Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 672819A: Apparatus For Drying Hops

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Today in 1901, US Patent 672819 A was issued, an invention of Alfred Blackie, for his “Apparatus For Drying Hops.” There’s no Abstract, and it takes a lot to explain everything, but essentially it’s a “kiln having an open sparred floor and a number of portable hop-receptacles having porous bottoms and tops, whereby currents of heated air may be passed through said floor and through said receptacles containing the hops for drying them.” But that’s pretty simplified, here’e more:

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the floor of a round kiln suitably prepared to receive the frames containing the hops to be dried, and Fig. 2 is a similar view showing such floor with the frames in position thereon. Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing one method of manipulating the frames. Fig. 4 shows a number of the frames as arranged on the cooling-floor after drying when it is desired to cool the hops quickly; and Fig. 5 showsthe manner of arranging such frames when the cooling is to take place more gradually. Fig. 6 is a plan view of a square kiln with frames suitably arranged thereon, and Fig. 7 shows an arrangement which may be used in connection therewith for manipulating the frames. Fig. 8 shows a modification of such arrangement. Fig. 9 is a sectional view showing one method of attaching the lids or covers of the frames in position, and Fig. 10 illustrates a modified arrangement for the same purpose. Fig. 11 is a plan view, and Fig. 12 a transverse section illustrating the method I prefer to employ for attaching the porous cloth or other suitable material to the lids or covers and bottoms of the frames.

This apparatus comprises an oast-house or kiln of any suitable form provided with an ordinary sparred floor 1, composed of slats or spars disposed apart from each other, leaving open spaces between them for the passage of air, and hop receptacles or frames 4, having porous tops and bottoms, disposed on said floor. When the hop-receptacles are placed directly on the floor, portions of the heated air for drying the hops rise through the floor between the receptacles and around the ends thereof and have no effect upon the hops and the heat is consequently wasted. To avoid this waste of heat, intermediate strips 2 of wood or other suitable material, together with similar end strips 2 and 2 are disposed on the floor 1 in such manner as to form completely-walled enclosures or compartments approximating in shape the hop-receptacles. The intermediate strips 2 are arranged in such position that they come immediately below the joints in the hop-receptacles 4 when the latter are placed in position in the kiln, and the end strips 2 close the end spaces under the outer ends of said receptacles adjacent to the inside wall of the cast-house or kiln and the strips 2 close the spaces under the inner ends of the receptacles, so as to prevent the escape of air around the frames. By this means the heated air will pass upward through the hop-receptacles only, and consequently the Whole thereof will be utilized in drying the hops, as the whole floorspace, except the parts beneath the porous hop-receptacles, is entirely closed or sealed. The strips referred to may be covered with felt, if desired. It continues from there.

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Beer In Ads #1533: Rare As The Bottle It Comes In

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Wednesday’s ad is for Carlsberg, from 1968. Although Carlsberg was founded in 1847, apparently they first started exporting in 1868, so 100 years later, in 1968, they created a special beer for the UK market. It was “specially brewed for the British taste,” whatever that might have been. NOt sure how rare that would have been, but I guess give them points for trying something newish.

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What 3,465 Breweries Are Doing To The Hop Supply

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I admit there’s a certain “duh” factor to this, but it’s still interesting to see the numbers. With IPA and other hoppy beers accounting for over 20% of the craft beer market, there’s not enough hops being grown to keep up with current demand, and it will only get worse as interest continues to grow, as it seems likely the popularity of hoppy beers will be with us for the foreseeable future. This is from the May 2015 issue of Popular Science, which has a short article entitled Craft Beer is Annihilating the Hop Supply, which adds that demand for hops has “nearly quadrupled in the past decade.”

The article is subtitled “why that might be a good thing,” presumably alluding to the increased demand, but never really answers that question satisfactorily. There’s a quote from the former director of the Hop Growers of America, Doug MacKinnon, saying “Craft brewing is sucking up every pound of hops in the U.S. Growers can’t expand fast enough,” and suggesting that’s opening up the market beyond Washington, Oregon and Idaho, where U.S. hop growing has been concentrated at least since prohibition ended.

The article cites as proof that “single-acre hop operations are popping up on other types of farms across the country, including “Growers in New York, Minnesota, and Colorado,” and I’m also aware of similar efforts with commercial farms in Maine, Wisconsin and California, and I’m sure I’m forgetting somebody. Hops-Meister, which is near Clearlake, started in 2004 and grows ten different varieties on at least 15 acres. Co-owner Marty Kuchinski will be talking to my class tonight about hop farming. California used to grow more hops than any other state prior to prohibition, but never rebounded as farmers here found they could make more per acre growing grapes, but it’s why that legacy includes the town of Hopland and the Hop Kiln Winery. And New York used have an entire hop industry in the 19th century, until a downy mildew problem and other issues forced many to move production out west. So it’s little surprise that, with more modern farming methods, this growing demand would bring back hop farming to many parts of the country, not to mention a strong desire for brewers to have more local ingredients.

But the numbers just seem crazy: 27 million pounds of hops in 2014, and an estimated 31 million pounds this year.

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Patent No. 4659662A: Batch Fermentation Process

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Today in 1987, US Patent 4659662 A was issued, an invention of Win-Pen Hsu, assigned to J. E. Siebel Sons’ Company, Inc., for his “Batch Fermentation Process.” Here’s the Abstract:

Ethanol and fermented beverages such as beer or wine are produced in a batch process by contacting a fermentable substrate with yeast cells encapsulated within a porous, semi-permeable material. Contacting is carrier out in a vessel containing the substrate and a semi-permeable retaining means submerged in the substrate. Encapsulated yeast cells are maintained below the retaining means and in contact with the substrate during fermentation while being freely movable in a portion of the substrate. The retaining means is permeable to the substrate and is substantially impermeable to the encapsulated yeast cells. Preferably, the matrix encapsulating the yeast cells is an alginate gel.

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Beer In Ads #1531: Finest Beer Carole Landis Ever Tasted

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Monday’s ad is for Schaefer Beer, from 1947. It’s one of a series of ads Schaefer did with famous people talking about the “Finest Beer I Ever tasted.” In this one, it’s Carole Landis, who was an American actress in the late 1930s through around 1948. Although you can’t see why in this photo, Landis’ nickname was “The Chest.”

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Patent No. 5203181A: Container-Cooler

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Today in 1993, US Patent 5203181 A was issued, an invention of Charles E. Brossia, Philip S. Desmond, and Eckhard F. Rahn, assigned to Miller Brewing Company, for their “Container-Cooler.” Here’s the Abstract:

A container-cooler for a beverage, such as beer, includes a conventional keg-shaped outer shell, an inner vessel for containing the beverage retained within the shell, and a space between the inner vessel and the outer shell for receiving a cooling medium, such as ice.

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Patent No. 1581918A: Production Of Fermentable Worts

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Today in 1926, US Patent 1581918 A was issued, an invention of William Hastings Campbell, for his “Production of Fermentable Worts.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that “This invention relates to the production of fermentable worts, the production of industrial alcohol and the cultivation of yeast, and has for its object to provide improvements therein.” Here’s a bit more.

The invention consists broadly in the process of producing fermentable worts and the cultivation of yeast which comprises introducing the liquor component of the wort and the solid material from which the fermentable bodies are derived into apparatus in which a plurality of superimposed inclinable diaphragms are arranged, allowing the solid material to settle on the diaphragms, withdrawing the wort and discharging the solid material from the apparatus after a suitable washing operation to extract the soluble bodies mechanically held thereby.

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The Portland Cuckoo Clock

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This post is just a bit of fun, especially if you love clocks and are intrigued by anything to do with time. This was the first time, I got to see the Portland is Happening Now cuckoo clock that was installed at Portland International Airport (PDX) in December of last year, and it is a sight to behold.

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It’s only going to be there through this fall, so if you have a chance to go through PDX, be sure to stop and stare at it for at least a few minutes in a zen-like trance. It’s 24-feet tall and weighs 7,000 pounds, which makes it the largest free-standing cuckoo clock in the United States. It was made by Nicolas Gros, and the clock was carved by native Oregon sculptor J. Chester Armstrong.

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The actual cuckoo is a rooster, but you only see him once per hour. There are, however, numerous symbols associated with Oregon, and that means beer, too. One of the twelve symbols on the gear on the clock face is a beer glass with “You’re Welcome” printed on it.

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But I’m especially keen on the two Blue Jays drinking from a mug of beer that cycles around the two doors on either side of the bottom of the clock face. It’s a curious choice, since Blue Jays aren’t native to Oregon, or anywhere on the west coast for that matter. But they’re one of my favorite birds and I grew up with them in Pennsylvania. There’s also a lot of other very cool Oregon things, like Bigfoot and bicycles, and of course a man riding a beer barrel holding a glass of beer out in joy and celebration, a smile across his face. That’s Oregon, but especially Portland.

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