Tuesday’s ad is for Schlitz, from 1904. The ad is all text, apart from a small logo in the corner. It’s just a notice that drinking beer will keep you healthy, expressed in the headline as “Beer Keeps One Well.” But wait, there’s more. “It is a noticeable fact that those who brew beer, and who drink what they want of it, are usually healthy men.” But I love tis statement. “The malt and the hops are nerve foods.” Nerve foods?
Today in 1931, US Patent 1800632 A was issued, an invention of Emil C. Horst, for his “Method Of Preparing Hop Extract And Products Containing Hop Extract.” There’s no Abstract, but the description says simply it’s an “invention [that] relates to a method of preparing hop extract and the product obtained, the object being to obtain a hop extract containing all the desired constituents of hops of value for the manufacture of non-prohibited cereal beverages and other non-prohibited products.” And here’s how he summarizes it:
The method briefly stated consists first in extracting the volatile matter or oil from the fresh or dried hops. Secondly to extract the bitter constituents consisting of soft resins, the tannins, the coloring matter and the foam producing constituents, and third to combine the volatile oil of the hops and the extract to obtain a product containing all the constituents of hops required for the brewing of cereal beverages.
Monday’s ad is for Kent Ale, from 1935. It was made by the G. Krueger Brewing Co., who was the first to debut beer in cans earlier in the same year. Tis was the third of their beers they put in a can, after the first test in their Virginia market was so successful. What’s really interesting is the described the beer as an “India Pale Type Stock Ale,” which apparently has “tangy, English-tavern flavor.” I would have liked to have tasted that one.
Today in 1937, US Patent 2076893 A was issued, an invention of Aron E Johnson, for his “Beer Dispenser.” There’s no Abstract, but the description says simply it’s an “invention relat[ing] to improvements in beer dispensers and aims primarily to provide a beer dispenser especially designed and constructed to avoid the defects previously existent in devices of this type.” Here’s the full story:
The beer dispensers heretofore in use have been defective in that no cushioning means was provided between their outer casings and their fragile beer containers, which in consequence resulted in 1o frequent breakage of the latter. Further, no provision was made heretofore for insulating the covers of such dispensers, hence the contents of the latter became warm and flat in a comparatively short time. Furthermore, no provision was made heretofore for sealing the covers and faucets of these beer dispensers, which fact resulted in the tampering with the contents of the same during the transportation thereof from the producing plants to the consumers.
The present invention, therefore, has for its purpose to obviate the above described defects. This has been primarily attained by providing cushioning means between the lower end of the outer casing and the fragile beer container, thus minimizing breakage of the latter, also by providing the present dispenser with an insulated cover which `protects the beer from becoming warm and at, and also by providing sealing means for the cover and faucet of the instant dispenser which effectively and positively prevents tampering with its contents during transportation, all of which features are to be correlated in the broad aim of enhancing the efficiency of the device for the uses and purposes for which it is primarily designed and intended.
Today in 1897, US Patent 580536 A was issued, an invention of Jacob F. Tiieurer and Paul Fischer, assigned to The Pabst Brewing Company, for their “Process of and Apparatus for Finishing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, but the description says simply it’s an “invention which will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which forms a part of this specification. The main object of our invention is to finish beer and other beverages in such a way as to give them the desired freshness, vivacity, and keeping qualities, and in the attainment of that object to economize space and time and to produce a superior article.”
Sunday’s ad is by the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, from 1941. This was early in the industry’s ads promoting beer, and would have been after the start of World War 2, but before Pearl Harbor and America’s entrance into the war. I imagine it would have been a time of uncertainty and anxiety, so it’s interesting that they picked up on that, and suggested something we all now, that when you’re feeling stressed, a beer can help you relax, slow down and feel a little better. So while it would never occurred to me to say so, there really is peace in beer. How cool is that?
Today in 1949, US Patent 2466892 A was issued, an invention of Stanley B. Holmes, for his “Beer Tap.” There’s no Abstract, but the description says simply it’s an “invention relat[ing] to beer taps:
First: To provide a beer tap which is adapted to interlock with the conventional latching means provided on beer kegs in a manner to form a sealing connection between the keg and a delivery tube.
Second: To provide a beertap which may be readily and quickly connected or disconnected with a minimum of effort without the aid of tools but which, when connected, cannot read– ily be accidentally loosened.
Third: To provide a beer tap which is particularly simple in its construction and readily cleaned.
Fourth: To provide a beer tap which includes a mounting structure which may be installed or removed without the delivery tube in place, and wherein the delivery tube may be inserted or removed without disturbing the connection between the mounting structure and the beer keg, or, if desired, both may be removed or installed simultaneously, the delivery tube remaining fixed in its position.
Saturday’s ad is for Dow Old Stock Ale, from 1937. Dow Breweries was from Quebec, Canada, but after an incident in 1965, the brewery was acquired by Carling O’Keefe, who shut down the brand in March of 1966. In the ad, a couple is playing cards (Bridge?) at a card table as one of the men is pouring beer for everyone at the table. Seems like a nice way to spend an evening pre-World War 2.
Today in 1995, US Patent 5405039 A was issued, an invention of Masahiro Komura, for his “Can For Beverage.” Here’s the Abstract:
A can for containing a beverage has a cylindrical body, a top lid for forming an opening through which the beverage can be drunk from the can, a small tab having a finger-receiving hole staked to a central portion of the top lid with a staking member, and a line of weakness defining the opening. This line is in the form of a segment of a circle centered about the staking member. This segment is between an approximately semicircular segment and a 90 degree segment.
For the 99th Session, our host is Alistair Reece, who writes the Fuggled blog. He’s also the founder of American Mild Month, which will take place for the first time this May. Intended as a companion to May is Mild Month, which is a month-long promotion of mild ale sponsored by CAMRA in Great Britain, there’s also a Facebook page and so far he’s gotten 45 breweries to commit offering a mild ale during the month. So for the May Session, the topic is “Localising Mild,” which he describes below.
Each May CAMRA in the UK encourages drinkers to get out and drink Mild Ales. This May is the first, as far as I am aware, American Mild Month, which has 45 breweries, so far, committed to brewing mild ales. Of those 45 breweries some are brewing the traditional English dark and pale mild styles, while a couple have said they will brew an ‘American Mild’, which American Mild Month describes as:
a restrained, darkish ale, with gentle hopping and a clean finish so that the malt and what hops are present, shine throughAn essential element of the American Mild is that it uses American malts, hops, and the clean yeast strain that is commonly used over here. Like the development of many a beers style around the world, American Mild is the localisation of a beer from elsewhere, giving a nod to the original, but going its own way.
That then is the crux of the theme for The Session in May, how would you localise mild? What would an Irish, Belgian, Czech, or Australian Mild look like? Is anyone in your country making such a beer? For homebrewers, have you dabbled in cross-cultural beer making when it comes to mild?
The first Friday of May is also the first day of May. May Day, or International Workers Day, and it is apt that a beer style closely associated with the industrial regions of England should be the theme for the Session. Have at it folks!
So don’t go crazy, don’t go wild, instead this May go mild. To participate in the May Session, leave a comment to the original announcement on or before Friday, May 1.
