Today in 2006, US Patent WO 2006046879 A2 was issued, an invention of Alberto D. Rivera, Emiliano S. Macapugay, Jade Y. De Carlos, assigned to the San Miguel Corporation, for their “Method of Making Colorless and Artificially Colored Clear Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:

This invention is directed to a method of preparing a colorless and artificially colored, clear beer through adsorption process by contacting the wort with activated carbon during wort boiling. This method produces a colorless, clear beer with originally processed inherent taste and aroma utilizing existing brewery process and equipment. Artificially colored, clear beer such as primary- colored beer, which can be conveniently produced using the colorless, clear product is also disclosed.

Of course, Miller Brewing tried their hand at something similar with their Miller Clear beer, which they tested in 1993. And of course, there was Coors Brewing’s Zima, released a little before that, although they referred to it as a “malt beverage” rather than a beer.