Today in 1943, US Patent D135747 S was issued, an invention of Joseph Austin, assigned to the F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Company, for his “Design for a Holder for Beer Foam Scrapers.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described incredibly simply in the application, stating only that it’s an “ornamental design for a holder for beer foam scrapers, substantially as shown and described.” Which is funny, because that’s about the only description there is.
Patent No. 3321861A: Beer Tap Handle
Today in 1967, US Patent 3321861 A was issued, an invention of Charles G. Tate Jr., for his “Beer Tap Handle.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
Because of competition most beer companies provide bars with fancy tap handles carrying the name of the particular brew. These handles are changed frequently to attract attention and are made in all materials in numerous shapes and sizes. Attempts have been made to provide such handles with electrically operated devices such as lights and other moving parts. However, most communities are provided with safety regulations which prohibit the use of electric lines to beer tap handles be cause of the danger involved, the bartender normally having wet hands and handling a wet product. Battery power has also been suggested for such purpose but these are expensive because the batteries must be frequently replaced. Furthermore, a busy bartender will often forget to turn the switch and turn on the device when he comes in in the morning. The present invention is designed to provide an electrically powered beer tap handle utilizing rechargeable batteries. The device of the present invention operates with a novel switching arrangement so that the batteries are being charged only overnight when the de vice is not in use. Also, removal of the charging device turns on the beer tap handle.
Patent No. 3091366A: Beer Dispenser
Today in 1963, US Patent 3091366 A was issued, an invention of Thomas A. Hutsell, for his “Beer Dispenser.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:
This present device relates to the general art of devices intended for the measuring and dispensing of effervescent beverages. More particularly this invention relates to a beer dispensing device for dispensing draught beer. Means are provided in this present device to automatically dispense a measured amount of beer and the device is further capable for adjustment so that the desired amount of head of foam can be supplied as a part of the measured amount even though the beer in the dispensing keg may have physical properties quite different from that of the beer in the keg to which the device was previously connected.
Patent No. 401406A: Construction Of Beer Engines
Today in 1889, US Patent 401406 A was issued, an invention of James Amasa Bigelow, for his “Construction Of Beer Engines.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states the following. “My invention relates to apparatus for drawing beer or other liquids from a receptacle in a cellar or adjacent store-room and delivering the same to other receptacles upon a bar counter; and its objects are to provide a simple and efficient apparatus of this character in which the beer or liquids may be cooled or warmed, as desired, and in which also several kinds of beer may be mixed before delivery, and which apparatus may be readily put in order by an unskilled person should any oi` its parts become disarranged during its operation.”
The World’s Oldest Bars
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:
- Sean’s Bar; Athlone, Ireland (900 CE)
- The Bingley Arms; Bardsey, North Leeds, England (953 CE)
- Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem; Nottingham, England (1189 CE)
- Brazen Head; Dublin, Ireland (1198 CE)
- 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
- Cave Bar; Wadi Musa, Petra, Jordan (c. 1st century BCE)
- The Old Ferryboat Inn; Holywell, Cambridgeshire, England (560 CE)
- 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]
- St. Peter Stiftskeller; Salzburg, Austria (803 CE) [considered oldest restaurant in Europe]
- Sean’s Bar; Athlone, Ireland (900 CE)
- The Porch House; Stow-on-the-Wold, England (947 CE) [Note: Considered an Inn, rather than a bar]
- The Bingley Arms; Bardsey, North Leeds, England (953 CE; at least once source claims 905 CE)
- The Royal Standard of England; Beaconsfield, England (1086)
- The Skirrid Inn; Abergavenny, Wales (1110)
- Zum Riesen; Miltenberg, Germany (est. c. 1150; other sources say 1314 or 1411) [ Wikipedia ]
- Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem; Nottingham, England (1189) [ Wikipedia ]
- Brazen Head; Dublin, Ireland (1198)
- La Reserve de Quasimodo; Paris, France (c. 1200s)
- The White Hart Inn; London, England (1216)
- Café Den Turk; Ghent, Belgium (1228)
- Ye Olde Salutation Inn; Nottingham, England (1240) [ Wikipedia ]
- Adam and Eve; Norwich, England (1241 or 1249)
- The Bear Inn; Oxford, England (1242)
- Ye Olde Man & Scythe; Bolton, England (1251) [ Wikipedia ]
- Piwnica Swidnicka; Wroclaw, Poland (1275)
- Bratwursthäusle Nürnberg; Nürnberg, Germany (1313)
- Brauhaus Sion; Cologne, Germany (1318)
- Kyteler’s Inn; Kilkenny, Ireland (1324)
- Haus zum Rüden Zürich; Zurich, Switzerland (1348)
- Zum Weinberg; Wismar, Germany (1354)
- The Sheep Heid Inn; Edinburgh, Scotland (1360)
- De Draak; Bergen op Zoom, The Netherlands (c. 1397)
- Old Ferry Boat; Holywell, St. Ives, England (c. 1400)
- Zum Franziskaner; Stockholm, Sweden (1421)
- The Red Lion (f.k.a. Hopping Hall); Westminster, London, England (c. 1434; current pub dates to 1733, remodeled in 1896)
- Al Brindisi; Ferrara, Italy (1435)
- The Bell; Nottingham, England (1437)
- Zice Gastuz; Loce, Slovenia (1467)
- De Waag; Doesburg, The Netherlands (1478)
- U Fleku; Prague, Czech Republic (1499)
- The Nags Head; Burntwood, England (c. 16th century)
- Herberg Vlissinghe; Bruges, Belgium (1515)
- The Prospect of Whitby (f.k.a. the Devil’s Tavern); Wapping, London, England (1520)
- Sternbräu; Salzburg, Austria (1542)
- Ye Olde Mitre Tavern; Holborn, England (1546)
- The Mayflower; Rotherhithe Village, London, England (1550)
- Quinten Matsijs; Antwerp, Belgium (1565)
- Na Slamniku; Prague, Czech Republic (1570)
- The Grapes; Limehouse, London, England (1583)
- Spaniards Inn; Hampstead, London, England (1585)
- Hofbräuhaus; Munich, Germany (1589)
- Seven Stars; Holborn, London, England (1602; though more likely 1680)
- Café Karpershoek; Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1606)
- Hatchet Inn; Bristol, England (1606)
- Anchor Bankside; Southwark, London, England (c. 1665; rebuilt after fires in 1750 & 1876)
- Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese; London, England (1667)
- Ye Olde Watling; London, England (1668)
- El Rinconcillo; Seville, Spain (1670)
- Ye Olde Bell Tavern; London, England (1670)
- White Horse Tavern; Newport, Rhode Island, USA (1673)
- The George Inn; Southwark, London, England (1677)
- The Clachan Inn; Drymen, Scotland (1734)
- 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]
- Antico Caffe Greco; Rome, Italy (1760)
- L’Auberge Saint-Gabriel; Montreal, Quebec, Canada (1769)
- Lamb & Flag; Covent Garden, London, England (1772)
- Olde Angel Inn; Niagra-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada (1789)
- Prince George Hotel; Kingston, Ontario, Canada (c. 1809; though more likely 1820)
- Mitre Tavern; Melbourne, Australia (1835)
- Kamiya Bar; Tokyo, Japan (1880) [billed as oldest Western-style bar]
- Bar Luiz; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1887)
- Hussong’s Cantina; Ensenada, Baja, Mexico (1892) [ Wikipedia ]
The Cave Bar in Petra, Jordan. The world’s oldest bar? Or not.
Sean’s Bar in Atholone, Ireland, may have a better case, dating from 900 CE.
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.
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. 1578627A: Bottle Opener
Today in 1926, US Patent 1578627 A was issued, an invention of John C. Baumgarten, for his “Bottle Opener.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to bottle capping implements.” It’s essentially a ring with bottle opener. I always thought those were a pretty recent invention, but this is from 1926. Here’s how it’s explained:
Since bottles containing soda water, and the like, are generally closed by crimped on caps a special implement must be used for removing these caps. There are two types of these implements generally used. One of these is a device which is applied by hand. Since this device is readily laid down in one place, when required in another, it is not always handy during the rush of customers. The other type is a device located at some station to which the bottle must be taken, and hence unless several of this type of device be installed it would necessitate considerable running back and forth.
So the object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive implement to pry off said caps, and its construct such implement in the form of a ring which may be carried about for instant use. A further object of my invention is so to construct my implement so that it will not impose undue strain on; or tend to bruise the finger in removing said caps.
So he’s proposing that all bartenders where one his opener rings while working, making it part of the uniform of a barkeep.
Patent No. 2631393A: Illuminated Tap
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.”
Good Hop Grand Opening This Saturday
I’m thrilled to announce that Melissa Myers’ new beer bar in Oakland, The Good Hop, will have its grand opening this Saturday, July 12, with the doors opening at the mercifully not-to-early time of 3:00 PM. The Good Hop is located at 2421 Telegraph Avenue in West Oakland, near the intersection of 24th Street, just around the corner from the New Parkway Theater. I won’t even try to be impartial here, Melissa Myers is a longtime friend of mine, and I’m excited for her to finally realize a dream of opening her own place. She’s been a brewer for many years, from Denver to Philadelphia and in the Bay Area brewed at Magnolia, Pyramid and the old Ross Brewery (which is now Iron Springs) but now turns her attention to choosing and serving great beer. Eventually, The Good Hop may serve Melissa’s own beer (fingers crossed), but for now they’ll be featuring a nicely curated tap list of 16 taps, with 2 dedicated sour beer lines, plus 450+ bottled beers. At the grand opening, they plan to have a number of rare and hard-to-find beers available, as well as some special surprises.
Here’s more information, from the press release:
The Good Hop Bottle Shop and Tasting Room (TGH) is pleased to announce it is opening its doors to the public on July 12, 2014. The 1,900-square-foot shop, at 2421 Telegraph Avenue Suite 102, is a specialty beer bottle shop and tasting room offering 450+ bottled and canned beers that can be purchased for take-away or can be opened and consumed on site in the spacious and comfortable bar. Their ever-rotating 16 taps will serve up California and West Coast craft beers with 2 designated sour beer lines at all times.
TGH will have an enormous beer selection in bottles, cans, and on tap that would please any aficionado; though, Melissa Myers, The Good Hop’s owner and proprietor, wants to draw in the less familiar to beer client as well. “I love beer and I love making people fall in love with beer. Part of my mission in opening this shop is to serve the customer who walks in and says ‘Well, I don’t know that much about beer, so I’m not sure what I should order…’ That’s where it gets fun for us. I love asking them questions and, based on their answers, figuring what they’ll fall in love with!”
TGH will host a number of events for both beginners and experts alike. The shop will host beer style tastings, vertical brewery tastings, meet-the-brewer nights, cheese-and-beer pairing events, chocolate-and-beer pairing events, and a number of other activities that feature beer as the centerpiece. The TGH website, www.thegoodhop.com, will have a calendar of events posted. Its twitter feed will have daily listings of what 16 beers are on tap for the day. TGH’s Facebook page contains additional information.
Myers is excited about the neighborhood: “We chose this spot because it’s right in the heart of what’s happening in Oakland right now,” says Myers. “We love the KONO [Koreatown-Northgate] neighborhood and we’re thrilled to be part of Art Murmur, First Fridays, and the vibrancy of this area. So much is happening here right now, and we’re really excited to be in the middle of it.”
The regular hours of the Good Hop will be from 3-10 PM Wednesday through Monday of each week, closed only on Tuesdays. Bar snacks are currently available while the local menu is being finalized, and then they’ll be serving heartier fare along with the snacks. They’ll be working with “Off the Grid and other pop-up food vendors to offer a variety of beer-friendly food. Food trucks are also being lined up to serve up beer-friendly bites.”
Beer Glassware Catalog 1892
Here’s an interesting historical artifact. It’s a trade catalog for bars and restaurants from a company in New York, the L & M Goldsticker company, which published an “illustrated catalogue” of “bar room glassware and bottlers supplies” in 1892.
Here’s the cover of the 80-page catalog:
And the back cover shows the brick and mortar store on Fulton Street in New York City.
They carried a surprising array of beer glasses for the discerning bar, including some for specific types of beer, along with a number of other accessories and equipment. You can see the entire catalogue online at the Hagley Digital Archives. Below is a majority of the pages with beer glasses on them.
Pages 6 and 7:
Page 12:
Pages 14 and 15:
Pages 16 and 17:
Pages 22 and 23:
The Science Of Being Served
There was an interesting little item in this month’s issue of Playboy, in the Raw Data section, that mentioned a “study of behaviors that get you served first in a crowded bar.” They found “that people standing square to the bar were served within 35 seconds 95% of the time.” Anyone have a read on how accurate that is, or whether you’ve noticed that it works? They also claimed that “eye contact was essential 86% of the time,” which makes some intuitive sense, at least.
