Today in 1883, US Patent 280385 A was issued, an invention of Clement A. Maus, for his “Apparatus For and Process of Cooling and Condensing the Foam Which Forms on the Surface of Fermenting Liquor.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to an apparatus for cooling and condensing the foam of fermenting liquors, wort, beer, ale, &c, in which a condensing-chamber operates in conjunction with suitable pipes, a current of cooled and purified air from an ice-reservoir, and a vessel containing the fermenting liquid; and the objects of my invention are, first, to provide a means for condensing the foam that is forming on the surface of fermenting wort, beer, ale, &c., by blowing on or beating it with a current of cooled air, thus converting the foam into a liquid state again and permitting it to run back into the fermenting body of liquid; second, to provide facilities for counteracting the volatilization of the flavor and fine hop aroma of the wort, beer, ale, &c., while undergoing several stages of fermentation; third, to provide a means for preventing the escape of the volatile portion of the hop aroma and flavor of the fermenting wort, beer, ale, 850., during the first and last stages of the fermenting body. These objects I accomplish by the mechanism illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which the entire apparatus is illustrated by a single figure, which is partially in section to show the construction and arrangement of certain parts more fully.