Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 2631393A: Illuminated Tap

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Today in 1953, US Patent 2631393 A was issued, an invention of Lionel S Hetherington, for his “Illuminated Tap.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description it states that the “invention relates to illuminated taps and more particularly to an electrically illuminated tap adapted to be used as an advertising device..” In addition, “one object of this invention is to advertise the beverage available on draught at the tap” and “Another object is to visibly indicate the specific beverage to be drawn from a specific tap.”

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Top 10 Party States

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I got an e-mail this morning from Retale, a mobile app company, with an infographic showing the Top 10 Party States in the Country. To arrive at the list, they looked at a variety of factors including the number of bars, universities and colleges, music festivals, party stores, beer consumption, alcohol tax, hours opened, median age, the number of clubs and how popular the state is for tourism.

Obviously, these types of lists are highly subjective and tend to please no one, but it’s still fun to look at how the numbers shake out on all of the categories they used. Overall my home state of California tops the list, despite being number 1 in only two of the categories (music festivals and tourism). We have nearly double the breweries of our closest state, and a few wineries, too, so I’m okay with that.

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How They Created This Ranking

According to Retale. “In determining what criteria to use for this list, we considered contributing factors to party culture, including events, alcohol consumption, venues, tourism, and youth culture. Our Top Ten Biggest Party States interactive visual was calculated based on an analysis of [the following] data.”

Alcohol consumption per capita
Number of nightclubs per capita
Number of music festivals in each state
Most popular tourist destinations
Number of bars per capita
Population density
Last call: opening and closing hours
Number of universities and colleges per capita
Combined alcohol taxes (lower the better)
Median age (lower the better)

Here’s their write-up for California.

1. California (CA)

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California is known worldwide for its pristine beaches, enviable year-round weather, HWY 1, and Hollywood. The state is also the #1 ranking party destination in the U.S. There is a reason why our favorite pop and rap artists rave about the California party scene, with its thriving nightlife, underground techno, and midnight street shindigs. California has the highest number of festivals, the second highest number of bars by state (over 3,000), and the most universities and nightclubs relative to population.

With diverse demographics, an expanding youth culture, and innovation in tech and the arts, California has been an epicenter of art and social movement since the 60s. Rivaling party cities in California include L.A., San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento, and Long Beach.

Individual Statistics

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You can see the interactive map online at Retale. Moving the cursor and hovering it over each state reveals the answers for each datapoint.

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Patent No. 2631777A: Process For Centrifugal Separation Of Yeast Cells From Beer

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Today in 1953, US Patent 2631777 A was issued, an invention of Verner Hanno Tore, for his “Process For Centrifugal Separation Of Yeast Cells From Beer.” There’s no Abstract,
but the description claims that the “invention relates to the centrifugal separation of impurities from liquids, such as the separation of yeast cells from beer. More particularly, it relates to an improved process for this purpose, whereby contamination of the centrifugally purified liquid by the impurities, incident to interruption of the centrifugal separation, is avoided.”
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Beer In Ads #1496: Special Lyrics

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Monday’s ad is for Budweiser, from 1962. It’ from A-B’s long-running “Where there’s life” series, in this case the “Special Lyrics” are the “101 words” on the Budweiser label. I’m at least pleased to see she’s holding the record on the edge. Back in the day when I managed record stores, there was nothing worse then people just pawing a record with their greasy fingers and leaving fingerprints all over it. But if he keeps pouring that beer it’s going to spill all over her and the album. Also, if you look at the album cover partially show in the background, that photo is from a previous Bud ad.

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Patent No. 3173586A: Beer Barrel Faucet Attachment

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Today in 1965, US Patent 3173586 A was issued, an invention of Edward A. Pawson, for his “Beer Barrel Faucet Attachment.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to a novel beer barrel faucet attachment whereby beer barrels may be tapped and in particular relates to a barrel unit and a tap unit which is used in connection with barrels or kegs of the type in common use. These barrels to which my attachment is fastened have an opening of standard size and shape in one wall thereof. More specifically:

My invention relates to an attachment of the character stated which is attached to a single opening in the wall of a barrel or keg and which is so constructed that the same attachment provides a means of admitting a gas under pressure into the barrel and also to draw beer from the keg through this same attachment.

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Craft Beer Share Reaches 10%

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The preliminary numbers for 2014 are out, and the news is fairly spectacular, especially if you remember Kim Jordan’s keynote speech in New Orleans predicting and challenging the industry to set 10 percent share of the market as an attainable goal. The Brewers Association today revealed that craft beer’s share of market finally blew past 10% and is now 11% of the total beer market, by volume.

From the press release:

In 2014, craft brewers produced 22.2 million barrels, and saw an 18 percent rise in volume2 and a 22 percent increase in retail dollar value3. Retail dollar value was estimated at $19.6 billion representing 19.3 percent market share.

“With the total beer market up only 0.5 percent in 2014, craft brewers are key in keeping the overall industry innovative and growing. This steady growth shows that craft brewing is part of a profound shift in American beer culture—a shift that will help craft brewers achieve their ambitious goal of 20 percent market share by 2020,” said Bart Watson, chief economist, Brewers Association. “Small and independent brewers are deepening their connection to local beer lovers while continuing to create excitement and attract even more appreciators.”

But wait, there’s more.

Additionally, the number of operating breweries in the U.S. in 2014 grew 19 percent, totaling 3,464 breweries, with 3,418 considered craft broken down as follows: 1,871 microbreweries, 1,412 brewpubs and 135 regional craft breweries. Throughout the year, there were 615 new brewery openings and only 46 closings.

Combined with already existing and established breweries and brew pubs, craft brewers provided 115,469 jobs, an increase of almost 5,000 from the previous year.

“These small businesses are one of the bright spots in both our economy and culture. Craft brewers are serving their local communities, brewing up jobs and boosting tourism,” added Watson. “Craft brewers are creating high quality, differentiated beers; new brewers that match this standard will be welcomed in the market with open arms.”

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Patent No. 1132218A: Bottle-Filling Machine

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Today in 1977, US Patent 1132218 A was issued, an invention of Adolph Schneider, for his “Bottle-Filling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “present invention relates to that type of mechanism used for the purpose of packaging carbonated liquids, or analogous substances, under pressure:”

The objects of the present invention are, to provide a stationary support upon which the to-be filled packages rest during the filling operation; to provide a series of pistons, one of which will actuate the filling tube of the bottle filling mechanism, and the other or. which will actuate the sealing head; to provide a series of cylinders for said pistons, one piston being contained in each cylinder; to arrange system of pressure supply ducts for conveying pressure to said cylinders for the purpose of actuating the pistons; to arrange a series of ducts for exhausting the pressure from the said cylinder so arrange these ducts, if desired, as to enable them to perform double functions, namely, that of an inlet and an exhaust duct; to provide an automatically operated valve for controlling the flow of liquid from the source of liquid supply to the filling tube, and in arranging this valve so that it is automatically operated at a time approximately when the filling tube has reached its lowermost position; to provide a method of establishing communication between a source of air pressure less than the sure of the liquid in the tank and the liquid of the bottle; to provide a valve for controlling the flow of said air whereby said valve will be automatically operated to establish said air communication at practically the same time that the communication is established to permit the flow of liquid from the filling tube into the bottle; to provide an arrangement whereby one of the set of pistons may be power driven in both sections, and the other of said pistons can be power driven in one direction only, with the last mentioned piston being moved in the opposite direction by contact with the first mentioned piston; and to provide a telescopic connection between the source of liquid supply and the filling tube, and a telescopic connection between the source of air supply and the sealing head.

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Beer In Ads #1495: Most Of The Things I Like Best Begin With ‘B’

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Sunday’s ad is for Rheingold Beer, from 1952. “‘Most of the Things I Like Best Begin with ‘B’ — beagles, bands, beer,’ says TV star Harry James. ‘Here’s my favorite beagle — Bugle. My favorite band instrument? You guessed it — the trumpet. As for beer …'” It seems odd they describe James as a “TV star,” when I always think of him as a trumpet player and a bandleader. Harry James’ birthday is today, born in Albany, Georgia in 1916. When I was younger, and a musician, I was a freak for big band music, and Harry James was one of the best of his time.

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Marzen Madness 2015

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I may not be college basketball’s biggest fan, but I do still enjoy March Madness every year. The tournament is usually a fun diversion for a few weeks each year, so for the fifth straight year, I’ve set up a fantasy game, similar to fantasy football. It’s a bracket game through Yahoo which I call “Märzen Madness.” It doesn’t look like there’s a limit to the number of people who can play, so sign up and make your picks starting tomorrow, but before March 19, which is when the first games take place.

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To join Märzen Madness and play the Yahoo! Sports Tournament Pick’em game, just follow this instructions below. You’ll also need a Yahoo ID (which is free if you don’t already have one).

To accept the invitation, just follow this invitation link. For reference, here’s the group information.

Group ID#: 18022
Password: brookston

Good luck everybody.

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Patent No. 4011896A: Apparatus For Rapidly Dispensing Beer Into Open Cups

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Today in 1977, US Patent 4011896 A was issued, an invention of John W. Nilon and Thomas J. King, for their “Apparatus for Rapidly Dispensing Beer into Open Cups.” Here’s the Abstract:

Beer is stored in vessels located in a refrigerated storage area before passing through dispensing lines connected to a plurality of dispensing taps. The dispensing lines are maintained in heat-exchanging relationship with cooling apparatus which further depresses the temperature of the beer below that of the refrigerated storage area. By the time the beer reaches the cooling taps, the temperature of the beer is sufficiently depressed so as to permit the beer to be dispensed at a high rate into drinking containers which pass beneath the taps.

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