Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Patent No. EP1979462A1: Use Of Cacao Polyphenols In Beer Production

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Today in 2008, US Patent EP 1979462 A1 was issued, an invention of Herwig Bernaert, for his “Use of Cacao Polyphenols in Beer Production.” Here’s the Abstract:

The present invention relates to a solvent-derived, cocoa extract comprising between 25 and 65% by weight of polyphenols, and uses thereof for improving a beer production process and the resulting beer product. The invention further relates to a method for improving a beer production process as well as the beer product resulting from it. The invention further relates to a beer product with improved quality such as enhanced colloidal, taste and flavor stability. The invention also provides a beer with exogenous polyphenols and a beer comprising at least one cocoa polyphenol. Furthermore, the present invention includes a use of exogenous polyphenols as process enhancer and a use of cocoa for enhancing filtration processes.

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Patent No. 2451156A: Process And Apparatus For Producing Alcohol By Fermentation

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Today in 1984, US Patent 2451156 A was issued, an invention of Annibal Ramos De Mattos, for his “Process and Apparatus for Producing Alcohol by Fermentation.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a process and apparatus for yeast fermentation and, more particularly, for producing alcohol by fermentation.

Commercially, alcohol is customarily produced by a batch or a modified batch process. In such processes the yeast necessary to convert the nutrient medium or wort into alcohol must be grown on the wort or on an outside nutrient medium. Yet as the conversion of the wort to alcohol takes place and the concentration of alcohol increases, the medium becomes toxic to the yeast. As a result, the alcohol ultimately present in high concentration kills a certain portion of the yeast, and the wort consumed in the production of this yeast is lost. Additionally, in such processes the concentration of yeast and its contact with the nutrient medium is seldom best adapted for optimum rate of alcohol conversion.

In the production of alcohol by conventional fermentation processes, it is usually necessary to kill or prevent the growth of bacteria which are deleterious to the propagation of the yeast or impede the conversion of the nutrient medium to alcohol. These deleterious bacteria are controlled either by subjecting the wort to heating at sterilization temperatures or by the introduction of chemical bactericides such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, fluorides, copper sulfate, and the like. It is also known that nutrients suitable for conversion to alcohol by fermentation, particularly cheaper nutrients such as low grade sugar, seldom contain all the elements necessary for the nutrition and propagation of the yeast which convert the nutrient into alcohol. As a result, the conventional nutrient medium must be complemented by the addition of so called stimulants such as the various mineral salts including, for instance, sulfates and nitrates of ammonia, calcium super-phosphates, and the like, or organic substances such as urea, malt, peptone, and the like.

The known commercial processes of producing alcohol by yeast fermentation may be divided roughly into four types; namely, progressive filling, division, continuous feeding, and a fourth process in which the yeast is recovered and reused in subsequent fermentation vats.

In the first-mentioned process a group of vats is placed in series and fermentation initiated in one of the vats. When the fermentation has reached a desired point, a portion of the fermenting wort in the first vat is transferred to a second vat to initiate the fermentation therein and so on for any desired number of vats.

In the second-mentioned process the contents of one vat is used for the purpose of inoculating other vats. For instance, after a group of vats has been used for fermenting wort to alcohol, one of the group is not discharged but is retained for the purpose of distribution to the vats which have been discharged for the purpose of initiating the fermentation of fresh wort.

The third-mentioned continuous feeding process is a very old process introduced by Guillaume, involving inoculating a multiplicity of fermentation vats from a culturing vat.

The fourth process is of more recent origin and was patented by Melle and Bolnot. In this last-mentioned process the pH of the fermenting wort is carefully controlled to approximate a pH of 3. When the fermentation is nearly complete, the partially spent wort and yeast are passed into a centrifuge where the yeast is recovered in the form of a liquid containing a high concentration of yeast. This liquid is used for the purpose of initiating the fermentation of a new charge of wort. This latter process has a number of disadvantages involving, as it does, the necessity for controlling pH of the fermentation mass and requiring the addition of conventional stimulants and the like used in other fermentation processes. The centrifuging device involves added equipment costs. The process makes possible some saving in fermentation equipment but not nearly so much as is possible in accordance with my continuous process described in detail hereinafter.

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Patent No. EP0091322A2: A Brewing Unit

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Today in 1983, US Patent EP 0091322 A2 was issued, an invention of Noel Roy Wilkinson, for “A Brewing Unit.” Here’s the Abstract:

An improved brewing unit in which energy is saved by providing a mash tun (14), hot water tank (10) and kettle (8) in a single unit (1), by partially enclosing the mash tun with the tank and if necessary pre-heating the water supply to the tank by using the heat from wort coolers provided between the unit (1) and fermentation tank (83, 85); further improvements are provided by constructing the kettle as a combined kettle and whirlpool in a single chamber having a circular wall (2) and a tangential inlet (92) to the wall, a pump (53) and wort boiler (6) being in circuit with the kettle so that wort is continuously circulated through the boiler and tangential inlet to the kettle whilst the worts are boiled. The combined kettle and whirlpool saves space and enables the process of brewing to be shortened with resultant savings in both energy and brewing time.

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Patent No. 4409246A: Yeast Strain For Fermenting High Plato Value Worts

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Today in 1983, US Patent 4409246 A was issued, an invention of Graham G. Stewart, Thomas E. Goring, and Ingeborg Russell, assigned to the Labatt Brewing Company, for their “Yeast Strain For Fermenting High Plato Value Worts.” Here’s the Abstract:

The specification discloses a novel brewers’ yeast strain and a method of manufacturing the same. The yeast is a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and has been deposited at the National Collection of Yeast Cultures, Norwich, England under the number 962. Morphologically the giant colony of the novel strain can be described as a circular colony having a slightly serrated periphery, a convex surface topography with a central, globular dome and exhibiting primary concentric convolutions and secondary radial convolutions which, in combination, impart a rough appearance to the surface. The novel ale strain has the advantages that it is effective in worts having high plato values and is a bottom-cropping strain.

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Patent No. 3469992A: Chill Stability And Foam Adherence Of Beer

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Today in 1902, US Patent 3469992 A was issued, an invention of Frede B. Strandskov and Henry L. Ziliotto, assigned to the F&M Schaefer Brewing Co., for their “Chill Stability and Foam Adherence of Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The present invention relates to improvements in the chemical preservation of beer and more particularly it relates to the improvement of the chill stability and the foam adherence properties of beer which has been preserved against microbial growth by the addition thereto of a chemical preservative.

It is a desideratum in the beer making art to eliminate the necessity for pasteurization or refrigeration of finished beer. This is desirable (1) to avoid possible deleterious effects on the taste of the commercial product; (2) to avoid having to keep the beer refrigerated in storage before consumption; and/or (3) to obtain saving in cost per unit produced. It is known that beer may be preserved against microbial growth and the above objects thus accomplished, by treating the finished beer with heptyl parahydroxybenzoate, i.e., the heptyl ester of para-hydroxybenzoic acid as well as alkali metal or alkaline earth metal salts thereof. The discovery of the use of this compound to preserve finished beer represents a great advance in the art of beer making and provides the means by which the disadvantages of the necessity of pasteurization and/or refrigeration may be avoided. It has been discovered that the preservation in the abovemanner, however, tends to introduce complications which it is desirable to overcome if the most acceptable beer product is to be obtained.

In order to be commercially acceptable, a beer must possess certain properties; for example, it must be sparkling clear. Two additional properties which are most significant to beer connoisseurs are referred to as chill stability and foam adherence. The first of these relates to the property noted above as sparkling clear. As the name implies, on occasion a haze forms in some beer when it is chilled. As the temperature of the beer is returned to room temperature, the haze disappears, only to reappear upon subsequent rechilling. This haze is referred to as chill haze. The second of these significant properties, foam adherence, is of special importance to the connoisseurs. This property relates to the adherence of the beer foam to the sides of the drinking glass as the foam collapses or as the glass is being emptied. Beer, which in all other respects has excellent potential, may be excluded from the market solely because of the lack of an acceptable level of foam adherence. One of the marks of a beer connoisseur is his appreciation of the significance of beer foam adherence to the sides of the drinking glass.

3,469,992 Patented Sept. 30, 1969 In the instant invention it is important to note that foam adherence is notably distinct from the property of foam retention. Foam retention, or foam life, is a quality denoting the ability of the head, or layer of foam on a beer, to resist collapse with passage of time. Foam adherence as noted above refers to the ability of foam, as it collapses or as the beer is drained away, to leave a film of foam curtains or lace clinging to the walls of the container. It is from this curtain that the measurement of foam adherence is obtained. A significant foam curtain may be formed from beer, the head of which has completely collapsed and disappeared.

When finished beer is preserved against microbial growth by the addition thereto of heptyl para-hydroxybenzoate or a salt thereof, it has been found that adverse effects are sometimes produced on the acceptable values for chill stability and foam adherence. It is the object of the instant invention to overcome these adverse effects in order that the most commercially acceptable product possible may be obtained.

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Patent No. 3104974A: Process For Improving The Brewing Characteristics Of Hops

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Today in 1963, US Patent 3104974 A was issued, an invention of Pavel Weiner, for his “Process For Improving the Brewing Characteristics of Hops.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

Hops which have been freshly picked and are then used either immediately, or after having been stored for a reasonably short period, for brewing, contain etheric oils which are of considerable importance for the taste of the resulting beer. Since hops cannot always be processed immediately after picking, the storage of hops represents a special problem, since hops stored in the open air start to decompose immediately even when given a conventional drying treatment to reduce their water content to from about 10 to 12% by weight. Decomposition proceeds more rapidly if the air in contact with the hops is moist, and if the temperature at which the hops are stored is high.

Known methods of ensuring that hops retain their desirable qualities even during long storage are, therefore, based on storing the hops at a low temperature and in dry air, or on keeping atmospheric air away from the hops while they are in store and while they are being conveyed to the brewery. The hops are therefore placed in gas-tight vessels, the air being then sucked out of the vessel and replaced by an inert gas, usually carbon dioxide. In another known process to improve the keeping properties of hops, they are compressed into a rigid block, then enclosed in a gas-previous envelope, and temporarily subjected to a low ambient pressure of from about 1.5 to 2.3 mm. of mercury, whereafter they can be stored in the open air for a longer but still limited time.

All these methods of storing or improving the keeping properties of hops are expensive, increase the cost of the hops, and cannot prevent the gradual advance of the decomposition processes which start immediately the hops have been picked. Such processes lead to the formation and collection in the hops of undesirable odorants and flavoring substances which are imparted very rapidly to the beer brewed with such hops. Although some of these volatile substances evaporate with the steam while the mash is being boiled with the hops, the flavor of the mash is nevertheless impaired and this deficiency is clearly perceptible in the finished beer.

The main groups of flavoring substances which impair the taste of beer are substances which are naturally present in some kinds of hops, substances arising out of natural aging of the hops, and substances produced by very bad storage conditions.

There are also other flavoring substances which the hops can pick up from the ambient air while they are in store.

Many breweries endeavour to improve the brewing properties of a hop having undesirable flavor substances by brewing or even boiling the hops before they are added to the mash. This step does not remove all the unwanted substances and also has the disadvantage of removing from the hops ingredients which are very important for brewing, for such ingredients are, like the unwanted decomposition products, etheric oils or resins which are readily soluble in water and are transferred into the water used for brewing or boiling and so separated from the hops with such water.

According to the present invention loose hops are introduced into a gas-tight vessel which is then evacuated to a pressure between 15 and mm. of mercury and maintained at that pressure for from 15 to 60 3,104,974 Patented Sept. 24, 1963 ice minutes by introducing pure air or a neutral gas as the remaining atmosphere is sucked out.

This process has the effect of removing from the hops every kind of flavor substance which impairs the beer, but only such substances, and so does not significantly reduce the content in the hops of these flavor substances which are important for brewing.

What the residual pressure maintained in the treatment vessel should be, within the limits specified, depends upon the extent to which unwanted flavor substances are present in the hops, but the pressure should not go any lower than the bottom limit of 5 mm. of mercury, since at this pressure the hops start to release the volatile aroma substances which are useful in brewing. Similarly, the treatment time largely depends upon the proportion of unwanted flavour substances, but it is better to treat the hops at a relatively high residual pressure in the vessel for a relatively long time, rather than to reduce the residual pressure to the lower limit specified or even further in order to shorten the treatment time.

The results of the treatment just outlined can very easily be determined directly after treatment by an odor test. If such a test is unsatisfactory, the treatment can readily be repeated one or more times.

To ensure that decomposition and production of further unwanted flavorings does not restart in hops which have been treated in accordance with the invention, it is preferable to apply the process according to the invention immediately before the hops are added to the mash.

If, as is often done, the hops are ground before being added to the mash, it is convenient to apply the process according to the invention after the hops have been ground, since unwanted flavoring substances are formed as a result of the heat generated when the hops are ground. Treatment after grinding removes these undesirable substances.

The apparatus for carrying out the process is very simple for instance, the vessel can have, in addition to the connection for the suction pump, another connection through which it can be connected to a fresh air or inert gas source. This other connection can take the form of a valve which opens when the required pressure in the vessel is reached, so that the air or gas enters the vessel as soon as the pressure to which the valve has been set is reached and for as long as that pressure is maintained.

Extended experiments and the practical application of the process according to the invention have confirmed that all the disadvantages associated with the hop are obviated, hop aroma is improved very considerably, and so unwanted flavoring substances or odorants do not enter the beer, thereby yielding in a beer having a very fine aroma.

Example From a hop pocket which had bee-n stored for several months, a proportion having an unpleasant cheesy smell was removed, loosened up by being crumbled, and subjected to a low pressure of 10 mm. of mercury for 15 minutes. The atmosphere which continued to be sucked out of the vessel after the pressure of 10 mm. of mercury had been reached because of continuing operation of the pump was replaced by a supply of fresh air. The cheesy smell was not perceptible after this treatment, and the beer brewed with the hops thus treated was free of any unwanted secondary flavor.

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Patent No. 3403029A: Reconstituted Beer Process Using Fractional Crystallization

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Today in 1968, US Patent 3403029 A was issued, an invention of Emil A. Malick, assigned to Phillips Petroleum Co., for his “Reconstituted Beer Process Using Fractional Crystallization.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

Reconstituted beer is formed by fractionally crystallizing a beer product to form a concentrate containing some precipitate and a separate precipitate containing fraction, holding at least the concentrate at the temperature of the fractional crystallization process to allow additional precipitation to take place, heating at least the concentrate to allow redissolving of flavor bodies and the like from the precipitate, combining the heated concentrate and separate precipitate containing fraction, and separating precipitate from the combination.

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Patent No. 4542682A: Lauter Tuns

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Today in 1985, US Patent 4542682 A was issued, an invention of John C. Hancock, for his “Lauter Tuns.” Here’s the Abstract:

A lauter tun (10,100) has a bottom (16) comprising two flat plates (18,20) joined together on a straight line (see 22), each plate (18,20) sloping downwardly from the center-line to the peripheral wall (14) of the tun, such that during flushing, water flows down each slope to flush solids towards two large collection points (26) located at the lowest point of the bottom 16.

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Patent No. 1391561A: Food Product Obtained From Brewers’ Yeast

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Today in 1918, US Patent 1391561 A was issued, an invention of John C. Miller, for his “Food Product Obtained From Brewers’ Yeast.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

Brewers waste yeast when dried has for some years been utilized for a force feed for animals. When analyzed, the dried brewers yeast contains, on an average, about fifty-four per cent crude protein, twenty-five per cent nitrogen free extract, two per cent crude fat and ten per cent ash and fiber.

I have discovered that when properly prepared, a flour can be obtained from the brewers waste yeast which can be effectively and properly used when mixed with wheat flour, or when used by itself, as a food product for human consumption.

In the processes heretofore employed in drying brewers yeast, the material has been dried on steam heated rollers and scraped therefrom from by scraping knives, which renders the material coarse and gritty. The older dried products have never been suitable for either as a substitute for or when mixed with wheat flour for human consumption.

In preparing my product, the wet material in the preferred apparatus is delivered into the rapidly rotation cylinder from which it is discharged by centrifugal force at the delivery end of the cylinder in the form of a very fine annular spray and is there subjected to a current of heated air, which is blown annularly across the centrifugally discharged material, so that the moisture is very rapidly taken up and the material can be readily collected in the form of a dry powder free from grit and in the condition of a flour.

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Patent No. 411337A: Means for Boiling, Cooling Beer

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Today in 1889, US Patent 411337 A was issued, an invention of Constantin Hoffmann and Lorenz Ebert, for their “Means for Boiling, Cooling Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The present invention relates to apparatus for sterilizing and cooling beer-wort, whereby the latter is kept completely protected against any injurious actions of the atmosphere during the whole cooling process-that is to say, from the boiling-copper to the fermenting-vat. According to the present cooling process the beer-wort is cooled either on coolers or by means of special apparatus. This takes place with the admission of ordinary atmospheric air, which has a deleterious effect upon or infects the beer-wort. That such an infection frequently takes place is proved by the many changes in the beer-wort during the cooling processes heretofore practiced, and by the various abnormal phenomena of fermentation which occur despite the employment of sound yeast. In order to obviate these inconveniences, we provide the known cooling apparatus with a casing which can be hermetically closed and bring the beer-wort, which runs boiling hot, and therefore free from germs or sprout, to the cooling apparatus into contact with sterilized air. By the introduction of sterilized air into the casing of the cooling apparatus at a certain overpressure during the cooling the beer wort remains quite free from germs or sprout, and after that the air necessary for the fermentation is introduced according to requirements and the exhalation of the same is effected.

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