Today in 1966, US Patent 3290153 A was issued, an invention of Peter D. Bayne and John L. Pahlow, assigned to Schlitz Brewing Co., for his “Process and Apparatus for Concentrating Wort.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The process of the invention, which includes the continuous film evaporation under high temperature and short holding time conditions, prevents degradation or color gain of the wort. On reconstitution, identical or organoleptic properties of the original wort are obtained.

The process of the invention utilizes a continuous flow of wort which is obtained by use of the pair of hot wort settling tanks in combination with the centrifuge so that a continuous supply of wort is available. Thus, it is not necessary to cease openation while waiting for a new batch of wort. l

A provision is also made in the process for automatically adding hop constituents to the Wort in the holding tank. A portion of the hop constituents will be lost during the concentrating process, and to compensate for this loss, a predetermined amount of hop constituents may be empirically added during the concentration process.

In addition, the process employs a density control mechanism which accurately regulate-s the final specific -gravity or concentration of the wort. The wort being discharged from the finishing evaporator passes through the density control mechanism which regulates the heating medium used in the` evaporator so that a uniform degree of Wort concentration is obtained.

Today in 2005, US Patent 6968773 B1 was issued, an invention of Kurt Stippler and Klaus-Karl Wasmuht, assigned to Anton Steinecker Maschinenfabrik Gmbh, for their “Vessel and Wort Processing Method for Producing Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:

A vessel and a method for thermally treating wort in beer brewing, wherein a wort guiding screen or cone is placed inside the vessel and a feed pipe ending above the wort guiding screen or cone is used to discharge wort from above onto the wort guiding screen or cone. The wort boiling method has the wort discharged onto an inclined, heated guiding surface from which it flows down and spreads into a sheet and is thereby heated.

Today in 1950, US Patent 2530594 A was issued, an invention of Fremont W. Benedict, for his “Separating Solid Matter From Hot Wort.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The present, invention aims to effect air separation from the hot wort of most of the nitrogenous substances, and hop resins prior to the delivery of the wort to the coolers and starters. The method of the invention involves introducing the hot wortl into a charging zone where the wort is under some turbulence and from whence it flows into an adjacent and substantially larger quiescent zone. The communication between the two zones is well below the liquid level; and substantially clear wort is withdrawn from the quiescent zone near the liquid level and at a point as remote as practical from the charging zone. The apparatus of the invention comprises a tank of any desired configuration having a partition dividing the tank into a charging or feeding compartment and a’ settling compartment of considerably larger volume than the charging compartment. The lower end of the partition is spaced a short distance above the bottom of the tank, and the space between the partition and the tank bottom provides the communication between the two compartments. The hot wort is preferably delivered in a stream above the. liquid level, so that it splashes into the wort in the charging compartment and keeps the wort there in agitation. A float-controlled discharge is provided for withdrawing substantially clear wort from near the liquid level “of the-settling compartment at a point remote from the partition.

Today in 1941, US Patent 2262863 A was issued, an invention of Robert C. Schock, for his “Lauter Tank.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Lauter tanks, as is known, are provided with two bottoms, a false or inner bottom which is in the nature of a screen or a perforated plate or a slotted plate permitting the wort to pass therethrough, and a lower bottom which collects the wort that has filtered through the false bottom.

It has heretofore been’ proposed to remove the wort which is passed through the false bottom, by a large number of separate pipes, one for each subdivision of the lauter tank, and these pipes, generally speaking about twelve to thirty-two in number, having an equal number of discharge valves or cocks, lone for each pipe. ‘I’he control of the wort by means of such a multiplicity of valves was difficult and not at all times possible.

Furthermore, in some of the lauter tanks heretofore used, the outside bottom was entirely flat and in consequence there would be an adherence of the wort to the bottom, so that the wort would accumulate on such bottoms and bring about a harmful condition of uncleanliness, favorable to the generation of bacteria in undesired quantities, unless carefully cleaned after each use.

The object of the invention here is to provide l an outside bottom which prevents a building up of sediment or under dough, and to replace the said multiplicity of pipes and valves by three valves which can be readily controlled and regulated in accordance with the practice of determining the amount of sugar in the wort, and thereby determining the density of flow of the l wort as it bypasses through the saccharometer chambers, and in the event that the flow in any of the chambers which is so governed by the three valves is not of the desired order, it can be throttled until the flow shall have been equalized.

For this purpose, the improvements in the lauter tank forming the basis of this invention are, first, the provision of three manifolds concentrically arranged to render each of said manifold saccharometer grant. Secondly, the invention consists in providing the outside bottom with a series of concentric channels, each V-shaped in cross-section, the apex of the V being provided with the outlet pipes which discharge the wort into the aforesaid manifolds, such V-shape formation providing the outside bottom with concentrically disposed inclined walls, to enable a free flow of the wort which is passed through the false bottom in such a manner as to maintain the inner walls of these V-shaped circumferential members clean of the wort, by promoting faster running thereof and thus to prevent the formation of undesirable accretions of solid matter from the wort, also to aid in preventing under dough and to prevent any possible generation of undesired bacteria.

Today in 1889, US Patent 414673 A was issued, an invention of Axel Bergh, for his “Process of Aerating and Purifying Beer Wort or Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The advantages of my invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which it appertains, and it will be particularly seen that the wort is led to the fermenting-house in an absolutely-sterilized condition, while at the same time it is cooled, aerated to the required degree, and freed from impurities, and the losses due to residual wort are avoided.

The herein-described process of freeing wort from suspended particles by simultaneously subjecting the Wort to centrifugal action and a regulated supply of sterilized air, and subsequently cooling the wort preparatory to fermentation, all to be carried out in contact with sterilized air, substantially as 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.