Tuesday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from the 1940s. “A toast to you — with The Champagne of Bottled Beer.” The assembled group drinking beer is celebrating the tradition known as “Burning the Mortgage.” I have heard of these, but I don’t think this is something many people do anymore. Probably because we don’t stay in one house for very long. Nice they got their servent to dress up as the Miller Girl to serve the beer.
Today in 1908, US Patent 899201 A was issued, an invention of Gary Braybrook, for his “Beer-Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
My present invention relates to improvements in beer-faucets.
My invention consists of a novel form of metallic faucet whose valve body has a termiiial valve chai’nber above the pendent deliverynozzle whose inner end is closed by a proper hand operated valve carrying therein a proper mercury thermometer whose lower end is at all times immersed in the liquid of the valve chamber in use.
Today in 1959, US Patent 2905183 A was issued, an invention of Fred W. Thurmer, for his “Hop Picking Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to the hop picking art, and pertains especially to that step of picking, commonly known as arm picking, which is concerned with breaking down clusters to free the hop flowers from other contained matter-leaves, twigs, and the likeand which is distinguished from a step usually performed in advance of the arm picking, and namely the step of combing or stripping foliage-laden hop vines to divest the latter of substantially all its foliage. The arm-picking procedure has developed separate status within the art inasmuch as it is commonly performed by a separate machine peculiary designed to accomplished the one particular function of picking hop flowers from the branches or arms of the hop vines and separating clustered flowers.
Monday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1950. This is from Schlitz’s long-running three-panel “I was curious” series. In this one, a deep sea diver is coaxed out of the water by dangling cans of Schlitz in his face. Once on dry land, he had a beer and a sandwich. I’m not sure if it was the sammy or the beer, but it put a smile on his face. I’m going with the beer.
Today in 1982, US Patent 4350712 A was issued, an invention of Alfred Kocharian and George Spector, for their “Frozen Beverage Stick Including Retractable Cup.” Here’s the Abstract:
A popsicle type confection, which instead of an orange, cherry, raspberry, strawberry or similar conventional flavor frozen ice upon a stick, utilizes either a frozen beer or a frozen wine mounted upon a stick, and which in the present invention also includes a cup like heat shield around confection which is retractable so to allow licking the frozen beer or wine.
Today in 1965, US Patent 3207606 A was issued, an invention of Rees Philip Williams, assigned to Brewing Patents Ltd., for his “Continuous Fermentation Process for Beer Production.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to the manufacture of beer, and more particularly to the fermentation of Brewers Wort.
The present invention stems from the discovery that a continuous through flow of liquid is compatible with a sutficient period of dwell time in each phase of fermentation to enable that phase to be carried out in isolation from the other phases, and the object of the present invention is to provide a process for the continuous fermentation of wort, with the attendant advantages of relatively smaller vessels and a higher production rate.
The process of the present invention makes use of the same materials and the same times and temperatures as are used in the conventional batch processes, but with the advantage that there is a continuous through flow of the materials from one end of the apparatus to the other.
This continuous through flow has very considerable advantages. Firstly, it is relatively simple to make the apparatus in a closed state so that once it has been rendered sterile, and if sterile materials are used to feed it, there is no further possibility of infection arising. The apparatus can be used continuously for relatively long periods so that cleaning operations are reduced. The beer produced can be checked and correction of activity and temperature can be introduced while the process is in action. Above all, relatively very much less space is required for a continuous flow apparatus to produce for example 168 barrels of fermented beer in one week.
The process accordingly comprises a first step of continuously forming in a first phase a mixture of sterile wort and yeast and keeping said mixture at a temperature and for a period of time both selected to ensure yeast propagation and the onset of fermentation of the wort; a second step of passing the resultant mixture continuously to a second phase and keeping the mixture at a temperature and for a period of time both selected to ensure completion of the fermentation; and a third step of continuously passing the fully fermented wort to a third phase in which it is allowed to settle.
The process does not involve a new kind of fermentation with novel stages of working or novel chemical reactions. On the contrary, the conventional reactions are carried out with the conventional materials for the conventional periods of time allowed in batch operation, but the entire process is carried out with continuous through flow. It has not hitherto been suggested in the art to select comparative volumes for the vessels to give the required relative dwell times for the various phases of fermentation. It is well known to those skilled in this art that the times and temperatures of the conventional operation cannot be altered to any great extent and it is probable that batch operation has continued to be vused for fermenting the wort, in spite of the inherent disadvantages of batch operation, because it was not throught possible to carry out the process as a continuous process.
You probably saw the news last week that CraftWorks Restaurants and Breweries was closing the Original Gordon Biersch Brewpub in Palo Alto. It turns out that was only half of the story, the half from CraftWorks who was looking at an underperforming location with no sense of its history. Much more interesting is the other half of the story, in which a partnership will be re-opening the brewpub in February of 2016 under the name “DG’s GB,” for “Dan Gordon’s Gordon Biersch.” The group includes Gordon Biersch co-founder Dan Gordon, Oliver Gordon — Dan’s son — along with one of Gordon Biersch’s earliest employees from the very beginning (in fact employee #2 after Dan and Dean on the founding team) Steve Sinchek and his wife Lisa Sinchek. Sinchek also owns and operates two successful restaurants in the area, and they’ll be extensively renovating the 27-year old brewpub, licensing the GB name from CraftWorks. DG’s GB will be unique to the brewpub chain and the plan is to offer a one-of-a-kind experience in Palo Alto where it all began.
Dan gave me a call at home yesterday during halftime to get me up to speed on the rest of the story, that while the Palo Alto Gordon Biersch is closed now, it won’t be forever, and the grand re-opening should be in just five months, give or take, from now. They’re basically going to gut the inside, installing a new bar on the left-hand wall of the inside, with hightop tables and communal dining. The new menu will be farm to table, with locally sourced ingredients wherever possible. There will still be Dan’s signature garlic fries, of course, but I’m more excited about a new menu item they’ll be introducing: fresh-baked Bavarian pretzels that will be made in a special oven outside.
An early press shot of Dan and Dean taken at the San Jose brewpub circa 1990.
Brewer Tom Davis, who used to brew at Palo Alto in the early days, will use the smaller brewpub brewery as both a training brewery and for R&D, to create small batch experimental and seasonal beers that will be unique to DG’s GB. They’ll offer twelve beers, brewing four rotating ones there exclusively for the Palo Alto brewpub, with the rest of the lineup produced at the San Jose production brewery, which has been making their beer since it opened in 1997.
The brewers from the production brewery will take turns on the smaller brewhouse, and will be given an opportunity to come with their own experimental recipes. Each one of these will be a one-off, and the series will be known as “Tank 21,” since there are twenty tanks at the production brewery. If one proves popular enough, it may show up later as a new package in wider distribution.
27 years later, I guess we know.
Today in 1965, US Patent 3207605 A was issued, an invention of James R. A. Pollock, assigned to Brewing Patents Ltd., for his “Production Of Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The present invention relates to the production of potable beers and in particular to a process for the fermentation of wort in a semi-continuous manner which results in fermented wort becoming available in batches for further processing.
Processes for the continuous fermentation of wort are known and these processes are capable of producing beer at a very high rate as compared with conventional processes in which batches of wort are fermented with yeast in fermentation vats. Continuous fermentation processes have the disadvantage that they must be continued in operation over weekends and holidays, if the maximum economic advantage is to be obtained from them, and this in turn means that extra storage capacity must be installed in the brewery to hold the excess beer that may build up at such periods.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a brewing process which can readily be shut down when further supplies of fermented wort are not required, but which can at the same time produce beer at a rate comparable to that of known continuous processes.
The present invention provides a process for the production of beer which comprises adding unfermented wort to a body of yeast and either wort or fermented wort, which is subjected to sufficient agitation to maintain the yeast evenly dispersed through the wort, the unfermented wort being added at such rate either continuously or in separate small quantities that at the end of a predetermined time the body of fermenting wort is fermented to a desired degree of attenuation, at least a major part of the fermented wort then being separated from the yeast. Preferably the process is carried out under conditions such that the fermentation stage is completed in about 16 hours, so that a batch of beer may be produced each working day.
Sunday’s ad is for Carling’s Red Cap Ale, from 1946. This is for the “Brewing Corporation of America‘s” Carling, based in Cleveland, Ohio.
The BCA “Cleveland Plant” on Quincy Ave., also in 1946, from a company brochure.
The ad, with the headline “Dealer’s Choice,” shows a kindly old grocer, the kind that probably never existed, putting single bottles of in her basket as he seems to be staring at her with an odd look on his face. But I do love that hat she’s wearing, and notice she’s also wearing gloves with a short sleeve dress. I guess that’s what “taste-wise customers” wear when they’re buying a “mild, mature ale.”
Today in 1904, US Patent 770271 A was issued, an invention of John M. Doehrer, for his “Liquid-Drawing Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The object of my invention is to draw beer or other like liquids from the top or bottom of the keg and automatically seal the outlet or bung when the draft-pipe is withdrawn to apply an air-pressure on the top of the beer to force it up through the draft-pipe when drawing the beer.
