Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 619133A: Bung & Tap For Barrels

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Today in 1899, US Patent 619133 A was issued, an invention of Richard F. Burke, for his “Bung and Tap for Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, but according to the description, he’s “invented certain ‘new and useful Improvements in Bungs and Taps for Barrels, of which the following is aspecication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and letters of reference marked thereon. He continues. “My invention relates to devices adapted to be employed in barrels containing liquids, whether under pressure or otherwise, whereby they may be readily tapped and as readily closed.”

The object of my invention is to produce a device a portion of which may remain permanently in a barrel or cask, the same being so constructed that by the introduction of a key-like faucet an inner core can be turned in a manner to permit the free discharge of the contents and the introduction of air into the cask. Said discharge is effected through a special device for the purpose which will be comparatively inexpensive in cost of manufacture, convenient to adjust, easy to manipulate, and at the same time to provide a secure and tight connection.

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Patent No. 2970627A: Barley Debearder & Seed Cleaner

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Today in 1961, US Patent 2496858 A was issued, an invention of Walter E. Wiesenthal, for his “Barley Debearder and Seed Cleaner.” there’s no Abstract, but according to the description, the ” invention relates to a seed cleaning and screening apparatus adapted to separate seeds of various crops which have been sown and harvested together. An important object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character which will operate effectively in debearding barley during the barley cleaning operation. A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus wherein the various stages of cleaning and classifying the seeds will be accomplished simultaneously with the operation of the apparatus.”
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Patent No. EP0224293B1: A Beer Tapping Installation

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Today in 1990, US Patent EP 0224293 B1 was issued, an invention of Jacobus Dijkstra and Gijsbert Slootweg, assigned to Heineken Technisch Beheer B.V., for “A Beer Tapping Installation.” there’s no Abstract, but the description begins with the “invention relates to a beer tapping installation comprising a first cask installation and cooling unit adjacent a second cooling unit, a third unit supporting a tap and a storage space accommodating a gas container, a beer line with a cask coupling at its one end extending from the inside of the first unit to the tap and connected with its other end to said tap arranged near the free end of said third unit which comprises a hollow support protruding vertically from the coupled units, enveloping the beer line adjacent the tap and being in open communication with said first unit, the beer line with cask coupling being movable longitudinally of the hollow support, and a gas supply line extending between the gas container and the cask compiling.”
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Patent No. 2496858A: Hop-Picking Machine

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Today in 1950, US Patent 2496858 A was issued, an invention of Millard E. Crowley, for his “Hop-Picking Machine.” there’s no Abstract, but according to the description, the “invention relates to hop-picking machines or the like, and more particularly to improvements in the construction and mode of operation of the same.” But it’s a complicated apparatus, best read the application to get the full picture of how the machine works.
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Patent No. 4138499A: Preparation Of Beer With Reduced Calories

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Today in 1979, US Patent 4138499 A was issued, an invention of Karl M. Strauss, Harold H. Geller, and Bernard J. Wagner, assigned to Pabst Brewing Co., for their “Preparation of Beer with Reduced Calories.” Here’s the Abstract:

A low dextrin and low carbohydrate beer having reduced calories is produced by fermenting wort with yeast in the absence of readily fermentable carbohydrates so that the yeast act on fermentable ingredients in the wort other than readily fermentable carbohydrates. After fermenting a major portion of fermentable ingredients, there is added to the resulting alcoholic wort a quantity of one or more readily fermentable sugars and fermentation is continued until the real degree of fermentation is at least 80%. By this process a low calorie beer can be prepared without the use of a carbohydrate splitting enzyme such as amyloglucosidase.

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Patent No. 514200A: Capped-Bottle Opener

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Today in 1894, US Patent 514200 A was issued, an invention of William Painter, for his “Capped-Bottle Opener.” There’s no Abstract, but in the introduction of his application, Painter states his “bottle opener essentially embodies a handle, having at one end thereof, a cap centering gage, and also a cap engaging lip, and however these three elements may be formed and combined, the centering gage should also afford a fulcrum, with respect of the handle and the cap engaging lip, and the latter should be substantially in line with the handle, so that when the opener is applied to a capped bottle, the gage will assure an appropriate bearing or fulcrum on top of the cap, with the lip located beneath or underlying a portion of the cap, and so enable the handle to serve as a lever for removing the cap from the bottle. Although without departure from my invention these three essential elements may be separately constructed and combined to form my bottle opener, they are more economically constructed integrally of iron or other suitably strong metal, as by molding or casting the opener in one piece, and it is in this form that my opener will be more particularly described.” After having patented the crown two years earlier, I guess he needed to invent a way to open the bottles, too.
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Patent No. 3790039A: Keg Tapping Assembly

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Today in 1974, US Patent 3790039 A was issued, an invention of Homer R. Zucconi, for his “Keg Tapping Assembly.” There’s no Abstract, but this application apparently continues from a previous filing, and it “relates to an attachment for enabling the use of a conventional tapping attachment for application to two different tapping systems, namely, one in which a single tapping connection is made at the top (central) hole axially of the keg, or to one in which a connection is made not only at the top central hole, but also at a bottom side hole, which double connections have been used for many years in the industry.”
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Patent No. 3076484A: Beer Dispenser

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Today in 1963, US Patent 3076484 A was issued, an invention of Edward E. Tennant, assigned to Schlitz Brewing Co., for his “Beer Dispenser.” There’s no Abstract, but the application describes it, saying the “dispenser of the present invention is adapted for use with beer kegs or the like, such as are frequently used for party, picnic and other related applications where no regular beer dispensing equipment is available. The present device is of the general type utilizing gravity flow of the contained beverage which type of dispenser is highly desirable inasmuch as no hand pump or other pressure device is required to force the beer from the keg. The dispenser of the invention constitutes an improvement over gravity feed devices previously employed for dispensing beer.”
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Patent No. D6383S: Design For Beer-Mugs

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Today in 1873, US Patent D6383 S was issued, an invention of John Oesteeling, for his “Design for Beer-Mugs.” There’s no Abstract, but the application describes it, stating that the “design consists in making the upper half of the body of the beer or ale glass barrel shaped, and the lower half of a reduced diameter, with straight or slightly-concave sides, so as to present the appearance of a stem.” Looks more like an ice cream float glass than a beer mug, though.

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Patent No. 37578A: Improved Extract Of Malt

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Today in 1863, US Patent 37578 A was issued, an invention of Thomas Hawks, for his “Improved Extract of Malt.” There’s no Abstract, but the entire application is rendered as a two-page image. This is a very old patent, older than most commercial breweries still with us, issued in the middle of the Civil War.

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