Today in 1906, US Patent 810745 A was issued, an invention of Hugo Gronwald, for his “Method of Pasteurizing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

I have invented a new and Improved Method of Pasteurizing Beer in Barrels, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The hitherto-known method of pasteurizing beer in the barrels in which it is to be transported had the disadvantage that when the barrels were provided with a separate expansion-chamber the natural carbonic acid contained in the beer was`partly lost and the germs or barm at times contained in this chamber could not be killed, so that the beer frequently overflowing into this chamber was not entirely free from germs, while when the necessary space for expansion was provided by not filling the barrel complete y it had to be filled up with beer from another source. These disadvantages are removed according to my improved method by dividing the quantity of beer required for completely filling the barrel between two connected vessels-namely, a lower detachable vessel, hereinafter called receiver, equal in capacity to the required space for expansion and a barrel communicating with and arranged above this vessel in such a manner that the receiver is completely filled, while in .the barrel an empty expansion-space is left equal to the capacity of’ the receiver. The beer is then pasteurized in the barrel and receiver and cooled in the usual way, after which the carbonic acid disengaged during the pasteurizing and which as risen into the. expansion-space in the barrel can be returned Without loss to the beer-‘for instance, by shaking the barrel. T he pasteurizing apparatus being then turned upside down, the beer runs into the barrel from the receiver, while the excess of carbonic acid mounts into the receiver, so that by this simple exchange of the contents of the vessels a filling up of the beer-barrel from another source is rendered unnecessary and loss of carbonic acid is avoided.

Various apparatus or plant may be used for carrying out my said method, provided the barrel and receiver are connected into a combined apparatus.

Today in 1883, US Patent 270844 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Richter, for his “Beer-Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to beer-coolers, and will be fully described hereinafter.

Heretofore with coolers constructed according. to the plan in general use the ends of the pipes through which the cooling-liquid passes have been united by means of elbows, and as the beer or other liquid to be cooled had to be poured into pans or troughs at the top to flow through perforations in said troughs down over and around the pipes to a pan at the bottom of the cooler, that it might be deprived of its heat in this passage, it has been found difficult to keep the pipes clean, owing to their many elbows, and hence my invention, the object of which is to simplify the connections be tween the pipes, dispenses with the elbows altogether and presents a solid, smooth surface at each end of the beer-cooler, and at the same time unites the parts by such connections as will .admit of the cooler being easily taken apart when it is to be cleaned or repaired.

Another object of my invention is to provide a means for controlling the flow of the cooling-fluid, all as will be fully set forth farther on.

Today in 1987, US Patent EP 0208450 A2 was issued, an invention of Ronald Shackleton, for his “Beer Filtration.” Here’s the Abstract:

It has been proposed to filter beer or tank bottoms using crossflow filtration. In accordance with the invention, this crossflow filtration is achieved using ceramic membranes. In a particular form shown in figure 1, a two stage filtration process combines the functions of clarification and recovery from tank bottoms. Beer is drawn from a tank 1 by a centrifugal pump 2 to a primary filtration stage comprising a circuit in- cludinga a circulating centrifugal pump 3, a ceramic membrane filter 4 and a cooler 5. A proportion of the circulating liquid is drawn off by a positive pump 8, and passed to a secondary filtration stage, again comprising a circuit including a circulating positive pump 9, a ceramic membrane filter 11 and a cooler 12. A proportion of the retentate is drawn off via a line 14. This retentate is of a pasty consistency and normally has a commercial value, in that it is free of kieselguhr or other filter aid.

Today in 1939, US Patent 2143565 A was issued, an invention of Raymond G. Minea, for his “Beer Stabilizer Coil Control.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to an improvement in regulator valves, particularly adapted for use in dispensing beer, ale, or the like; and to a dispensing apparatus for controlling the flow of the beer or other liquid through the valve.