Today in 1918, US Patent 1280280 A was issued, an invention of Leopold Nathan, for his “Art of Brewing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to an improved process for preparing beer and has for one of its objects the preparation of a beer which is substantially free from free oxygen or air.
Today in 1915, US Patent 1155009 A was issued, an invention of Simon Schlangen and Nicholas Schlangen, for their “Beer-Racking Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to improvements in Beer-Racking Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.
Among the objects’aimed at by the invention are; to provide a construction whereby it shall be possible to secure an even and uniform filling of the packages regardless of the variations in the amounts of expansion and contraction which different packages exhibit under the application and release of the counter-pressure to which they are subjected in the filling operation, to provide a construction not requiring any adjustment of parts to adapt it to the filling of packages of different sizes; to provide a construction wherein the contents of the filled package shall be vented to the atmosphere through the counter-pressure return pipe during the withdrawal of the filling tube from the package, thereby insuring the complete filling of the package by back-flow oi liquid from the counter-pressure return pipe to fill the space created by the withdrawal oi the filling tube regardless of the amount of expansion and contraction of the package; to provide a construction which will more effectively prevent waste and loss of beer at the bung of the package when the 3 seal is broken; and generally, to provide a simplified and improved racking mechanism of the type referred to.
Today in 1985, US 4542683 A was issued, an invention of Noel R. Wilkinson, for his “Brewing Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:
Brewing apparatus and a method of brewing in which mash cooking and wort boiling are carried out in a single vessel (2), the vessel having an agitator (202), a heater preferably formed as a steam jacket (220, 224) and as an external through flow heater (8), the wort being circulated through the heater and back into the vessel by means of a tangential feed inlet (56) which causes the vessel’s contents to whirl while the wort is boiling. The apparatus and method reduces the requirement for separate mash cooking and wort boiling vessels.
Today in 1965, US Patent 3207606 A was issued, an invention of Rees Philip Williams, assigned to Brewing Patents Ltd., for his “Continuous Fermentation Process for Beer Production.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to the manufacture of beer, and more particularly to the fermentation of Brewers Wort.
The present invention stems from the discovery that a continuous through flow of liquid is compatible with a sutficient period of dwell time in each phase of fermentation to enable that phase to be carried out in isolation from the other phases, and the object of the present invention is to provide a process for the continuous fermentation of wort, with the attendant advantages of relatively smaller vessels and a higher production rate.
The process of the present invention makes use of the same materials and the same times and temperatures as are used in the conventional batch processes, but with the advantage that there is a continuous through flow of the materials from one end of the apparatus to the other.
This continuous through flow has very considerable advantages. Firstly, it is relatively simple to make the apparatus in a closed state so that once it has been rendered sterile, and if sterile materials are used to feed it, there is no further possibility of infection arising. The apparatus can be used continuously for relatively long periods so that cleaning operations are reduced. The beer produced can be checked and correction of activity and temperature can be introduced while the process is in action. Above all, relatively very much less space is required for a continuous flow apparatus to produce for example 168 barrels of fermented beer in one week.
The process accordingly comprises a first step of continuously forming in a first phase a mixture of sterile wort and yeast and keeping said mixture at a temperature and for a period of time both selected to ensure yeast propagation and the onset of fermentation of the wort; a second step of passing the resultant mixture continuously to a second phase and keeping the mixture at a temperature and for a period of time both selected to ensure completion of the fermentation; and a third step of continuously passing the fully fermented wort to a third phase in which it is allowed to settle.
The process does not involve a new kind of fermentation with novel stages of working or novel chemical reactions. On the contrary, the conventional reactions are carried out with the conventional materials for the conventional periods of time allowed in batch operation, but the entire process is carried out with continuous through flow. It has not hitherto been suggested in the art to select comparative volumes for the vessels to give the required relative dwell times for the various phases of fermentation. It is well known to those skilled in this art that the times and temperatures of the conventional operation cannot be altered to any great extent and it is probable that batch operation has continued to be vused for fermenting the wort, in spite of the inherent disadvantages of batch operation, because it was not throught possible to carry out the process as a continuous process.
Today in 1965, US Patent 3207605 A was issued, an invention of James R. A. Pollock, assigned to Brewing Patents Ltd., for his “Production Of Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
The present invention relates to the production of potable beers and in particular to a process for the fermentation of wort in a semi-continuous manner which results in fermented wort becoming available in batches for further processing.
Processes for the continuous fermentation of wort are known and these processes are capable of producing beer at a very high rate as compared with conventional processes in which batches of wort are fermented with yeast in fermentation vats. Continuous fermentation processes have the disadvantage that they must be continued in operation over weekends and holidays, if the maximum economic advantage is to be obtained from them, and this in turn means that extra storage capacity must be installed in the brewery to hold the excess beer that may build up at such periods.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a brewing process which can readily be shut down when further supplies of fermented wort are not required, but which can at the same time produce beer at a rate comparable to that of known continuous processes.
The present invention provides a process for the production of beer which comprises adding unfermented wort to a body of yeast and either wort or fermented wort, which is subjected to sufficient agitation to maintain the yeast evenly dispersed through the wort, the unfermented wort being added at such rate either continuously or in separate small quantities that at the end of a predetermined time the body of fermenting wort is fermented to a desired degree of attenuation, at least a major part of the fermented wort then being separated from the yeast. Preferably the process is carried out under conditions such that the fermentation stage is completed in about 16 hours, so that a batch of beer may be produced each working day.
Today in 1962, US Patent 3054676 A was issued, an invention of Albert J. Hardgrove and Howard J. Lauhoff, assigned to the Lauhoff Grain Company, for their “Process For Producing A Cereal Adjunct For Use In Brewing.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
It is an object of this invention therefore to provide an improved cereal adjunct which can be efficiently handled and employed directly in the mashing step without pre-treatment. It is also an object of this invention to provide a method for producing such adjunct.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved cereal adjunct which will produce a higher product yield in the normal brewing operation.
It is another object of this invention to provide a cereal adjunct which can be efficiently utilized in any modern automatic brewery apparatus designed to handle materials necessary in the brewing process.
It is another object of this invention to provide an improved pre-gelatinized cereal adjunct for breweries which has less bulk than other similar type adjuncts, thereby reducing shipping costs, and requiring less storage space.
Today in 1884, US Patent 305227 A was issued, an invention of Bernard Rice, for his “Beer-Chip.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention has for its object to produce a beer-chip which is free from resinous and other similar matters; and to this end it consists in making the chip from a sheet or strip of veneer cut from a log, beam, or plank previously steamed, as herein more fully described.
Today in 1957, US Patent 2806217 A was issued, an invention of Friedrich Schmatz, for his “Apparatus For Clarifying Brewer’s Wort.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to an apparatus for clarifying brewers wort.
Especially this invention refers to a process for clarifying the wort discharged from a straining vat by means of drain pipes communicating with a standpipe, drain taps being provided in the drain pipes substantially under the straining vat.
It is an object of the invention to eliminate this disadvantage so that the wort will remain substantially clear after changing the taps from the clarifying trough to the drain pipes.
According to the invention the above is brought about in such a way that at the beginning of the draining of clear wort first a communication with a small clear opening is established between the clarifying vat at the communicating system until clear water runs in the drain pipes and the standpipe is displaced by the wort, and only then the clear opening is enlarged to the full clear opening of the drain pipes.
This process may be carried out in such a way that the clarifying tap is not completely adjusted to the drain pipe when adjusting its passage from the clarifying trough to the drain pipe, so that the clear opening of the passage is reduced in this way. In this operation, however, it is difficult to reduce the clear opening to the necessary degree, that is, the opening will be adjusted too small or too wide. If the clear opening is adjusted too wide, the purpose of the process according to the invention will not be attained, and the Wort will become turbid. If the clear opening is adjusted too small, the clear water will be displaced too slowly. Several drain pipes each provided with a tap being usually provided, the clear opening of the passage cannot uniformly be adjusted at will even with the greatest care. If some taps are opened too much and others too little, an undesired turbidness of the wort will occur.
Today in 1986, US Patent 4610888 A was issued, an invention of James Teng and John H. Dokos, assigned to the Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc., for their “Beer Foam Enhancing Process and Apparatus.” Here’s the Abstract:
A beer foaming process and apparatus in which a smooth stable foam is formed by intimately admixing a nitrogen containing gas, preferably air, by a Venturi effect in a nozzle positioned on the beer tap. The nozzle has a mixing chamber with a perforated plate at its intake end to divide the flow of beer from the keg into smaller streams of higher velocity in the mixing chamber, intake ports in the side walls of the chamber for admitting gas into the chamber, and a screen of 30 to 200 mesh at the discharge end of the nozzle to form the stable foam discharged from the chamber.
Today in 1993, US Patent 5242694 A was issued, an invention of Hans Reuther, assigned to the G. Heileman Brewing Company, Inc., for his “Process For Brewing Low Carbohydrate Near Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:
A low carbohydrate near beer is produced by a brewing process utilizing brewing materials including 100% brewer’s malt with not more than a prescribed amount of dextrin malt and not more than a prescribed amount of caramel malt. The mashing, boiling and fermentation stages are controlled so that carbohydrate and calorie levels are achieved in a near beer having excellent taste and brightness.
