Exact Copy of Bar on the S. S. Queen Mary
An outstanding feature of interest is the new wonder bar at the Norwood Hotel which will be an exact copy of the bar on the S.S. Queen Mary. Britain’s world-beating liner, which fact in itself is assurance that the bar will be the latest in style and the utmost in comfort and service. The opening is set for Saturday.
The bar and back bar will be 30 feet long and will not only provide for cooling keg beer but also bottle beers and wines through a controlled system of frigidaire that will assure a cool, creamy, delicious drink.
A new coil arrangement that will entirely eliminate any beer remaining in the coils will be provided. The diameter of the coils will be less than that of an ordinary lead pencil so that the beer passing through a hair-like bore will be instantly cooled on all sides to a fixed temperature by electric refrigerator valves. This is impossible to do with ice as there is no way to control constant temperature in ice.
This new plan of using a pencillike pipe instead of a larger one allows the cold to come in contact with all of the beer. This small coil also prevents the formation of foam and the usual residue of stale beer remaining in the coil overnight. The beverage is forced through these tiny pipes by a pressure of 30 lbs. of outside filtered air so that there is no danger of foreign particles of hops or malt accumulating on the inside of the coils.
The equipment of the bar is of the most modern and efficient type. There is an automatic, stainless steel, gas-controlled sterilizer for every drinking glass used. Stainless steel sinks, drain boards, wine coolers, and ice containers, electrically cooled soda-water and drinking water and vented drains of stainless steel complete the list of up-to-date appointments.
The bar top is truly a work of art. It is cut from a single piece of solid mahogany, 30 feet long, and is finished to a high gloss with 16 coats of oil and stain fillers which make it acid and alcohol-proof. It is beveled in the front with a high roll and is grooved on the inner edge with a drip-catcher to prevent any drainage from the bar-top falling into glasses or under-bar equipment.
The front of the bar is built with a footrest large enough to allow the feet to set comfortably, rather than to merely hang as on the old-time rail. Above the face of the bar the wall is panelled with porcelain blocks, seamed with stainless steel and giving a very pleasing modernistic effect.
The room which houses this beautiful new bar is to be redecorated in keeping with the style of the bar itself and no expense is to be spared to make the place one of the finest of its kind in the country.
The date set for the reopening of the cocktail bar at the Norwood Hotel is Saturday, March 27th.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)
