Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 3995749A: Beer Keg Pallet

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Today in 1976, US Patent 3995749 A was issued, an invention of Lewis Byron Haskins, assigned to the Johns-Manville Corporation, for his “Beer Keg Pallet.” Here’s the Abstract:

A pallet for handling cylindrical objects, particularly beer kegs, is disclosed. The pallet has a flat deck with supporting end portions. The inner surfaces of the end portions contain dual curvature segments to rest with and restrain the objects. Intermediate legs are also present for support and further restraint of the objects. Preferably the pallet is molded of a lightweight plastic.

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Patent No. 5473161A: Method For Testing Carbonation Loss From Beverage Bottles Using IR Spectroscopy

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Today in 1995, US Patent 5473161 A was issued, an invention of John A. Nix, Stephen W. Zagarola, and Louis Jolie, for their “Method for Testing Carbonation Loss from Beverage Bottles using IR Spectroscopy.” Here’s the Abstract:

A method for measuring carbonation loss in beverage bottles and predicting shelf-life thereof utilizes infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy. The concentration of CO2 gas in a bottle being tested is measured with an infrared beam according to Beer’s Law. In one embodiment the CO2 gas measured is in the headspace of a test bottle partially filled with carbonated water. The walls of the bottle are clamped in a fixture to maintain the bottle diameter substantially constant. An IR beam is transmitted through the bottle just below the fixture, and absorption values of the beam are measured. Shelf-life is calculated from the absorption values. In another embodiment the test bottle is filled with compressed CO2 gas generated by dry ice placed in the bottle.

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Patent No. 197744A: Improvement In Hop-Vine Stripper And Separator

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Today in 1877, US Patent 197744 A was issued, an invention of Moses C. Smith, for his “Improvement in Hop-Vine Stripper and Separator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention is in the nature of an improvement in machinery for picking or stripping hops from their vines for separating the hops from the vine-leaves; for separating or breaking up bunches or clusters, and for delivering the hops into bags ready for the kiln, the said machinery being portable, and designed for use in the field.

The invention consists in rolls of soft yielding material for feeding the vines to the stripping mechanism; of moving stripping-teeth disengaging the hops from the vines as they are fed forward, and carrying said vines forward; of a table beneath said moving teeth for receiving the vines from the feed-rolls, and made yielding, so as to avoid choking by accumulation of the vines; of a toothed revolving apron, operating in connection with a toothed bar, for delivering said hops into a chute, from which they are discharged into bags in condition for the drying-kiln, these several elements being combined as hereinafter claimed.

The invention further consists, in connection with the above-described or equivalent mechanism, in a fan located in the forward end of the machine; a fan-hood, the throat of which is guarded by a number of tongues depending from the yielding table before described, to prevent the escape of hops and leaves into the fan-casing; a perforated apron moving over rollers, and. a shaker or sieve placed beneath the said apron, and over the and the perforated apron, over which the vines pass, and between which the hops fall onto the toothed apron.

The invention also consists in arms or rests secured to the frame of the machine, and projecting laterally therefrom at either side of the feed-opening, for the purpose of permitting the stacking of the hop-poles, with the vines thereon, in convenient reach of those feeding the machine.

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Patent No. 1046298A: Beer Cooler

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Today in 1912, US Patent 1046298 A was issued, an invention of John W. Hurley, for his “Beer Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to beer coolers.

The ordinary beer cooler coil which is usually made of block tin is subject to numerous objections, among which may be mentioned its short life, difficulty in cleaning, tendency to accumulate impurities which contaminate the beer passing there-through, difficulty in detaching and removing it from its place in the cooler box, and its pitting and disintegration by the ammonia in the ice water. Among its other defects is its relatively great expense and necessity for comparatively frequent renewal, aside from being insanitary.

My invention has for its object the provision of a beer cooler of simple, strong and durable construction which may be inexpensively manufactured and installed, either originally when the beer dispensing apparatus is put in, or subsequently to supplant a coil cooler. A further object is to provide an improved beer cooler which can be readily taken apart and quickly washed and cleaned, will not be liable to injury, as is the case with cooler coils, will not be subject to disintegration by the action of ammonia, will at all times afford a free and easy circulation for the beer and the ready disposal of the ice about the beer cooler and the flow or circulation of the ice water therethrough.

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Patent No. 416157A: Apparatus For Drying Hops

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Today in 1889, US Patent 416157 A was issued, an invention of Samuel Cleland Davidson, for his “Apparatus For Drying Tea, Hops, SLiced Fruit, &c.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The object of this invention is the construction of an apparatus in which a very strong current of heated air or cool desiccated air can be used for rapidly drying tea, coffee, cocoa, cinchona, hops, sliced fruits, seeds, meal, or other such substances, on sieves or perforated trays arranged in a drying-chamber one above the other on a vertical column, and movable in successive order of rotation from bottom to top of the column without the martial being whirled by the strength of the current into heaps on the trays while in the drying-chamber, or blown away off them by it when the trays are being put into or taken out of the apparatus.

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Patent No. 3923897A: Production Of Hoplike Beverage Bittering Materials

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3923897 A was issued, an invention of Leonard R. Worden, assigned to the Kalamazoo Spice Extract Co., for his “Production of Hoplike Beverage Bittering Materials.” If the Kalamazoo Spice Extract Co. sounds familiar, that’s where Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson worked as in intern in college and then as his first job afterwards, as a hop chemist. Here’s the Abstract:

Production of hoplike beverage bittering materials by the peracid oxidation of 3′,5′-dialkyl-2′,4′,6′-trihydroxyacylphenones to 6-acyl-2,4-dialkyl-2-hydroxycyclohexane-1,3,5-triones (tetrahydrohumulones or tetrahydro-alpha acids) and isomerization thereof to 2,4-diacyl-5-alkyl-4-hydroxycyclopentane-1,3-diones (tetrahydroisohumulones or tetrahydroiso-alpha acids).

hop-flowers

Patent No. 572257A: Hermetically Closing Jug

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Today in 1896, US Patent 572257 A was issued, an invention of Albert Heinemann, for his “Hermetically Closing Jug.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a jug, pitcher, or like receptacle having a slightly conical neck and a correspondingly-shaped lid, such lid being tightly closed by means of a suitable locking device, which can be readily opened or closed by a suitably-shaped lever. A packing-ring of india-rubber or other suitable material is placed on the lid in such manner that it is tightly pressed against the conical neck of the receptacle when the lid is closed. This receptacle is particularly adapted for gaseous liquids, such as beer, as also for preserves, seeing that the packing-ring prevents any gases escaping, and also prevents atmospheric air gaining access tothe contents of the receptacle.

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Patent No. D48217S: Design For A Drinking Glass

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Today in 1915, US Patent D48217 S was issued, an invention of Frederick E. Anderson, for his “Design for a Drinking Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

I have invented a certain new, original, and ornamental Design for a Drinking-Glass, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the drawings forming a part thereof, wherein the side wall of the drinking glass is substantially straight from its lower end upwardly to a point near its top edge, at which point a pronounced outward curvature is developed in the form of a concavo convex bulge. This rounded or bulged formation is comparatively shallow vertically and terminates in the top edge, which edge is substantially in the plane of the straight side wall portion. It is thus characteristic of the design that the side of the glass presents a substantially straight line from its bottom to its top edge, save the outward bulge-which is adjacent to the top.

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Patent No. WO2007113292A3: Mashing Process

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Today in 2007, US Patent WO 2007113292 A3 was issued, an invention of Niels Elvig, for his “Mashing Process.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention provides processes for production of wort and beer from a granular starch adjunct grist mashed-in at a temperature below the gelatinization temperature of said starch.

Mash

Patent No. 637826A: Combined Corkscrew And Valve For Beer Pumps

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Today in 1899, US Patent 637826 A was issued, an invention of Frank Preston, for his “Combined Corkscrew and Valve for Beer Pumps.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention relates to a combined corkscrew and valve for beer-pumps.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of beer-pumps and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device designed more especially for use at picnics and for private use and adapted to serve as a corkscrew and capable of enabling the proper pressure to be maintained on a keg or other receptacle of beer or other liquid to maintain the same in a fresh condition until it is entirely consumed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this character adapted to be readily carried in the pocket and capable of being quickly applied to a receptacle.

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