather than come to any sort of conclusion of my own I thought I would make all of you write about it.

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So what do you think? Are breweries in the friend zone? Should they be? Should they stay at arm’s length from their customers? Or somewhere in between? To participate in the January Session, leave the link to your post in a comment to the original announcement or tag them on Twitter at @communitybeer with your post on or before Friday, January 1. And please note that the first Friday of the month of January is the very first day of the new year. Given the revelry of the night before, it may be easy to overlook so you may want to tackle it before popping the cork on 2015.

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Patent No. 20090308879A1: Method Of Distributing Beer

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Today in 2009, US Patent 20090308879 A1 was issued, an invention of James H. Johnson, Jr., for his “Method of Distributing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

A method of distributing beer includes the steps of providing a beer staging structure adjacent a retail location for the sale of beer, stocking beer in the structure and advertising for the beer on the structure.

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Beer In Ads #1761: Father William Wishes You A Merry Xmas —

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Wednesday’s holiday ad is for William Younger’s Scotch Ale, from 1931. Father William I understand, but what the hell is he riding? It looks like an ostrich made of a Christmas ornament with Christmas crackers for legs and a tail of either mistletoe or a sprig of pine tree. The whatever it is, the creature’s wearing a sort of dunce cap with a decorative ball of yarn on top. And lastly, what is on the beast’s neck? Perhaps this is what you see if drink too much Scotch Ale.

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Patent No. 3484244A: Fermenting And Aging A Malt Beverage

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Today in 1968, US Patent 3484244 A was issued, an invention of Peter D. Bayne and Joseph A. Kozulis, assigned to Schlitz Brewing Co., for their “Fermenting and Aging a Malt Beverage.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a method of brewing and more particularly to a method of fermenting and aging a malt beverage.

The present invention is directed to a method of fermenting and aging at malt beverage which is based on a concept directly opposed to traditional brewing practices. More specifically, the wort is introduced into a tank and pitched with yeast. Following the addition of yeast, the Wort is continuously circulated from the tank to a heat exchanger and returned to the tank in a closed flow system. A cooling medium is supplied to the heat exchanger to maintain the wort at a temperature in the range of 45 to 70 F. during the fermentation process.

When the fermentation has proceeded to a point where the specific gravity of the wort falls to a predetermined value below 5 Plato the supply of the cooling medium to the heat exchanger is terminated and the fermented wort circulating within the closed system will gradually increase in temperature due to the heat generated by the fermentation process. The temperature of the fermented wort is permitted to rise until it reaches a value at least 4 above the fermenting temperature, and generally in the range of 50 to F., and is maintained at this temperature by controlled circulation of the cooling medium. At this time the yeast is still present in the beer and the beer is continuously circulated through the system for a period of about one to five days and until the diacetyl content falls to a value below 0.2 p.p.m. and the acetaldehyde content decreases to a value below 5 p.p.m. At this time, the beer is considered to be fully aged or matured.

At the end of the maturation cycle, the temperature of the circulating beer is reduced to a value of about 29 to 32 F. approaching the freezing point of beer. With the beer at this temperature, the beer is withdrawn from the tank and pumped through a centrifuge to re move the yeast. Following the removal of yeast, the beer is prefiltered and carbonated, injected with enzymes, and other additives, polish filtered, the carbonation adjusted and then is stored in government storage tanks for packaging in accordance with conventional brewing procedures. In some instances, only one filtration may be necessary to prepare the beer for packaging.

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Patent No. 715828A: Tray For Beer Glasses

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Today in 1902, US Patent 715828 A was issued, an invention of Albert Markmann, for his “Tray For Beer Glasses.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to supports or saucers for beer-glasses and the like; and my improvements in the same consist in certain arrangements and combinations of parts, as are fully described hereinafter.

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Patent No. 222639A: Improvement In Apparatus For Forcing Beer From Casks

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Today in 1879, US Patent 222639 A was issued, an invention of James A. O’Connor, for his “Improvement in Apparatus for Forcing Beer from Casks.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to an improved apparatus for maintaining the pressure in beer-4 casks, and for preserving the freshness of the beer While it is being drawn from the casks and it consists in the combination, with an air-pump, of an air-reservoir connected to the beer-cask by a suitable pipe, the said reservoir-being composed of two cylindrical or polygonal vessels, closed at their outer ends, and arranged to slide one within the other through a packed joint, as hereinafter more fully described.

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And here’s the original drawing filed with the application:
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Patent No. 747111A: Beer-Tap

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Today in 1903, US Patent 747111 A was issued, an invention of Paul B. Abrell, for his “Beer-Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The objects of this invention are to provide a beer-tap which can be readily and easily applied to a barrel or similar package to enable an impervious connection to be secured and the tap to be locked in such position until its removal is desired, to obtain such a connection before the flow of liquid is started, to obviate the use of a mallet to remove the bung of a package and secure greater convenience, and to obtain other advantages and results, some of which will be hereinafter referred to in connection with the description of the working parts.

The invention consists in the improved beertap and bung therefor and in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth and finally embraced in the clauses of the claim.

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