Brookston Beer Bulletin

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Anchor To Release Liberty Ale In Cans

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Anchor Brewery announced today that they will be releasing Liberty Ale in 12 oz. cans, at least for a limited time. The cans are “a commemorative offering celebrating the 40th anniversary of the historic beer that started a revolution.” From the press release:

“I remember brewing the first batch of Liberty Ale with Fritz Maytag 40 years ago. We were both young and eager beer lovers and knew we wanted to create a beer unlike anything else at that time,” said Anchor Brewing Brewmaster Mark Carpenter. “We had come across a new hop variety called Cascade that had a distinct piney bitterness that we used in the brew. Through Fritz’s interest in history and travel he’d learned of a process European brewers used called dry-hopping; adding dry hops to beer fermenting in the cellar to boost its hoppy aroma. So we dry-hopped the ale with whole-cone Cascade hops, as well. During an era when light lagers were prevalent, Liberty Ale was a very hoppy ale for most people. Their palates were shocked and delighted by such a unique beer.”

The beer was originally sold to the public beginning in 1975, when the country was seized by bicentennial fever. Liberty Ale commemorated the 200th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride. Considered the first American IPA brewed after prohibition,” it was also “the first modern dry-hopped ale in the US and was the beer that popularized the now-iconic Cascade hop.” Beginning this month, Liberty Ale 6-pack cans, as well as bottles and kegs, will be available throughout the U.S.

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Beer In Ads #1552: Enjoy Life With Miller High Life

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Monday’s ad is for Miller High Life, from 1963. The ad is fairly simple, just a glass of beer and a half-emptied bottle of High Life next to it, with a plate of food behind it, and slightly out of focus. Is that lobster? It feels like the ad may have been cut off, like there should be more below the headline, but maybe not, it was done in the minimalist 1960s.

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Italy’s Tre Fontane Approved As Newest Trappist Brewery

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Last week, the International Trappist Association approved the 11th monastery brewery to be allowed to designate their beers as “officially” Trappist. There are now six Trappist breweries in Belgium, two in the Netherlands, and one each in Austria, the U.S.A. and now Italy. The latest monastery brewery, Abbey at Tre Fontane, is located in Rome, Italy. It was a religious spot since Roman times (from around the first century), and became affiliated with the Cistercian Order in 1625. According to Wikipedia:

Belonging to the monastery are three separate churches. The first, the Church of St. Paul of Three Fountains, was raised on the spot where St. Paul was beheaded by order of Emperor Nero. Legend accounts for the three springs (fontane) with the assertion that, when severed from Paul’s body, his head bounced and struck the earth in three different places, from which fountains sprang up. These still flow and are located in the sanctuary.

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That’s where the beer’s name comes from, Three Fountains Tripel, which is an 8.5% a.b.v. Tripel, brewed with Eucalyptus. That’s because the monks of the Tre Fontane Abbey planted fields of eucalyptus to combat malaria beginning in 1870. They also make olive oil, honey (flower, acacia, and eucalyptus), chocolates, and a Trappist liqueur.

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The beer is described by the ITA like this:

“The high carbonation gives the mouthfeel a pleasant dry finish. The mildly sweet aftertaste comes from the soothing flavor of eucalyptus herb, which cleanses and refreshes the palate. While the beer gives the impression of being light, it has abundant body. The high alcohol content adds a warm, refined feeling to the soothing highlights of the eucalyptus.”

American Craft Beer Week 2015

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Today begins the 10th annual American Craft Beer Week, which is themed this year as Cheers to the Sweet Land of Li-beer-ty. This year it will take place May 11-17, and “all 50 states will hold events including exclusive brewery tours, special craft beer releases, food and beer pairings, tap takeovers and more to honor the ever-advancing craft beer culture and unite tens of thousands of beer lovers nationwide.”

“American Craft Beer Week has provided independent beer fans across the country a chance to support their local breweries since 2006,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and craft beer program director at the Brewers Association. “With celebrations happening in all 50 states, this is truly an annual national event that recognizes all those involved in making craft beer from small breweries in the U.S. such a success.”

You can also follow news of ACBW and see what events have been scheduled and the list can be searched by state. The BA this year has also “created an interactive graphic with fun facts to commemorate each state and their commitment to craft brewing.”

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Click here to see the ACBW poster full size.

And here’s a larger view of what they had to say about California.

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Patent No. 921032A: Counter-Pressure Bottling-Machine For Beer

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Today in 1909, US Patent 921032 A was issued, an invention of Ralph Waldo Webster and Leuig Chew, for their “Counter-Pressure Bottling-Machine for Beer, Mineral Waters, and the Like.” There’s no Abstract, and all it says in the description is that Schwartz “invented new and useful Improvements in Counter-Pressure Bottling-Machines for Beer, Mineral Waters, and the Like,” which is essentially the title. A bit more is subsequently added, saying the “invention relates to improvements in machines for filling bottles, jars, and other like vessels, in which a counter-pressure is created to enable beers, mineral waters, and the like, having a natural or artificial condition or pressure, to be bottled Without undue foaming or loss of condition.” For the rest, you have to dive into a full reading of the application.
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Patent No. 20120111874A1: Plastic Beer Keg

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Today in 2012, US Patent 20120111874 A1 was issued, an invention of William P. Apps, for his “Plastic Beer Keg.” Here’s the Abstract:

A plastic keg includes a liner including a neck portion and a body portion. A lid having an opening is disposed at least partially over the liner. The liner is disposed in an outer container having a wall with at least one locking rib projecting therefrom. The locking rib angles downward and the lid secured to the outer container by the at least one locking rib. Optionally, a locking ring securing the neck portion of the liner to the lid may be configured to release the liner when the filled keg is dropped.

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Patent No. 4383040A: Fermentation Process And Apparatus

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Today in 1983, US Patent 4383040 A was issued, an invention of Richard Fricker, for his “Fermentation Process and Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:

A method for continuous fermentation in which carbohydrate solution is fed continuously into a fermentation zone containing substantially homogeneously distributed yeast and carbohydrate solution whereby the carbohydrate is fermented to ethanol, a proportion of the fermenting liquid continuously passing to a pressurized settling tank, yeast depleted liquid being withdrawn from the upper part of the settling tank and yeast enriched liquid being withdrawn from the lower part of said tank and returned to the fermentation zone, a proportion of yeast being withdrawn without being returned to the fermentation zone, said proportion being such that the concentration of yeast in the fermentation zone is substantially constant, and the pressure within the settling tank is sufficient to prevent the formation of gaseous carbon dioxide. The method enables rapid continuous fermentation to take place using high concentrations of yeast.

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Patent No. 2936236A: Method Of Draining Off Wort From A Straining Tank

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Today in 1960, US Patent 2936236 A was issued, an invention of Robert C. Gadsby, Schwaiger Joseph, and Frank H. Schwaiger, assigned to Anheuser Busch, for their “Method of Draining Off Wort From a Straining Tank.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to a straining tank or grain extractor or lauter tub, and more particularly to a new type of straining tank for use in the brewing industry to remove extract from brewers grains. This divisional application relates to the method of straining employed by said straining tank.”
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