Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 4913680A: Low-Trellis Mobile Hop Picker

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Today in 1990, US Patent 4913680 A was issued, an invention of Donald A. Desmarais, for his “Low-Trellis Mobile Hop Picker.” Here’s the Abstract:

A mobile hop picking machine is provided with independently elevatable wheels. The picker straddles a trellis to position opposing picking cats on either side of the vines. Front and rear banks of picking hooks move upwardly to pick the hops. A bank of resilient raking tines comb the vines upwardly between the picking banks. The picking cats are pivoted about their front edges and are supported for transverse movement on their rear edges. Cylinders urge the rear of the cats toward the vines. A contact member connected to the cat moves the cat transversely, to avoid cat contact with poles, against a biased mounting provided for the hydraulic cylinder. Longitudinal conveyors transport the hops rearwardly and upwardly. A squeeze conveyor floats on a top support over the elevating end of the longitudinal conveyors. An alternate arrangement intersperses the raking tines and picking hooks.

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Top 50 Craft Breweries Infographic

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This is pretty cool. Vinepair took the list the BA released on Tuesday, the Top 50 Craft Breweries For 2014, and created an infographic showing where the top fifty are located. It’s interesting to see the pockets where there are only smaller breweries, those ranked 51-3000+. It does appear that the top 50 are concentrated in a few broad areas.

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Click here to see the infographic full size.

Patent No. 53692A: Improvement In Beer-Faucets

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Today in 1866, US Patent 53692 A was issued, an invention of Emile Sirret, for his “Improvement in Beer-Faucets” There’s no Abstract, but he describes his invention as “A device for foaming beer and other liquids artificially previous to their being drawn, so as to be able to cause the foaming of the liquid to any degree desired within a common faucet, and that immediately after, when the pin of the faucet is turned so as to open, the liquid will flow from it in a creamy and gaseous state sufficient to fill two or three glasses without renewing the operation.” More specifically:

The nature of my invention consists in having a hollow room or chamber inside a common faucet, between the cross-pin and the end which taps into the barrel. The hole in the faucet running through this chamber will constantly keep it filled with liquid, so that when it is required the foaming operation can be performed, which is done by placing down in the chamber a kind of syringe with a ring of line holes around the lowest end of the tube, this end being fastened to the bottom of the chamber by means of a screw. Ihe upper end of the tube with the piston-rod extending outside is tightly fastened on the top of the chamber, so as to prevent any escape of liquid. The head of the piston-rod extending out of the tube, and running parallel with the head of the cross-pin, enables the same hand to handle both of them with facility. The up-and-down movement of the piston will naturally force in and out of the tube through the small holes all the liquid contained in the chamber, and convert it into a foaming substance.

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Beer In Ads #1513: There’s More

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Thursday’s ad is still another one for Budweiser, this one from 1958. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one is called “There’s More.” A couple lying on the beach, with the woman eating a sandwich while the man is pouring a can of beer into her glass, which is already full. She’s trying to keep it from overflowing by sipping on it, but with the smile on his face, it looks like he may be doing it on purpose.

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Here’s a slightly larger version of the ad, but without the text.

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Patent No. 671321A: Faucet Or Tapping-Bung For Tapping Beer

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Today in 1901, US Patent 671321 A was issued, an invention of John W. Kinsey, for his “Faucet or Tapping-Bung For Tapping Beer, Etc.” There’s no Abstract, but the description claims that he’s “invented certain new and useful Improvements in Faucets or Tapping- Bungs for Tapping Beer, Ale, Porter, and other Aerated Liquors.” More particularly:

The object of the invention is to produce a faucet or tapping-bung for tapping such kegs containing said aerated liquids in a more convenient and easy manner; also, to produce a hung having an adjustable closing-valve so arranged as to be easy of access and readily operated, thereby dispensing with the use of the cork now required in closing the. end of the faucet or tapping-bung, and which must, after making the tap, be forced down into the keg with the hollow rod through which the beer, ale, &c., is drawn; also, to accomplish this in an easy and expeditious manner-at a small expense, and, finally, to produce the faucet or tapping-bung so that it is not liable to get out of order or that it can be readily repaired if any part shall be broken.

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Patent No. 1996550A: Container Opener Or Church Key

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Today in 1935, US Patent 1996550 A was issued, an invention of John M. Hothersall and Dewitt F. Sampson, assigned to American Can Co., for their “Container Opener.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates in general to container opening devices and more particularly to a punch opener for producing a substantial pouring opening in containers having projecting end scams or joints.” Essentially it’s a church key that includes a bottle opener, as well. Here’s how this church key is special:

The principal object of the invention is to provide a container opener which at one stroke or turning movement produces a substantial pouring opening in a wall of a container through which the contents, be they fluid or granular, may be readily dispensed.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a container opening punch or cutter adapted to work on the lever principle and which employs a projecting end joint of a container, for example, the end seam, as a fulcrum or pivot point about which the cutter may be rocked into opening position in a single arcuate movement.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of such a rocker punch whose operating parts are all adapted to be formed out of a single piece of steel or other suitable material in a few simple die operations, and which, because of its simplicity of construction, can be produced inexpensively and automatically with a view to supplying the public with an efficient opening tool at small cost.

Still another important object of the invention is the provision of such a punch opener which is adapted to produce a substantial and complete pouring opening quickly at one arcuate movement of the opener. While such rapidly and completely created opening is desirable in connection with containers filled with most products, dry or wet, from the standpoint of the time element, it lends itself exceptionally well to and solves a real problem in the opening of containers filled with effervescent liquids such as beer, where a quick and adequate opening will prevent ebullition and spilling of the contents.

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Crosby Hop Farms

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With the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland just a couple of weeks away, I’ve been receiving numerous e-mails from vendors who will be at the trade show. It happens every year. Some are of no interest whatsoever, while others are fun to see. For example, this morning one came in from Crosby Hop Farms, an Oregon hop grower. They’re doing an open house Wednesday night at the farm, which could be fun. But the e-mail included a link to a video they created about their company. No matter how many times I visit a hop farm, it’s always a spectacular sight.

This is the next best thing to being there. I think I may have to go to this one. You can also see more about the farm at Craft Brewing Business with these two stories: Hip hops: Craft beer’s impact on a growing industry and A Hop Farmer’s Diary: 30 days in the life of Oregon’s Crosby Hop Farm.

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Patent No. 1996184A: Keg Tapping Seal

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Today in 1935, US Patent 1996184A was issued, an invention of Edward Werthner, for his “Keg Tapping Seal.” There’s no Abstract, and the OCR was taking the day off when they digitized this one. I’ve tried to fix it where I could but some of it is just gibberish:

The usual beer keg is commonly only provided a cupped wooden bung and the dispensing means for discharging the beer as needed includes a tapered tap to be driven into the cupped bung to break out the bung bottom and their wedge fluid tightly into the bung side wall, said tap carrying the usual faucet tube or red; it often happens, however, that the side wall of the bung instead of remaining intact in the bung hole, breaks and will not fit tightly seal around the tap, or that the bung is driven completely into the keg. When such occurrences happen, not only does the keg-tapping person becomes showered with leaking beer squirting under pressure from the keg, but the gas from the beer is lost and the beer soon spoils. It is the object of my invention, however, to overcome such difficulties with the foregoing in-view, the invention resides in the novel subject matter hereinafter described and claimed, description being accomplished by reference to the accompanying drawing.

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Beer In Ads #1512: Goodness Knows

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Wednesday’s ad is another one for Budweiser, this one from 1961. It’s another ad from their “Where there’s life” series, this one is called “Goodness Knows.” At least three people are having a barbecue, or at a minimum are grilling a steak. One man is in the background sipping his beer, while a second masculine hand is holding a steak with tongs. The woman, wearing a huge and possibly mischievous smile reaches for the only other glass of beer we can see. Is she stealing the other man’s beer, or simply reaching for her own? Her expression appears to suggest the former.

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Patent No. 3436319A: Thin Layer Steam Distillation Of Hop Oil Extract

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Today in 1969, US Patent 3436319 A was issued, an invention of Louis Anton Freiherr Von Horst and Maximilian Kellner, for their “Thin Layer Steam Distillation of Hop Oil Extract.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described as relating “to a process of producing essential oil of hop preparations, and more particularly to a continuous process of producing such oil of hop, and to products obtained thereby,” with something approximating an abstract:

Improved process of recovering oil of hop from a solvent extract of hops by steam distillation in a novel manner, namely by passing the hop extract downwardly in a thin layer along an externally heated surface counter currently to the upwardly flowing steam in an oxygen-free atmosphere. This process has the advantage of completely recovering the oil of hop from the steam distillate and simultaneously producing a residual hop extract containing other components of said extract in substantially unaltered form. If the temperature of the starting solvent extract of hops is between about 80 C. and about 135 C., partial isomerization of the humulones to the isohumulones which are important brewing additives, takes place.

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