Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 4322008A: Drinking Container

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Today in 1982, US Patent 4322008 A was issued, an invention of Ira Schneider, for his “Drinking Container,” or mug. Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention relates to a drinking container for increasing the number of and ostensibly decreasing the size of bubbles in a drinking liquid having dissolved gases contained therein. The container is provided with a roughened region on its normally smooth interior surface. The roughened region is preferably located at the bottom of the container and may be produced by grinding, sand blasting, acid etching, and the like. It is a feature of the disclosure that the roughened region may be formed of a separate element mechanically locked to the container.

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Patent No. 1578627A: Bottle Opener

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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.
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Patent No. 3175595A: Baled Hops Shredder

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Today in 1965, US Patent 3175595 A was issued, an invention of Morton William Coutts, assigned to Dominion Breweries Ltd., for his “Baled Hops Shredder.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to the breaking up and the measuring of compressed baled hops and the like, and has for its objects the provision of an apparatus for achieving this quickly and easily and also in measured quantities and at predetermined speeds and intervals of time, directly from the bales.”

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Patent No. 3946780A: Fermentation Container

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Today in 1976, US Patent 3946780 A was issued, an invention of John C. Sellers, for his “Fermentation Container.” Here’s the Abstract:

A flexible fermentation container which has, in place of the common air lock, a diaphragm having a Gurley porosity of 2 to 120 seconds. The diaphragm material, such as spun bonded polyethylene, allows fermentation gases to pass out of the container, but does not allow bacteria or other contaminants to enter.

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Patent No. EP 0645094A1: Improvement Of Gas And Alcohol Production By Yeast

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Today in 1995, US Patent EP 0645094 A1 was issued, an invention of Rooijen Rutger Jan Van, Peter Johannes Schoppink, and Ronald Baankreis, for their “Improvement of Gas and Alcohol Production by Yeast.” Here’s the Abstract:

Introduction of futile cycles in the glycolytic pathway of yeast strains enables enhanced gas production and ethanol production under stress conditions, e.g. in a sugar-rich dough having a sugar content of higher than 3% weight percentage based on flour, e.g. 20%, or at high ethanol concentration in an industrial ethanol production process.

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Patent No. EP 0645342A1: Safety Dispensing Valve

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Today in 1995, US Patent EP 0645342 A1 was issued, an invention of Robert Bernard Harwood Cook, for his “Safety Dispensing Valve.” Here’s the Abstract:

A spear valve assembly (5) has a valve body (14) for engagement with a keg neck (3) and a skirt (17) on the valve body (14) including openings (18) for the throughflow of beer during filling. A downtube assembly (12) is movable relative to the valve body (14) and the skirt (17) and includes a downtube (12) for projecting into beer in a keg. A locking member (7) is carried by the downtube assembly (12) and is arranged to project through at least one further opening (19) in the skirt. In use, the locking member (7) normally prevents the spear valve assembly (5) from being ejected from a beer keg by engagement behind the keg neck. However, for removal of the spear valve assembly (5) the downtube assembly (12) is tilted relative to the skirt (17) to retract the locking element (7).

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Patent No. 6871579B2: Device For Producing Beer And A Unit For After-Fermentation

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Today in 2005, US Patent 6871579 B2 was issued, an invention of Evgeny Konstantinovich Belkin, Andrei Arkadievich Peshkin, Vladimir Gennadievich Matveev, Leonid Mikhailovich Prikhozhan, and Yury Vasilievich Artamonov, for their “Device For Producing Beer and a Unit for After-Fermentation.” Here’s the Abstract:

The invention relates to the food industry. In order to reduce sales expenses and preserve the taste of beer, the inventive device is provided by i-number communication units, necessary for operational connection and disconnection of i-number units for after-fermentation, and each of i-number units for after-fermentation is embodied in such a way so that it is transportable, thermally insulated, hermetic, protected from deposited yeast mixing with non-filtrated beer while transportation and can be connected to a cooling system, arranged at a point of sale and/or dispense.

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Patent No. 1177529A: Beer-Faucet

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Today in 1916, US Patent 1177529 A was issued, an invention of Frederick Marquardt, for his “Beer-Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention is to provide a faucet especially adapted to be used for dispensing beer, ale orthe like, and the faucet is provided with a meter which is operated by the passage of the liquid through the same to register the quantities of liquid drawn through the faucet.”
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Patent No. 3311267A: Measuring Attachment For Beer Keg Or The Like

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Today in 1967, US Patent 3311267 A was issued, an invention of James E. Houston, Ryals E. Lee,and George M. Norman, for their “Measuring Attachment for Beer Keg or the Like.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to the dispensing of liquids including beer from closed opaque kegs or containers subjected to pressure to discharge the contents and with regard to which it is desirable to be able to determine the amount of liquid contained at any particular time between the initial dispensing and exhausting of the contents of such keg or container.” There’s not much more, but they explain its object:

It is an object of the invention to provide a simple, practical, readily usable, measuring attachment for a beer keg or the like, which can be quickly applied and removed, and by means of which an immediate reading of the contents can be made at any time.

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Patent Nos. 2546250A & 2546251A: Process Of Concentrating Yeast Slurries & For Drying Yeast

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Today in 1951, US Patents 2546250 A and 2546251 A were issued, both inventions of Stanley L. Baker, for his “Process of Concentrating Yeast Slurries” and “Process for Drying Yeast.” There’s no Abstract for either, but the description for the first is an “invention relat[ing] to the concentration of dilute suspensions or slurries of yeast and especially of brewers yeast slurry which will be referred to hereinafter as an example although it will be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto.”
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His second patent is described as an “invention relat[ing] to drying dilute suspensions or slurries of yeast and especially brewers yeast slurry which will be referred to hereinafter as an example, although it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted thereto.” You may have noticed that this description is exactly the same as the first. What’s clear is while these are two different patents, they are vey similar and are both about roughly the same yeast process. Even the drawings are only slightly different from one another.
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