Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 1092538A: Beer And Hops Separator

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Today in 1914, US Patent 1092538 A was issued, an invention of George F. Rauch, for his “Beer and Hops Separator.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “This invention relates to the art of brewing, and particularly to a new and useful separator, for separating the beer and hops.” Apparently it has several features:

One of the features of the invention is the provision of a receptacle in which a revoluble pear-shaped screen is, mounted, having a distributor or splasher for swirling or splashing the fluid or combination of beer and hops against the inner circumference of the pear-shaped screen.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a plurality of agitator wings carried by the distributer or splasher, which wings owing to the centrifugal force swing outwardly, so as to splash the fluid or combination of hops and beer against the inner circumference of the pear shaped revoluble screen, the beer passing through the perforations of the screen, while the hops pass centrally down through the screen.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a stationaryv supported rake pear-shaped or conical screen, to prevent the hops from adhering or clinging to the inner circumference of the pear-shaped screen. In other words. the hops that may hang to the inner surface of the creen are raked or combed ofi as the screen revolves.

The beer that percolates through the perforations of the pear-shaped screen deposits and is carried oil by a spout. The hops pass centrally down through the screen.

Another feature of the invention is the provision of a conveyor disposed beneath the outlet of the screen to receive the hops, which are conveyed to and under a yieldably mounted pressure roller, so as to squeeze any further beer that may remain with the hops as they leave the screen.

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Beer In Ads #1517: Make It Yours

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Monday’s ad is for Coors, from 1979. Today, of course, was opening day for baseball. This Coors Banquet Beer ad is pretty simple, a baseball, a baseball glove and a can of beer poured into a mug. Beer and baseball, what better simple pleasures on a spring day could there be?

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Patent No. 2674535A: Method And Means For Shipping Or Storing Hops

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Today in 1954, US Patent 2674535 A was issued, an invention of Sidney S. Meisler, for his “Method and Means For Shipping or Storing Hops.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “It is an object of the instant invention to provide better packing which will be impervious to Weather, negligent handling, and poor storing in the holds of ships where other cargos may contaminate the hops with odors, moisture, acids, etc., the hops being easily damaged. Another object is to conserve material in the shipment of hops.”
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Patent No. 917019A: Apparatus For Mixing Liquids With Gases

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Today in 1909, US Patent 917019 A was issued, an invention of Gustav Detlefsen, for his “Apparatus for Mixing Liquids with Gases.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “This invention relates to an improved apparatus for mixing liquids with gases, the device being more particularly designed to charging beer with carbonic acid gas while the beer flows from the chip cask to the racking apparatus. The construction is such that the liquid is thoroughly agitated while being charged with the gas, so that an intimate mixture is obtained.”
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The World’s Oldest Bars

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Several years ago, prompted by another website’s relatively poor attempt to create a list of the oldest bars in America, I took their list of ten apart and created my own list of America’s Oldest Bars. That original list in the intervening years has taken on a life of it’s own, and continues to be updated as new entries are discovered by people all over the country. The current list of The Oldest Bars In America is now on a separate page and has 122 American bars on the list, all dating from before 1900, which became my arbitrary cut-off date.

Bucket List Bars, the website for a book of historic American bars, recently posted their choices for the 5 Oldest Bars in the World. Here’s their original list:

  1. Sean’s Bar; Athlone, Ireland (900 CE)
  2. The Bingley Arms; Bardsey, North Leeds, England (953 CE)
  3. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem; Nottingham, England (1189 CE)
  4. Brazen Head; Dublin, Ireland (1198 CE)
  5. Ye Olde Man & Scythe; Bolton, England (1251 CE)

This time around, I had no reason to disagree with the list, but having been working on an American version off and on for the last seven years did make me curious. So I figured I’d start doing a little research of my own and see what I might find. One thing I’m finding with my initial searches is that even more than with strictly American bars, is that how you define a bar is very important in determining whether it should be on the list. Go back far enough in history, and how we think of a bar changes quite a bit, with the earliest examples of what became known as bars being inns or taverns along well-traveled trade routes. Some were monasteries where people stopped on their journeys, and others might have been simply common gathering places. Many more may not have started as bars, and some even were things totally different from anything to do with serving alcohol, such as private homes, or buildings housing completely different businesses, even for a time. Still others had the original building destroyed and rebuilt, in some cases multiple times. Should they still be on this list? Is being a bar consistently the entire time a requirement, or should it be? Some started as bars, were converted to other uses, only to be bars again in the present.

Another problem is that record-keeping was nearly non-existent when you go back far enough, and even what records do exist are not exactly persuasive. Suffice it to say there are massive problems in compiling such a list, because no matter what is listed, some one could easily take issue with it, depending on how they decide to look at it, or define what is a bar. Is it a bar, pub (public house), ale house, beer house, inn, tavern, saloon, lounge, canteen, rathskeller, watering hole or what have you?

So for now, at least, I’ve been very loose with what belongs, and what might not, just to get things started. While some think the Cave Bar in Jordan may be the oldest, it’s hard to know. Was it really always a bar? When it first started being a gathering place for people in the first century, would we think of that as a bar? And if not, when would we start considering it to be a bar, as it undoubtedly is today? I’ve tried to restrict the list to bars that opened before 1800, though for some countries where there are a lot even for those dates, I’ve only listed the oldest examples, or ones that were for other reasons I found interesting or controversial. Some are listed with newer dates only because those were the oldest I could find for that country, and I wanted to list one, at least eventually, for most nations. And obviously, I’m using where they’re located today, and not worrying about what their geographic area’s political affiliation was when they opened, just to keep such a complicated question a little bit simpler.

As before, if you know of any others that should be on this list, please do let me know by posting a comment or sending me an e-mail. Please understand that this is the beginning of a work in progress and try to keep the astonished “how could you have missed …” shock and admonishments to a minimum. I have just one rule: don’t be a dick. I know this is a hornet’s nest, but it’s meant to be fun. This is just the starting place. My American list has grown and been whittled down countless times in the seven years I’ve maintained it, so I expect this will be no different. Please, enjoy responsibly.

The Oldest Bars in the World

  1. Cave Bar; Wadi Musa, Petra, Jordan (c. 1st century BCE)
  2. The Old Ferryboat Inn; Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England (560 CE)
  3. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks; St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England (c. 793 CE) [ Wikipedia ] [Note: A sign on the pub also states that the building was originally a monastery, then a Medieval Pigeon house, before being rebuilt in 1600 after the flood of 1599]
  4. St. Peter Stiftskeller; Salzburg, Austria (803 CE) [considered oldest restaurant in Europe]
  5. Sean’s Bar; Athlone, Ireland (900 CE)
  6. The Porch House; Stow-on-the-Wold, England (947 CE) [Note: Considered an Inn, rather than a bar]
  7. The Bingley Arms; Bardsey, North Leeds, England (953 CE; at least once source claims 905 CE)
  8. The Royal Standard of England; Beaconsfield, England (1086)
  9. The Skirrid Inn; Abergavenny, Wales (1110)
  10. Zum Riesen; Miltenberg, Germany (est. c. 1150; other sources say 1314 or 1411) [ Wikipedia ]
  11. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem; Nottingham, England (1189) [ Wikipedia ]
  12. Brazen Head; Dublin, Ireland (1198)
  13. La Reserve de Quasimodo; Paris, France (c. 1200s)
  14. The White Hart Inn; London, England (1216)
  15. Café Den Turk; Ghent, Belgium (1228)
  16. Ye Olde Salutation Inn; Nottingham, England (1240) [ Wikipedia ]
  17. Adam and Eve; Norwich, England (1241 or 1249)
  18. The Bear Inn; Oxford, England (1242)
  19. Ye Olde Man & Scythe; Bolton, England (1251) [ Wikipedia ]
  20. Piwnica Swidnicka; Wroclaw, Poland (1275)
  21. Bratwursthäusle Nürnberg; Nürnberg, Germany (1313)
  22. Brauhaus Sion; Cologne, Germany (1318)
  23. Kyteler’s Inn; Kilkenny, Ireland (1324)
  24. Haus zum Rüden Zürich; Zurich, Switzerland (1348)
  25. Zum Weinberg; Wismar, Germany (1354)
  26. The Sheep Heid Inn; Edinburgh, Scotland (1360)
  27. De Draak; Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands (c. 1397)
  28. Old Ferry Boat; Holywell, St. Ives, England (c. 1400)
  29. Zum Franziskaner; Stockholm, Sweden (1421)
  30. The Red Lion (f.k.a. Hopping Hall); Westminster, London, England (c. 1434; current pub dates to 1733, remodeled in 1896)
  31. Al Brindisi; Ferrara, Italy (1435)
  32. The Bell; Nottingham, England (1437)
  33. Zice Gastuz; Loce, Slovenia (1467)
  34. De Waag; Doesburg, The Netherlands (1478)
  35. U Fleku; Prague, Czech Republic (1499)
  36. The Nags Head; Burntwood, England (c. 16th century)
  37. Herberg Vlissinghe; Bruges, Belgium (1515)
  38. The Prospect of Whitby (f.k.a. the Devil’s Tavern); Wapping, London, England (1520)
  39. Sternbräu; Salzburg, Austria (1542)
  40. Ye Olde Mitre Tavern; Holborn, England (1546)
  41. The Mayflower; Rotherhithe Village, London, England (1550)
  42. Quinten Matsijs; Antwerp, Belgium (1565)
  43. Na Slamniku; Prague, Czech Republic (1570)
  44. The Grapes; Limehouse, London, England (1583)
  45. Spaniards Inn; Hampstead, London, England (1585)
  46. Hofbräuhaus; Munich, Germany (1589)
  47. Seven Stars; Holborn, London, England (1602; though more likely 1680)
  48. Café Karpershoek; Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1606)
  49. Hatchet Inn; Bristol, England (1606)
  50. Anchor Bankside; Southwark, London, England (c. 1665; rebuilt after fires in 1750 & 1876)
  51. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese; London, England (1667)
  52. Ye Olde Watling; London, England (1668)
  53. El Rinconcillo; Seville, Spain (1670)
  54. Ye Olde Bell Tavern; London, England (1670)
  55. White Horse Tavern; Newport, Rhode Island, USA (1673)
  56. The George Inn; Southwark, London, England (1677)
  57. The Clachan Inn; Drymen, Scotland (1734)
  58. The Split Crow; Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (1749) [Note: The bar has moved a couple of times & also changed names, so depending on definitions may not count as Canada’s oldest]
  59. Antico Caffe Greco; Rome, Italy (1760)
  60. L’Auberge Saint-Gabriel; Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1769)
  61. Lamb & Flag; Covent Garden, London, England (1772)
  62. Olde Angel Inn; Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (1789)
  63. Prince George Hotel; Kingston, Ontario, Canada (c. 1809; though more likely 1820)
  64. Mitre Tavern; Melbourne, Australia (1835)
  65. Kamiya Bar; Tokyo, Japan (1880) [billed as oldest Western-style bar]
  66. Bar Luiz; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1887)
  67. Hussong’s Cantina; Ensenada, Baja, Mexico (1892) [ Wikipedia ]

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The Cave Bar in Petra, Jordan. The world’s oldest bar? Or not.

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Sean’s Bar in Atholone, Ireland, may have a better case, dating from 900 CE.

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Then there’s the Ye Olde Fighting Cocks, which looks promising until you discover that it was originally a monastery, then was used as a Medieval Pigeon house, before being rebuilt in 1600 after being destroyed in the flood of 1599.

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And while Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem is probably not, as is claimed on the side of the building, “The Oldest Inn In England,” I love the way it looks. It just has the I’m-really-old look that you want in an ancient bar.

Patent No. 580104A: Apparatus For Manufacturing Beer Or Ale

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Today in 1897, US Patent 580104 A was issued, an invention of Andrew Worthington Billings, for his “Apparatus for Manufacturing Beer or Ale.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “It is the object of the invention to provide an apparatus by the use of which malt liquors may be manufactured in a simpler, quicker, and less expensive manner than heretofore and to effect the aeration of wort in the same apparatus in which the mashing and boiling take place. A further object of the invention is to insure the perfect sterilization of the air used in the aeration of the wort and to regulate the flow of such air in the manner hereinafter more particularly pointed out.”

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Beer In Ads #1516: Decorating The Eggs

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Sunday’s ad is an Easter ad for Budweiser, from 1950. It’s an ad from the “There’s Nothing Like It … Absolutely Nothing.” In this holiday-themed ad, a woman is coloring and decorating eggs for Easter, while behind her, a man is holding a sandwich and a beer, watching her do all the work. She’s in a dress with her pearls, and he’s in a white shirt and tie. That takes some sizable confidence to not put on a smock or apron when working with food dye. That green background is somewhat nauseating, too. I hope that’s not the walls of their home, but who knows. You did see interiors back then with some horrific (to our eye) colors.

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Patent No. 20070075089A1: Method Of Protecting The Open Top Of A Beer Can Against Contamination By Insects, Dirt And Debris

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Today in 2007, US Patent 20070075089 A1 was issued, an invention of Thomas Stein, for his “Method of Protecting the Open Top of a Beer Can and a Soda Can Against Contamination by Insects, Dirt And Debris.” Here’s the Abstract:

A cover for the open top of a soda can or beer can is substantially round and has a pair of parallel sides together with an annular bevel or chamfer to accommodate either a soda can or a beer can. The beer can has a larger diameter at its annular rim than that of the soda can, so that (in use) the cover is reversed. The cover may contain a trademark, logo, company name or message for promotional purposes. An alternate cover is substantially half-round, and a further embodiment is substantially arcuate.

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I think the best thing about his patent is the drawing illustrating all of the problems that this invention will fix or make better. They’re hilarious. How did we ever drink from cans before this?

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Patent No. 954397A: Keg-Rinser

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Today in 1910, US Patent 954397 A was issued, an invention of Adolph C. La Budde, for his “Keg-Rinser.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described:

The invention is an improvement in of all sizes, such as barrels, half barrel, quarter barrels and eighth barrels, and is designed to economize in labor and time; both in working the nozzle and the controlling valve or the water supply, and properly positioning the keg to receive the nozzle, as well as to make the rinsing more effectively

The invention in general consists of a water supply conduit having a nozzle and a controlling valve, a foot lever operable to simultaneously project the nozzle valve into the keg and open the valve, and rollers to support the keg over the nozzle, each roller tapering toward the center to conform to the keg and facilitate its movement to rinsing position.

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Patent No. D503550S1: Combined Beer Dispensing Cooler And Lawn Chair

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Today in 2005, US Patent D503550 S1 was issued, an invention of Brian Miesieski, Devin Kelly, and Geoff Blanck, assigned to Labatt Brewing Company Ltd, for their “Combined Beer Dispensing Cooler and Lawn Chair.” There’s no Abstract, which is unusual for such a recent patent. The patent application merely lists the seven submitted drawings of the design and the only other text at all is this short claim. “The ornamental design for a combined beer dispensing cooler and lawn chair, as shown.”

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My first thought was this had to be a promotional item that Labatt used for some sales campaign. And, in fact, that’s what it was used for. I found a picture of the finished product, which also included this caption:

This unit was designed to promote Labatt’s “Blueprint” advertising campaign which was centered around a series of beer dispensers. This chair was featured on ABC’s“Good Morning America”, a nationally broadcast television show, as one of the “Best Gadgets For Your Life”. The cooler keeps 12 cans of beer ice cold while storing one can in a chilled holding pen. When the handle is pushed it releases the can in the holding pen and reloads itself.

And the Global Marketing Group of Fair Lawn, New Jersey, a marketing display company, currently lists the chair in their catalog under Unique Solutions. So you could still get your own beer can chair, if you really, really wanted one.

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