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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 655330A: Hop Bleaching And Drying Kiln

August 7, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1900, US Patent 655330 A was issued, an invention of James Dowdell and Arthur B.C. Dowdell, for their “Hop Bleaching and Drying Kiln.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

Our invention relates to a means for bleaching and drying hops or other material.

It consists, essentially, of a room or compartment having a foraminous floor adapted to support the hops to be dried and in conjunction therewith a covering which may be drawn over the surface of the hops to confine and prevent heat and moisture from escaping therefrom during the process of bleaching. The sulfur fumes produced in any usual or suitable manner are caused to rise into the hops and are there retained until the bleaching is perfected, after which the covering may be removed, and heat being applied the drying will be completed.

US655330-0

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Hops, Law, Patent

Patent No. 194010A: Improvement In Beer Pumps

August 7, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1877, US Patent 194010 A was issued, an invention of Edward Stewart, for his “Improvement in Beer Pumps.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to an improvement in beer-pumps, the object being to provide a beer pump of such construction that the vacuum formed within a barrel or keg of beer or other liquid as the same is drawn therefrom maybe supplied with air, and any desired pressure maintained within the keg, thereby preventing the escape of the contained gases and rendering the beer pleasant to the taste.

My invention consists in the combination, with an air-pump, the upper end of which is provided with a flexible tube to connect with a barrel or keg, of a pivoted platform, one end of which rests in contact with the lower head of the bellows or piston, While the opposite or free end of the platform projects outwardly to allow the party engaged in drawing the beer to stand on the treadle and operate the pump by his weight to force air into the keg as the beer is being drawn therefrom, whereby the hands of the operator are entirely free to hold the glass or other vessel into which the beer is to be drawn, and also to regulate the faucet and accurately govern the flow of beer, the weight of the operator on the movable platform serving to force a sufficient quantity of air into the barrel or cask to effect the desired object.

US194010-0

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Cask, History, Kegs, Law, Patent

Patent No. 1034557A: Beer Spraying Device

August 6, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1912, US Patent 1034557 A was issued, an invention of Max Adamowski, for his “Beer Spraying Device.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to improvement-s in spraying devices for faucets and more specifically to devices of this character especially designed for use in beer faucets. a

Ordinarily spraying of beer at the faucet as it is drawn is not desired since such spraying results in the formation of foam. However, Where a large bucket or can trade is carried on this spraying to facilitate the formation of foam is desired since the buckets or cans brought by the purchasers are of greater capacity than the amount which is purchased. The bartender in catering to this class of trade is desirous of filling the can or bucket irrespective of the size thereof for-.the amount tendered. This being so the object in forming a large amount of foam in the top of the can or bucket is obvious.

The object of my invention then is the production of the spraying device of the character mentioned, which will be effective in the formation of foam in the receptacle into which the liquid or beer is disposed, and further, a spraying device which will be of simple and economical construction, hence of low cost to manufacture.

US1034557-0

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing

Patent No. 3100056A: Reusable Bottle Cases

August 6, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1963, US Patent 3100056 A was issued, an invention of John A. Friday Jr., assigned to the Duquesne Brewing Company Of Pittsburgh, for his “Reusable Bottle Cases.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates broadly to reusable containers for bottles and the like and is particularly useful for beverage bottle cases, such as beer cases where the container is subjected to frequent reuse.

In my invention, I provide a reusable case for bottles and the like comprising, in combination, a unitary molded container having side walls, end walls, a bottom wall and opposed top flap elements, all of said elements and walls being integrally formed complete in a single piece of plastic material and a plurality of longitudinal and lateral cell-forming partition members disposed in said container, said end walls having handle means comprising openings in the upper central portions thereof, said top flap elements having lockable closing means selectively engageable with said handle means. I further provide hinge means comprising thinned flexible portions in said top flap elements adjacent said side walls. In addition, I provide convex bulges in the side and end walls at the corners of the container. Further, I provide roughened surfaces on particular portions of the container to prevent slippage between the cases from occurring when stacking or transporting them.

Thus, I have invented a bottle case that is a unitary container which is integrally formed as a single piece of plastic, which is tough and durable and may be used many times over and above the ordinary case. My case ice has a lockably closable top for the complete protection of the bottles contained therein and bulged corners for the protection of the printed material on the sides and ends of the container.

The advantages of a unitary structure are, inter alia, that the case is free of connections that are weaker than the case itself. There is less likelihood of weak spots. It also eliminates costly assembly operations and thus, is not only stronger but less expensive.

US3100056-0

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Bottles, History, Law, Packaging, Patent

Patent No. 2291980A: Beer Barrel

August 4, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1942, US Patent 230815 A was issued, an invention of James C. Mullen, assigned to the Verdi Bros Cooperage Company, for his “Beer Barrel.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to barrels, vats and the like and more particularly to the type of barrels employed in the shipment and dispensation of malt-liquors and similar products.

This invention specifically relates to barrels made up of ply Wood laminations.

It is a common practice that barrels, used for the purposes referred to, are preferably built up of barrel staves of which their end portions are made much heavier than their middle portions, whereby to resist the severe handling in shipment.

When employing ply wood laminations in the manufacture of barrel staves, a thickening and thereby strengthening of their end portions introduces however certain mechanical difficulties.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a practical barrel stave comprising wood ply laminations and of which the physical contour of said stave, approximates or duplicates those of the conventional one-piece, oaken staves.

A further object is to provide a stave adapted for the manufacture of barrels, and of which the wood ply lamination utilized therein are formed and arranged in a manner to give to the barrel all of the desirable characteristics of the conventional oaken barrel, while being cheaper to manufacture, stronger in construction and therefore more enduring.

US2291980-0
US2291980-1

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, News, Politics & Law Tagged With: Barrels, History, Law, Patent

Patent No. 457243A: Beer Pump

August 4, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1891, US Patent 457243 A was issued, an invention of Charles A. Bartliff, for his “Beer Pump.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

My invention relates to an improvement in air-pumps for forcing and compressing air in a cask; and it consists in the peculiar construction and novel combination of parts, that will be more fully set forth hereinafter, and particularly pointed out in the claim.

The object of my invention is to provide an air-pump which is adapted to force beer or other liquid from the cask by atmospheric pressure; and a further object of my invention is to provide a simple, effective, and inexpensive pump which may be operated either by foot or by hand power.

US457243-0
US457243-1

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing

Patent No. 230815A: Beer Cooler

August 3, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1880, US Patent 230815 A was issued, an invention of Alvin D. Puffer, for his “Beer Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to improvements in a class of apparatus for reducing the temperature of soda-water or other liquids manufactured by myself, and shown and described in Letters Patent of the United States issued to me on the 6th day of December, 1870, and the 3d day of April, 1877, respectively, the purpose of the invention shown in the first-named patent being to economize the waste of ice used in cooling liquids; and it consists, primarily, in conducting the liquid to be refrigerated through a preliminary or auxiliary series or coil of pipes or cylinders situated within the ice-water which accumulates from the melting of the ice with which the primary cylinders or coolers are packed, or otherwise taking advantage of the low degree of temperature of such ice water to reduce the temperature of the soda water or other liquid previous to its entering the primary coolers, which receive cold directly from the ice, while the invention embraced in the second-named patent consists in a new or peculiar manner of conducting ,soda water through a cooler or refrigerating apparatus, the purpose of the invention being to thoroughly and effectually carry or force the water, in its passage through a series of cooling-cylinders, against the refrigerated sides or inner surfaces of such cylinders, or to prevent the formation of a central or inner current through the body of water in such cylinders.

US230815-0

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing

Patent No. 6769981B1: Hop Vine Processor

August 3, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 2004, US Patent 6769981 B1 was issued, an invention of Kenneth J. Perrault and Charles J. Perrault, for their “Hop Vine Processor.” Here’s the Abstract:

A method and apparatus for the processing of hop vines. An automated hop processor cuts bulk-harvested hop vines into manageable segments with a minimum of handling operations. The bulk of hop vines are off-loaded onto an in-feed conveyor by positioning a transport on the in-feed conveyor. After verifying proper position of the transport a fork can be inserted into the transport. The transport is moved off of the in-feed conveyor and the fork removed from the bulk of hop vines. The Hop vines are then moved on the in-feed conveyor to a cutter, after verifying the transport is clear of the in-feed conveyor. The in-feed conveyor is stopped when the hop vines are in position for cutting and the hops are cut with a cutting mechanism. The cut hop vines are then conveyed to a shredder for shredding and further processing into component hop cones and hop vine silage.

US06769981-20040803-D00001

Filed Under: Beers, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Hops, Law, Patent

Patent No. 3047190A: Beer Fermenting Tank

July 31, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1962, US Patent 3047190 A was issued, an invention of August H. Bayer, for his “Beer Fermenting Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to storage tanks and is particularly directed to a novel closed fermenting tank for use in the brewing industry.

It is common practice in breweries to use fermenting tanks in which beer is fermented for an appreciable length of time under controlled pressure and temperature conditions. While the size of these tanks varies, a typical fermenting tank is adapted to contain 1300 barrels of beer. The tank is substantially filled with beer except for an air space at the top of the tank to permit collection of gases produced during the fermentation process. It will readily be appreciated that the walls of the fermentation tank are thus subjected not only to the hydrostatic loads caused by the contained liquid, but in addition are subjected to stresses induced by the resultant gas pressure.

In the past, it has been conventional in breweries to construct fermentation tanks of rectangular cross-section and to provide a plurality of spaced reinforcing ribs which extend completely around the tank; i.e., across the top and bottom Walls and upwardly along the side walls of the tank. While tanks of this type have proved to be satisfactory from a strength standpoint, they utilize an excessive amount of floor space for a given capacity because of the reinforcing members on the sides of the tank.

It is an important object of the present invention to provide a fermenting tank in which a maximum usable capacity is obtained for the door space occupied by the tank. Thus, a tank constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention provides approximately eight percent more capacity than a tank having the same overall dimensions of the conventional type referred to above.

The present invention is predicated in part upon the concept of providing a tank structure in which only the upper and lower portions of the side walls are reinforced to resist stresses as a beam, while the center portions of the side walls are intentionally left unreinforced, are slightly curved, and are made of a relatively thin material so that these walls undergo large deflections and thus function as membranes.

More particularly, one preferred form of tank constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention comprises a bottom member which is supported on a plurality of spaced transverse beams, or box type sections. Two arcuate side walls are welded to the bottom, and to a top, and end members to form a closed tank. The side walls are reinforced by a plurality of spaced upper and lower stiffener members which extend upwardly approximately of the height of the tank from the bottom of the tank and downwardly approximately of the height of the tank from the top. Thus, the upper and lower portions of the side walls of the tank adjacent to these stiffeners function as a beam; i.e., members adapted to resist sizable bending stresses. The center portions of the tank side walls, however, are completely unreinforced and these portions of the side walls, which are curved outwardly and are thinner than the side walls of conventional tanks, are adapted to deflect outwardly an appreciable amount; for example, more than one inch for a of an inch side wall. This portion of each side wall thus functions mechanically as a membrane; that is, a member which may be subjected to ant liquid is circulated to remove excess heat and main large tensile stresses (which the side walls can readily resist without yield), but is not subjected to sizable bending stresses (which the side walls could not resist without yield).

Additionally, in accordance with the present invention, the lower stiffener members are of tapered configuration having a wide base adjacent to the bottom portion of the tank and a narrow upper end. Thus, these reinforcing members function as cantilever beams having a greater outward deflection adjacent at their upper ends than at their lower ends so that the reinforcing members help to provide a smooth transition in the side walls between the areas of the side walls which function as a beam and those areas of the side wall which function as a membrane. 7

in further accord with this invention, each of the upper stiffener members is of double tapered configuration including one arm extending downwardly along the upper portion of the side walls, and a second arm extending particularly, it is well known that during the fermenting process a certain amount of heat is developed which tends to raise the temperature of the beer above the optimum temperature for fermentation. Accordingly, it is conventional to provide on the interior of a fermentation tank an elongated at temperator coil through which a cool train the beer at a predetermined temperature. One of the obvious difficulties with interior coils of this type is that of cleaning the surface of the coil to keep it in a sanitary condition.

US3047190-0
US3047190-1

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing

Patent No. 129938A: Improvement In Beer Faucets

July 30, 2016 By Jay Brooks

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Today in 1872, US Patent 129938 A was issued, an invention of Patrick Francis Donnelly, for his “Improvement in Beer Faucets.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

Referring to the drawing, A is a bush or socket-piece, which tapers slightly from the shoulder ato the end. From the shoulder a to the end a fine-threaded screw is cut. This piece accommodates the valve B, which controls the flow of the liquid, and is screwed into the head of the barrel. The valve B rests against a rubber seat, C, being held, when closed, against this seat by the spiral spring b wound round the stem of the valve. D is a plug having several holes through it to permit the liquid to pass through. This plug is screwed into the end of the bush-piece, which projects into the barrel. At the outer end of the bush-piece, which projects outside of the barrel, there is an internal screw cut, and into this the conduit-stem E of the faucet is screwed. F is the operating-rod, which terminates, after passing beyond the conduit stem, in a little wheel, G. This rod F has a double-threaded screw at f, which screws into a corresponding thread cut in the interior of the conduit-stem. H is a packing-box of usual form, supplied, where the rod F passes out of the conduit-stem, to prevent leakage. I is the exit-passage for the liquid.

The operation is as follows: The bushpiece is inserted in the barrel-head, and may remain there until the barrel is worn out. The stem’ part of the faucet is applied when the liquid is to be drawn off, the flow being regulated by screwing the rod F against the valve B.

Instead of the double-threaded screw being supplied on the rod F, this rod may be pushed forward and drawn back by other suitable mechanism not necessary to describe.

US129938-0

Filed Under: Beers, Breweries, Just For Fun, Politics & Law, Related Pleasures Tagged With: Brewing Equipment, History, Law, Patent, Science of Brewing

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