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.
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.
And here’s the original drawing filed with the application:
Tuesday’s holiday ad is for Budweiser, from 1953. The first Christmas ad for 2015 is a fairly simple one, showing quite the holiday spread with twelve bottles of Budweiser and a big display piece of the Clydesdales and a beer wagon being pulled by Santa Claus.
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.
Today in 1964, US Patent 3161522 A was issued, an invention of John Compton, for his “Continuous Lautering Of Brewer’s Wort.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to a method of lautering, i.e., straining and recovery of wort liquid from mash grains in the brewing of beer. Lautering has been one of the most critical of the numerous operations involved in brewing and has heretofore required a great amount of skill and experience on the part of the operator to produce quality beer without lost time.
This method may generally be defined as a method of continuous lautering which comprises the steps of feeding a mixture of grains and wort liquid from a mashing operation in a brewing process onto the upper flight of a moving continuous perforated belt at a point adjacent one end of said upper flight, regulating the speed of said belt, and the rate of feed of the mash thereon to, to form a filtering bed of grains on said belt, collecting a filtrate of clear wort liquid which has passed downwardly through said grains and through the upper flight of said perforate belt, subjecting the filtering bed to water-spraying to sparge out residual sugar values and removing said bed of grains from said belt in the region of the other end of said upper flight.
Monday’s ad is another one for Guinness, from 1952. “If seven men … sailed seven ships from China to Peru.” Those are some pretty small boats, and none of those boatmen look particularly seaworthy either.
Today in 1982, US Patent 4363336 A was issued, an invention of Vincent J. Cerrato, for his “Keg-Tapping Structure.” Here’s the Abstract:
The invention contemplates removable structure to facilitate keg-tapping, and pressurized dispensing of liquid contents of the keg. A so-called Barnes neck forms part of the keg and has a bore with an elastomeric ring seal and flange at its lower end, and a valve-and-tube subassembly is inserted through the neck, to the point of valve-body compression of the seal, when secured by a removable retaining ring. In the course of such insertion, one or more radially inward lugs on the neck flange track corresponding slot formations in the subassembly. Each such slot formation has a first upward longitudinal course, leading to an angular bayonet-like offset course, and then to a second upward longitudinal course. The location of the angular offset is such that the valve body cannot compressionally load the seal ring in the absence of the partial rotation needed to develop lug alignment with the second upward longitudinal course.
As if you needed further proof that cartoons weren’t always for kids — and still aren’t — here’s an interesting one from 1930. Today was the debut in 1919 of the popular cartoon character Felix the Cat. It was actually the third film using a similar-looking cat, but the Adventures of Felix, released today in 1919, was the first time the name Felix was attached to the character. Felix became very popular and remained so until sound was introduced, when he fell into cartoon obscurity when his transition to sound tanked. There was a much later cartoon version, from when I was a kid, that began in 1958 and was shown on television through at least the 1960s and 70s, and that’s probably the one you’re more familiar with.
But the earlier Felix was darker and less kid-friendly, for the simple reason they were aimed at adults going to see a movie in a theater.
Woos Whoopee was one of Felix’s later cartoons (at least of the earlier black and white and largely silent ones), and takes place in a speakeasy (it was still Prohibition after all).
Felix stays out late, drinking and dancing, while his wife paces at home angrily, watching the clock with a rolling pin in her hand. Finally, well after 3 AM, Felix begins to stumble home and begins to hallucinate. Finally, after a surreal journey, he makes it home around 6 AM. I thought sure he’d be in more trouble, but besides shooting the cuckoo in the clock, not much happens to him after he gets home. Oh, well, at least he had a few laughs and drank a few beers.
Today in 1937, US Patent 2102208 A was issued, an invention of Alfred L. Kronquest, assigned to the Continental Can Co., for his “Process of Packaging Beer in Open Top Metal Containers.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to new and useful processes for the pasteurizing of the beer.
The present invention has to do with a method of making and treating a container so as to provide a suitable coating covering the entire inner surface of the metal container so as to prevent the beer from contacting with the metal at any time. It is well known that when metal sheets are coated with an enamel that has no clouding effect upon the beer, the bending or drawing of the sheet to form the ends and to form the body seams, is likely to fracture the enamel coating temperature necessary to heat the sealed container so as to expose the metal there beneath. Even if the can body and the bottom end thereof is coated with enamel, the shaping of the parts is likely to fracture the enamel coating and render the container thus formed unsuitable for 5 the packaging of beer.
Sunday’s ad is for Guinness, from 1952. “If seven men … with seven wives were walking at the zoo.” I can only assume the zoo is located at St. Ives. Still, it’s a fun ad with callbacks to many of the earlier iconic Guinness animals.
