Today in 1945, US Patent 2373294 A was issued, an invention of Richard T. Cornelius, for his “Beer Dispensing Device.” There’s no Abstract for his tapping device, and it’s almost impossible to find a simple description because the OCR did such a bad job reading the application.
Today in 1990, US Patent 4915959 A was issued, an invention of Esko Pajunen, Veijo Makinen, Heikki O. Lommi, and Markku S. Loisa, for their “Method for the Continuous Maturation of Fermented Beer” or the “Decarboxylation of Acetolactate to Diacetyl, Enzymatic Reduction to Acetoin.” Here’s the Abstract:
Beer is fermented by the use of yeast and after fermentation the yeast is removed and the maturation or lagering of the beer is accomplished by a continuous maturation process which involves heat treating the beer to convert all or substantially all the alpha acetolactate and other diacetyl precursors present to diacetyl, cooling the beer, and feeding the heat treated fermented beer through a reaction column packed with immobilized yeast cells at a flow rate which effects the conversion of said diacetyl to acetoin in order to lower the concentration of said diacetyl to levels which do not result in tastes normally considered unacceptable for a beer.
Today in 1894, US Patent 518137 A was issued, an invention of James P. Day, for his “Apparatus for Dispensing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention has reference to [an] apparatus for dispensing liquids, particularly those which are charged with an effervescent gas, and is designed more especially for the dispensing of beer.” Here was the goal:
It has primarily for its object to preserve the freshness of the beer and to keep it palatable and wholesome whereby the reputation of the brewery where the beer, is made is maintained for brewing a high grade of beer and the sales of the retailer are increased so far as the same can be done by establishing a reputation for furnishing fresh and palatable beer to the consumer.
Today in 1940, US Patent 2196193 A was issued, an invention of Leslie A. Chambers and Edward W. Smith, for their “Method of Aging Alcoholic Liquors.” There’s no Abstract, but the description claims that the “present invention relates to the application of vibratory energy, particularly at supersonic frequencies, to the aging of alcoholic liquors used as beverages, stimulants, etc., for human consumption as, for instance, whiskies, brandies, rums, liqueurs, and to some extent to the so-called lighter or undistilled liquors as wines, cider and champagne and also beer and ale.” That seems like a strange idea to me, but who knows? The application mentions using an oscillator. It must have been too successful, or we’d be using oscillators to age all our beers. It’s certainly an interesting read to hear some of the ideas circa 1940 about aging alcohol.
Today in 1907, US Patent 850070 A was issued, an invention of Richard B Spikes, for his “Beer-Tapper.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s what the description claims. “My invention relates to that class of devices known ‘beer-tappers,’ which in the nature of appliances for opening and dispensing beer from the keg or barrel. Such devices have heretofore been employed which simultaneously opened an outlet for beer and an interior air.”
Today in 1980, US Patent 4197321 A was issued, an invention of Gustav W. Chyba and John H. Dokos, assigned to Anheuser-Busch, Incorporated, for their “Process for Brewing Beer and Treating Spent Grains.” Here’s the Abstract:
In the brewing of beer, spent grain at about 90% moisture from a straining tank having no internal rotating rake is collected and pumped to a centrifuge which reduces the moisture of the spent grain to about 70% and provides spent grain liquor of about 2.0 to 4.5% or more of total solids. The spent grain liquor is stored in a tank at 165° F. to 170° F. and held until it is used up to 50% of the sparge liquid for a subsequent brew in the straining tank. The spent grains at about 70% moisture are directed to a large holding tank. Nutritious brewery waste streams are added thereby increasing the nutritional value.
Today in 1924, US Patent 1489442 A was issued, an invention of John W. Kauffmann, for his “Process of Making Duplicate Packages of Hops.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description it’s stated that he’s “invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Duplicate Packages of Hops, which has for its object to render the process, more expeditions and considerably cheaper than has heretofore been done.” More specifically:
In making a large number of hop packages of equal weight, it is; necessary to open’ a bale of pressed hops, to take a given quantity, by weight, therefrom, to subject said quantity to pressure, and then to separate the unit obtained thereby into a plurality. of units, each of which is placed into a container, and this has hitherto been effected by subjecting the hops after the removal thereof from the bale to a considerably greater pressure than tliez same are subjected In the process which I employ and seek to secure by these Letters Patent I do not have to subject the hops to any greater pressure than the same are subjected to in baling them, and I can make a large number of hop packages of equal weight and size a single operation of the process. In carrying out this process I make a machine which is sufficiently illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming a part hereof to enable a description of the process which is herein set forth to be understood by one skilled in the art.
Today in 1964, US Patent D197919 S was issued, an invention of Richard C. Runyon, for his “Beer Bottle.” There’s no Abstract, and there’s really noting whatsoever apart from the “elevational view of a beer bottle.”
Today in 1964, US Patent 3128188 A was issued, an invention of Donald B. McIntire, assigned to the Union Carbide Corp., for his “Beer Lagering Process.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “The main object of the present invention to provide a process for producing lagered beer without storing the beer.” I think what I’m most curious about is what interest a company like Union Carbide would have in holding a patent for making lager beer? The process is described in great detail as the description continues.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a process for lagering ruh beer comprising freezing water from the ruh beer so as to produce a slurry of concentrated beer, ice, and other solids; and removing the ice and other solids from the concentrated beer, while maintaining the beer in a substantially inert atmosphere throughout all process steps. Thus, the inventive process produces concentrated, lagered beer by freeze concentrating ruh beer.
Another novel and important feature of the present invention resides in the removal of calcium oxalate from the lagered beer product. Calcium oxalate is usually formed during normal brewing processes, and it is well established in the brewing literature that this compound is an extremely undesirable constituent of conventional beer. The oxalate normally plates out in processing tanks and lines, forming beer stone and resulting in a complex cleaning problem. Calcium oxalate also contributes to haze and offensive avors in beer and is generally considered to contribute to the highly undesirable phenomenon known as gushing Oxalates are also undesirable from a nutritional standpoint, since an excess of oxalates in the body is one factor which reduces the absorption of calcium from the intestine. While conventional beer always contains a substantial portion of oxalate, both the lagered beer concentrate formed by the present invention and the reconstituted product contain negligible amounts of oxalate because the calcium oxalate is precipitated out during the freezing step, and then subsequently removed from the concentrated beer along with the ice and other solids. Thus, not only is the expensive and time-consuming storage process eliminated by the inventive process, but the quality of the final product is unexpectedly and significantly improved.
In addition to, and possibly as a result of, the removal of calcium oxalate, the process of the present invention improves the flavor and haze stability of the resultant beer product. Indeed, beer produced by diluting the novel 3,128,188 Patented Apr. 7, 1964 ICC l concentrate ‘appears to be superior in flavor and clarity not only to other reconstituted concentrates, but also to fresh, high-quality draft beer, even though the concentrate and/or the reconstituted product may be as much as a year old. Because of its inherent bacteriological stability, the stabilized beer concentrate may be stored for long periods without the deterioration in flavor, clarity, and uniformity which conventional lagered beer, even when pasteurized, always suffers.
Although the inventive process can theoretically be used to produce lagered beer of any desired concentration, concentration above about five-fold, i.e., a concentrate possessing one-fifth the volume of the beer as originally fermented, usually results in deterioration of the desirable qualities of the product. Accordingly, less than five-fold volume concentrations are deemed preferable.
Today in 1914, US Patent 1092538 A was issued, an invention of George F. Rauch, for his “Beer and Hops Separator.” There’s no Abstract, but here’s how it’s described. “This invention relates to the art of brewing, and particularly to a new and useful separator, for separating the beer and hops.” Apparently it has several features:
One of the features of the invention is the provision of a receptacle in which a revoluble pear-shaped screen is, mounted, having a distributor or splasher for swirling or splashing the fluid or combination of beer and hops against the inner circumference of the pear-shaped screen.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a plurality of agitator wings carried by the distributer or splasher, which wings owing to the centrifugal force swing outwardly, so as to splash the fluid or combination of hops and beer against the inner circumference of the pear shaped revoluble screen, the beer passing through the perforations of the screen, while the hops pass centrally down through the screen.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a stationaryv supported rake pear-shaped or conical screen, to prevent the hops from adhering or clinging to the inner circumference of the pear-shaped screen. In other words. the hops that may hang to the inner surface of the creen are raked or combed ofi as the screen revolves.
The beer that percolates through the perforations of the pear-shaped screen deposits and is carried oil by a spout. The hops pass centrally down through the screen.
Another feature of the invention is the provision of a conveyor disposed beneath the outlet of the screen to receive the hops, which are conveyed to and under a yieldably mounted pressure roller, so as to squeeze any further beer that may remain with the hops as they leave the screen.
