Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. 1950714A: Container And Cooler

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Today in 1934, US Patent 1950714 A was issued, an invention of Ernest Joseph D’Aoust and Herbert Lawrence Dickens, for their “Container and Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention relates to a container and cooler, as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing that forms part of the same.

The invention consists essentially of the unit combining the means for refrigerating and the container as pointed out in the claim for novelty following a description in detail of the parts making up the unit.

The objects of the invention are to cool liquids such as beer, especially contents being continually drawn upon thereby making it possible to maintain the volume of liquid in constant use in a palatable condition while a considerable volume remains unchilled, which are ideal conditions for dispensing beer and many liquids, especially where they are sold by the glass; to facilitate the transport of beer and some other beverages, particularly those beverages liable to deterioration from changes of temperature and therefore deliver the container with its contents in as fit a state as when it left the brewery, factory or other production centre; to utilize dry ice, artificial ice, natural ice or chemical refrigerants to the best advantage for cooling containers and introduce the cooling medium with ease; and generally to provide for restaurants, hotels, merchants, dwellings and places of entertainment, a convenient form of container from which the beverage will be delivered in a wholesome condition and which will not materially add to the cost of the invention to the consumer.

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Patent No. 1218724A: Beer Cooler

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Today in 1917, US Patent 1218724 A was issued, an invention of William F. Vosseler, for his “Beer Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to beer coolers of the type in which a coil is provided through which the beer must pass in the presence of a cooling medium.

The simplest Way of cooling beer as it is pumped from a barrel to a faucet is to send it through a coil which is packed in ice. In coils for this purpose, there must be as little obstruction to the flow of beer as possible. There must be also as much of an exposure to the ice as possible.

Accordingly in the Patent No. 1,099,329, of June 9th, 1914, to William Vosseler, is described a device in which an open coil is mounted in an ice box so that ice can be packed down inside the coil as well vas around it. This is the best way of quickly and adequately cooling the beer as it passes through a cooler, but it opens the way to a number of difficulties. The first of these is that to make a strong coil which will Withstand the jamming down in it of ice, it is hard to provide against agitating the beer during its passage through the coil. In the next place, it is difficult to hold the coil in place in the box against these strains, and finally it is requisite to make the whole structure as inexpensive as possible.

It is the object of my invention herein to provide against these difficulties so as to have an open coil of great durability and cheapness, in which there is little or no obstruction to the flow of the beer to cause it to foam out of the faucet, which is very undesirable.

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Patent No. 2193445A: Beer Keg

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Today in 1940, US Patent 2193445 A was issued, an invention of Siesel E. Canaday, for his “Beer Keg.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention relates to a beer keg of the type in which beer is transportedfrom the brewery to the user and which is designed to be cooled in the original container and from which container the cooled beer is vended from time to time.

In this type of beerkeg a cooling coil is dissition accessible from the outside of the keg for ready and quick attachment to a cooling system at the users place of business.

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Patent No. 62864A: Beer Faucet

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Today in 1867, US Patent 62864 A was issued, an invention of Thomas Marsh, for his “Beer Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The invention herein described can be advantageously used for tapping a cask which .contains beer or other fluid confined under pressure. ‘The common method of tapping a beer cask, employed, is, first, to force inward, to the distance perhaps of half the thickness of the head of the cask, the plug which is always inserted in a hole made in one of the heads” for this purpose, and then placing the faucet or spigot upon its end against the plug so partially driven in, with a well-directed blow replug the hole with the end of the faucet. and at the same operation expel -into the interior of the Cask the former plug which filled the hole. It often happens that the pressure exerted by the beer is so great as to be able to resist the introduction of the faucet, especially if the latter is not exactly fitted to the hole, in which case the contents of the Cask will escape. The invention ‘described is intended to afford a convenient and certain means for tapping a cask in place of the means above described.

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Patent No. WO2004020570A1: Effervescent Hop Tablet

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Today in 2004, US Patent WO 2004020570 A1 was issued, an invention of James F. Boyd, assigned to Yakima Chief Inc., for his “Effervescent Hop Tablet.” Here’s the Abstract:

Effervescent formulations of hop adjuncts for use in the process of beer brewing, or more generally the manufacture or production of malt beverages are disclosed. These manufacturing processes can include primary fermentation, when added to the wort, secondary fermentation, when added to the green beer, and storage, when added to beer. The effervescent product includes an effervescent material, such as a carbonate compound, combined with brewing kettle hop adjuncts. The hop adjuncts may include any combination of conventionally derived hop materials or extracts, including alpha acids, beta acids, resins and oils. Preferably, the effervescent formulations are formed into the shape of a tablet, and serve to simplify and improve the efficiency and metering of the hop adjuncts into the brewing process.

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Patent No. 3870810A: Inhibiting Beer Gushing

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Today in 1975, US Patent 3870810 A was issued, an invention of Anthony Martin Humphrey, for his “Inhibiting Beer Gushing.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention provides a method for reducing the tendency of beer to gush by incorporating in the beer 1 to 20 percent based on the weight of iso- alpha -acids in the finished beer of an unsaturated fatty acid having from 10 to 20 carbon atoms. The invention includes hop extracts containing said unsaturated fatty acid and also includes methods of making said extracts.

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Patent No. 722509A: Cooler For Kegs Or Casks

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Today in 1903, US Patent 722509 A was issued, an invention of Samuel M. J≥ House, for his “Cooler for Kegs or Casks.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in coolers for kegs or casks, and has for its object to provide the kegs or casks with an interior receptacle one end of which opens through one head of the keg, and into this receptacle may be placed cracked ice, liquid air, or any cooling substance for the purpose of cooling the contents of the keg or cask.

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Patent No. 148297A: Improvement In Casks For Preserving Beer

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Today in 1874, US Patent 148297 A was issued, an invention of Ole Heggem, for his “Improvement in Casks for Preserving Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

That which I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is —

1. The combination, with a beer-cask, of a collapsible bag, capable of filling the entire interior of said cask, and secured to the interior of the cask at its mouth, by means of the head of the cask being set in against the edges of said bag, lying between the edges of the head and the staves, said head being provided with an open vent, as specified.

2. In combination with the bag and cask, the head, provided with a vent-hole, guarded by the plates at each side, and having the grooves 0, as specified.

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Patent No. 4729900A: Foam-Stabilized Malt Beverage

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Today in 1988, US Patent 4729900 A was issued, an invention of Kenneth Clare, Margaret A. Lawson, and Walter Bryden, assigned to Merck & Co., Inc., for their “Foam-Stabilized Malt Beverage.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

A fermented malt beverage having improved foam stability and desirable lace, cling, and clarity is described. The beverage is stabilized by adding 5-400 ppm by weight of combined xanthan gum and a cold-water soluble protein.

Xanthan-Gum

Here’s a better explanation, from the application:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A number of malt beverages or beers will produce a relatively good foam immediately after pouring, but the foams so produced are not as persistent as is usually desired by the consumers of such products. In addition, consumers desire a beer possessing a foam that will “cling” to the insides of a glass or mug in an attractive “lacy” pattern. Lace and cling are difficult to achieve in the presence of slight contaminant levels of surfactants or detergents on the glassware, as occurs when beer mugs or glasses are handwashed and quickly rinsed prior to use. A further requirement is that the beer exhibit good clarity to the consumer, i.e., the absence of any noticeable “haze”.

Propylene glycol alginate (PGA), heteropolysaccharide S-10 (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,966,976) and cellulose ether (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,669,00) are additives known to stabilize beer foam.

However, continuing research is being conducted in an effort to discover new polymers, additives, and polymer combinations which may be more economical and which can be utilized to impart improved foam stability, lace and clarity to fermented malt beverages while avoiding attendant “haze” levels.

Xanthan gum as an extender or thickener in the food industry is well described in the literature. Also well known in the art is the use of collagen hydrolysates, derived from animal skin, in the preparation of hair care preparation, shampoos and skin care preparations. Collagen derivatives have been used in the brewing process as fining agents. Further, gelatin hydrolysates are well known in the pharmaceutical industry as tablet excipients used in granulating and binding operations during tablet manufacture. However, there are no general references to such compositions in combination being disclosed for specifically improving foam stability and properties of fermented malt beverages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It has now been found that the foam retention and lace/cling properties of a fermented malt beverage can be stabilized while minimizing haze formation by adding a combination of xanthan gum and cold-water soluble protein to the beverage in a combined amount sufficient to result in a final concentration in the beverage in the range of about 5-400 ppm, by weight. The proteins useful in the invention include, inter alia, collagen, gelatin, or milk protein hydrolysates, having a number average molecular weight of 900-12,000, which can be used in a weight ratio of 1:4 to 4:1 of xanthan gum/protein.

Xanthan-Gum

Patent No. 254565A: Improvement In Process Of Preparing A Combined Extract Of Hops And Malt

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Today in 1882, US Patent 254565 A was issued, an invention of Samuel R. Percy and Walter S. Wells, for their “Improvement in Process of Preparing a Combined Extract of Hops and Malt.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The object of our invention is to produce a combined extract of hops and malt in which the essential principles of both substances shall be so concentrated as to be more easy of manipulation, less bulky in storage, and capable of indefinite preservation in their original purity and strength.

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