Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 229374A: Apparatus for Purifying Air

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Today in 1880, US Patent 229374 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich A. Bruns, for his “Apparatus for Purifying Air.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The object of this invention is to furnish means for cooling and purifying the atmospheric air which is required for handling beer, ale, wine, and other fermented liquors during fermentation. These liquids are at present transferred by means of air compressing pumps from one cask to another, the air employed for forcing the liquids carrying microscopic organisms and inorganic impurities which impregnate the beer or other liquid and exert an injurious influence thereon. To prevent these organisms from entering the liquids I employ a cooling and purifying apparatus, through which the air is drawn by the air-pump, so that all inorganic and organic impurities are retained and destroyed, and thereby a perfectly pure air supplied for handling the liquids. Fermented liquors treated with air purified in such a manner keep better, become perfectly clear, and are not liable to deterioration.

My invention consists more especially of a cooling-chamber filled with ice and provided with a top screen covered with a layer of cotton or similar material, and of an acid-chamber, into which the air is drawn from the cooling chamber and minutely divided therein by a perforated distributer and screen, to be then conducted off for use. Referring to the drawings, A represents a cooling-chamber, which is filled with ice and provided at the bottom with a discharge pipe for the ice water and with a suitable water-seal.

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Patent No. 20120167263P1: Hop Plant Named ‘HBC 366’

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Today in 2012, US Patent 20120167263 P1 was issued, an invention of Jason Perrault and Eugene G. Probasco, assigned to the Hop Breeding Company, L.L.C., for their “Hot Plant Named ‘HBC 366.'” Here’s the Abstract:

A new hop plant named ‘HBC 366’ is disclosed. The cones of ‘HBC 366’ mature in late September, and yield a crop of 2200 to 2700 pounds per acre. ‘HBC 366’ is used for its unique aromatic quality, high alpha acid content and exceptional yield.

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Patent No. PP8812P: Hop Plant Named H87311-3

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Today in 1994, US Patent PP8812 P was issued, an invention of Gene Probasco, assigned to John I. Haas, Inc., for his “Hop Plant Named H87311-3.” Here’s the Abstract:

A new variety of hop plant (H87311-3) originating as the result of a controlled cross pollination between an unpatented John I. Haas, Inc. female hop plant No. 832-17 with an unpatented John I. Haas, Inc. male hop plant No. 833-53M, and unique particularly for its cones’ unusually high percentage of alpha acids when compared to its female grandparent variety Galena (unpatented) and otherwise as herein described.

Its grandparent was Galena hops, but it doesn’t appear to have been subsequently named and made available commercially. FreshHops mentions it only briefly with not much more information than the patent application.
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Patent No. 606586A: Malt Stirrer

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Today in 1898, US Patent 606586 A was issued, an invention of Jules Alphonse Saladin, for his “Malt Stirrer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

It is my purpose to provide improved mechanism for propelling the turning-over carriage in both directions, for raising and lowering the spiral shovels at the end of each movement of the carriage and before beginning the next movement, and for initiating and terminating those operations of the mechanism which are automatic.

It is my purpose also to improve the construction, arrangement, and operation of the gearing and of those parts which mesh and unmesh the same at different points in the operation of the turning-over mechanism.

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Beer In Ads #1599: A Pair Of Pheasants

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Saturday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1953. So what’s the going rate for a glass of beer? Why, a pair of pheasants, of course. And this as is a two-fer. There are not one, but two, magic bottles in the ad. Both full glasses shown have only half-empty bottles next to them, and in fact they look nearly full, with only a small amount just about reaching the top of the label gone.

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Patent No. 3672390A: Draw-Off Tube

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Today in 1972, US Patent 3672390 A was issued, an invention of Elbert Gravesteijn, assigned to Amstel Brouwerij, for his “Draw-Off Tube.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention relates to a draw-off tube having on its free end a frontally closed tubular extension, to which there is detachably connected a head with an external, radial flange provided with flattened portions on its circumference, and a cylindrical externally screw threaded casing extending axially from said flange and surrounding said tubular extension coaxially, which external screw thread, after insertion of the draw of? tube in a cask of beer or the like, admits of being screwed into the internal screw thread of the bung hole of the cask, a ring valve loaded by a spring, more particularly .by a helical compression spring, being provided in the space between the inner circumference of the cylindrical casing and the outer circumference of the tubular extension, which ring valve is axially displaceable from the seats formed on said circumferences and which ring valve has its outer circumference adapted to free or close the compressed gas passage and has its inner circumference adapted to simultaneously free or close the beer passage formed by a row of radial openings provided in the wall of the tubular extension adjacent its free end, said cylindrical casing being provided with arms downwardly extending therefrom, which arms are detachably connected with a radial flange provided on the extension, which flange supports the compression spring.

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Patent No. 3327612A: Apparatus For Use In Brewing

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Today in 1967, US Patent 3327612 A was issued, an invention of Conrad Lenz, for his “Apparatus for Use in Brewing.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates, in general, to brewing apparatus and, in particular, to a new and useful mashing device comprising a unit consisting of a tank for receiving the soaked malt, a feed grinder for the soaked malt and a conveyor for moving the crushed material from the outlet of the feed grinder to a brewing pan or mash copper and of means actuated by the emptying of the unit of the mashed material to discontinue the driving mechanisms.

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Harry Potter Beer

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Today, June 26, in 1997, the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, was published in the United Kingdom. If that title looks wrong to you, that’s because in America it was titled Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because the publisher “thought that a child would not want to read a book with the word ‘philosopher’ in the title.” They may have been right, but it’s still a little sad. At any rate, in the seven novels there was something called “Butterbeer,” described as a drink that “can be served either cold with a taste similar to cream soda or frozen as a slush with a butterscotch-like foam on top.” Basically, it’s fake beer for kids. More interestingly, a Los Angeles artist or designer by the name of Anita Brown did a series of imaginary labels for beers based on the titles of each the seven books.

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And here’s each title in order:

HP-stout

HP-amber

HP-pilsner

HP-lager

HP-porter

HP-hefe

HP-hops

A fun exercise, with some fairly clever names. I wonder if the beers she chose would pair with the individual stories themselves? I only read the first two books, but didn’t really care that much for them; they never really grabbed me the way they did a lot of people. Another, somewhat similar, series that was published around the same time, the Golden Compass and the His Dark Materials trilogy was, in my opinion, was far richer and more interesting, but Harry Potter certainly was a phenomenon and anything that gets more people reading is a great thing in my opinion. Happy Harry Potter Day.