Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 264185A: Refrigerator

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Today in 1882, US Patent 264185 A was issued, an invention of James Miller of Oakland, California, for his “Refrigerator.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to the class of refrigerators; and it consists generally in the construction and arrangement of peculiar vessels, providing for the holding of the substance to be kept cool, and a surrounding and underlying water-space.

It consists particularly in a deep vessel with vertical sides, and provided with a centrally perforated false bottom, upon which a holding-vessel of smaller diameter and extending above the exterior vessel is placed, whereby a surrounding and underlying water-space is formed.

It further consists in the provision of an airtight cover for the holding-vessel, all of which will hereinafter fully appear.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical, and effective refrigerating device for containing any substance or article which should be kept cool.

I can’t say for certain if this was even used by breweries, but the shape seems to suggest that it may have been.
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Patent No. 1003014A: Automatic Keg Washing And Sprinkling Machine

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Today in 1911, US Patent 1003014 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Strohl, for his “Automatic Keg Washing and Sprinkling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a combination can-piercing device and drinking cup.

One of the principal objects of the invention is the provision of :a drinking cup provided with can-piercing instrumentalities depending from its bottom wall, guide means for attaching the cup to the top of a beverage can and sealing means associated with the cup and guide means to prevent leakage between the top of the can and the outside of the cup after the top of the can has been pierced.

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Patent No. 3758008A: Tapping Assembly For Beer Kegs

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Today in 1973, US Patent 3758008 A was issued, an invention of Mack S. Johnston, for his “Tapping Assembly for Beer Kegs and the Like.” Here’s the Abstract:

A keg adapter for beer kegs and the like with gas and liquid passageways containing normally closed valves, which when opened permit compressed gas to be admitted to the keg and beer to be withdrawn therefrom, said valves being biased toward the closed position by actuators which contain permanent magnets. A tapper is connected to a source of compressed gas and to a beer faucet and contains a tap rod, which, when manually actuated, seals the tapper to the adapter and interconnects the gas source and the faucet with the interior of the keg.

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Patent No. 5553327A: Hat Made From Cardboard Beer Container

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Today in 1996, US Patent 5553327 A was issued, an invention of Anthony R. Koecher and Kevin M. Schoeller, for their “Hat Made from Cardboard Beverage Container and Method of Making the Same.” Here’s the Abstract:

A hat is constructed from a cardboard product container, for example a 24-pack beer package including a product logo and other graphics thereon. The hat provides a new use for a previously wasted container material, and enables fans or collectors to display their loyalty and support of a particular brand.

This is certainly an odd one to have been patented. I’ve definitely seen hats made from 12-pack containers or similar packages, but I don’t think I knew the process was one that could be, or had been, patented.
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Patent No. 3834429A: Method And Apparatus For Detecting Beverage Bottles Having A Lip Damaged Outwardly Of The Crown Sealing Surface

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Today in 1974, US Patent 3834429 A was issued, an invention of Arthur F. Schulz, assigned to the Schlitz Brewing Co., for his “Method and Apparatus for Detecting Beverage Bottles Having a Lip Damaged Outwardly of the Crown Sealing Surface.” Here’s the Abstract:

Method and apparatus are disclosed for the detection of beverage bottles having a lip damaged outwardly of the crown sealing surface. Such detection is provided for in conjunction with the bottle filling operation wherein the filling apparatus seals on the bottle lip outwardly of the crown sealing surface and the bottle is then subjected to a counter pressure. If the counter pressure developed in the bottle is less than the pressure imposed on the beverage in the source reservoir, a short fill results. Thus, if the bottle lip is damaged outwardly of the crown sealing surface and in the region of sealing, a lesser counter pressure is developed in the bottle due to leakage past the seal which will result in a detectable short fill and can be rejected from the production line.

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Patent No. 3103297A: Combination Can Opener And Drinking Cup

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Today in 1963, US Patent 3103297 A was issued, an invention of George H. Taft, for his “Combination Can Opener and Drinking Cup.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to a combination can-piercing device and drinking cup.

One of the principal objects of the invention is the provision of :a drinking cup provided with can-piercing instrumentalities depending from its bottom wall, guide means for attaching the cup to the top of a beverage can and sealing means associated with the cup and guide means to prevent leakage between the top of the can and the outside of the cup after the top of the can has been pierced.

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Patent No. 2806217A: Apparatus For Clarifying Brewer’s Wort

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Today in 1957, US Patent 2806217 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Schmatz, for his “Apparatus For Clarifying Brewer’s Wort.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to an apparatus for clarifying brewers wort.

Especially this invention refers to a process for clarifying the wort discharged from a straining vat by means of drain pipes communicating with a standpipe, drain taps being provided in the drain pipes substantially under the straining vat.

It is an object of the invention to eliminate this disadvantage so that the wort will remain substantially clear after changing the taps from the clarifying trough to the drain pipes.

According to the invention the above is brought about in such a way that at the beginning of the draining of clear wort first a communication with a small clear opening is established between the clarifying vat at the communicating system until clear water runs in the drain pipes and the standpipe is displaced by the wort, and only then the clear opening is enlarged to the full clear opening of the drain pipes.

This process may be carried out in such a way that the clarifying tap is not completely adjusted to the drain pipe when adjusting its passage from the clarifying trough to the drain pipe, so that the clear opening of the passage is reduced in this way. In this operation, however, it is difficult to reduce the clear opening to the necessary degree, that is, the opening will be adjusted too small or too wide. If the clear opening is adjusted too wide, the purpose of the process according to the invention will not be attained, and the Wort will become turbid. If the clear opening is adjusted too small, the clear water will be displaced too slowly. Several drain pipes each provided with a tap being usually provided, the clear opening of the passage cannot uniformly be adjusted at will even with the greatest care. If some taps are opened too much and others too little, an undesired turbidness of the wort will occur.

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Patent No. 5664702A: Foot Operated Beer Keg Pressurizer

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Today in 1997, US Patent 5664702 A was issued, an invention of Christopher E. Beauchamp, for his “Foot Operated Beer Keg Pressurizer.” Here’s the Abstract:

A foot-operated beer-keg pressurizer has a floor-based foot pump (1) with which air is pumped through a pressure tube (17) from a variably remote beer keg (2) to a keg faucet (9) that is attachable to conventional beer-keg connectors (6). A beer tube (8) extended from the keg faucet in the variably remote beer keg has a beer tap (7) that is preferably a squeeze or push-button type. Foot operation of the floor-based foot pump by a user or by a separate person frees both hands of a user for filling beer-drinking containers.

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Patent No. 4610888A: Beer Foam Enhancing Process And Apparatus

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Today in 1986, US Patent 4610888 A was issued, an invention of James Teng and John H. Dokos, assigned to the Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., for their “Beer Foam Enhancing Process and Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beer foaming process and apparatus in which a smooth stable foam is formed by intimately admixing a nitrogen containing gas, preferably air, by a Venturi effect in a nozzle positioned on the beer tap. The nozzle has a mixing chamber with a perforated plate at its intake end to divide the flow of beer from the keg into smaller streams of higher velocity in the mixing chamber, intake ports in the side walls of the chamber for admitting gas into the chamber, and a screen of 30 to 200 mesh at the discharge end of the nozzle to form the stable foam discharged from the chamber.

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Patent No. 325979A: Hop-Breaker

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Today in 1885, US Patent 325979 A was issued, an invention of Fredrich Louis Sebastian, for his “Hop-Breaker.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the construction and operation of a machine for breaking up hops preparatory to their use by the brewer.

The object of the invention is to so prepare the hops that very little time will be necessary to extract the properties of such hops when put into the hot liquor in the process of making beer, and thereby lessening the loss of the aroma in the steam arising from such liquor. By breaking the hops up I do not mean to be understood as grinding them to a powder, as if they were reduced to this condition they would be comparatively worthless to the manufacturer of beer.

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