AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR FINING, AËBATING, BOTTling, and PreseRVING ALE, PORter, and like FERMENTED BEVERAGES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to -William Bruce, of Birkenhead, in the County
of Chester, Aerated Water Manufacturer, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR FINING,
AËBATING, BOTTling, and PreseRVING ALE, PORter, and like FERMENTED
BEVERAGES."
Sealed the 3rd February 1875, and dated the 4th December 1874.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Bruce at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th December 1874.
I, WILLIAM BRUCE, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Aërated
Water Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of the said In-
vention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS AND APPARATUS FOR FINING,
AËRATING, BOTTLING, AND PRESERVING ALE, PORTER, AND LIKE FERMENTED
BEVERAGES. "to be as follows:-

page_text: expeditiously and without waiting for the said ale, porter, or like
beverage to fine by keeping.
Secondly: To a method of and apparatus for bottling ale, porter,
and like fermented beverages, so that the same shall not froth up in
the bottle during the process of and at the time of filling such
bottles.
In carrying out the first part of this Invention I take a suitable
quantity of "papier de soie" or "filtering paper," which I pound with
a suitable quantity of water or other suitable liquid into a pulp, using
a stone or earthenware pestle and mortar by preference for that purpose.
I use this pulp to line or coat a bag or bags of flannel. Bags similar
to those used for fining jelly and known as jelly bags may be used.
When these bags are sufficiently lined or coated with the filtering paper
pulp the ale, porter, or other beverage is passed through the bag, the
Altering paper pulp fining it in its passage in proportion to the quantity
of pulp used; the liquor is then ready for bottling.
In carrying out the second part of this Invention I use a cylindrical
or other suitable shaped vessel, provided with a ram weighted so as to
form an "accumulator." The ale, porter, or other liquid to be bottled
is pumped into this accumulator vessel. From this vessel there is a
pipe provided with a suitable stop cock and terminating with a non-
return valve, so arranged that the pipe may deliver into the bottle to be
filled. The bottle is filled in an inverted position and fits on a stuffing
box, through which passes the filling pipe, and also a pipe actuated by
a rack and pinion and working like a piston inside the bottle. This
piston pipe is connected with an apparatus having a "double way” and
two valves arranged to work by a lever, so that one valve is used for the
emission of air from the bottle, and the other valve for supplying
carbonic acid gas or fixed air to the liquid in the bottle at any required
pressure. With ale or porter I find that a pressure of from 8 to 9
atmospheres of carbonic acid gas may be used. The emission valve of
the apparatus is also used for carrying away the carbonic acid gas
after application.
For stoppering bottles filled with aërated liquid according to this
Invention I use by preference internal stoppers of a circular or ball
P 12

page_text: filler, or other shaped internal stoppers may be used, as will be
understood.
In operation the bottle is placed in an inverted position and held by
a suitable appliance on to the nozzle or stuffing box (which is mounted
on a suitable frame); the rack is operated on and the piston pipe
inserted into the bottle. The communication with the accumulator is
opened, and also the valve on the apparatus for the emission of air from
the bottle. The liquid rises in the bottle as high as the operator may
desire, and the communication with the accumulator is shut off and
the emission valve closed; the valve supplying the pressure of carbonic
acid gas is then opened and the pressure of carbonic acid gas allowed to
pass through the piston pipe and operate on the liquor in the bottle, and
upon the emission valve being again opened the carbonic acid gas is
allowed to escape from the bottle as requisite. Upon removal of the
bottle from the stuffing box the ball or other internal stopper finds its
way to the mouth of the bottle and effectually stoppers the bottle.
The advantages of this Invention are that by its use the liquor rises
gradually in the bottle without frothing, and the operator can fill the
bottle the required height with certainty, and the aërated liquid
produced by this Invention has a creamy instead of a frothy head.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Bruce in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 1st June 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
BRUCE, of Birkenhead, in the County of Chester, Aërated Water Manu-
facturer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-eighth year
of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant
unto me, the said William Bruce, Her special licence that I, the said
William Bruce, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said William Bruce, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and
at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and

page_text: lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle
of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND MEANS AND
APPARATUS FOR FINING, AËRATING, BOTTLING, AND PRESERVING ALE, PORTER, AND
LIKE FERMENTED BEVERAGES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said William Bruce, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, and in what manner the same was to be performed, and cause
the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Bruce, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement:-
Firstly. To a method of fining ale, porter, and other malt and like
fermented beverages, so that the same are capable of being bottled
expeditiously, and without waiting for the said ale, porter, or like
beverage to fine by keeping.
Secondly. To a method of and apparatus for bottling ale, porter, and
like fermented beverages, so that the same shall not froth up in the
bottle during the process of and at the time of filling such bottles.
In carrying out the first part of this Invention I take a suitable
quantity of "papier de soie," or "filtering paper," which I pound with a
suitable quantity of water or other suitable liquid into a pulp, using a
stone, or earthenware pestle and mortar by preference, for that purpose.
I use this pulp to line or coat a bag or bags of flannel. Bags similar to
those used for fining jelly and known as jelly bags may be used. When
these bags are sufficiently lined or coated with the filtering paper pulp ¦
the ale, porter, or other beverage is passed through the bag, the filtering
paper pulp fining it in its passage in proportion to the quantity of pulp
used. The liquor is then ready for bottling.
In carrying out the second part of this Invention I use a cylindrical
or other suitable shaped vessel, which may be provided with a ram
weighted so as to form an "accumulator.” The ale, porter; or other

page_text: liquid to be bottled is pumped into this accumulator vessel. From this
vessel there is a pipe provided with a suitable stop-cock and terminating
with a non-return valve so arranged that the pipe may deliver into the
bottle to be filled. The bottle is filled in an inverted position and fits
on a stuffing box, through which passes the filling pipe, and also a pipe
actuated by a rack and pinion, and working like a piston inside the
bottle. This piston pipe is connected with an apparatus having a
"double-way," and two valves arranged to work by a lover, so that one
valve is used for the emission of air from the bottle and the other valve
for supplying carbonic acid gas or fixed air to the liquid in the bottle at
any required pressure. With ale or porter I find that a pressure of from
eight to nine atmospheres of carbonic acid gas may be used.
For stoppering bottles filled with aërated liquid according to this
Invention I use by preference internal stoppers of a circular or ball
shape, arranged to fall into the neck of the bottle upon removal of the
filler, or other shaped internal stoppers may be used, as will be under-
stood.
In operation the bottle is placed in an inverted position and held by a
suitable appliance on to the nozzle or stuffing box (which is mounted on
a suitable frame). The rack is operated on and the piston pipe inserted
into the bottle. The communication with the accumulator is opened
and also the valve of the apparatus for the emission of air from the
bottle. The liquid rises in the bottle as high as the operator may
desire, and the communication with the accumulator is shut off and the
emission valve closed. The valve supplying the pressure of carbonic
acid gas is then opened and the pressure of carbonic acid gas allowed to
pass through the piston pipe and operate on the liquor in the bottle.
Upon removal of the bottle from the stuffing box the ball or other
internal stopper finds its way to the mouth of the bottle and effectually
stoppers the bottle.
The advantages of this Invention are that by its use the liquor rises
gradually in the bottle without frothing, and the operator can fill the
bottle the required height with certainty, and the aërated liquid pro-
duced by this Invention has a creamy instead of a frothy head.
The beforegoing being the nature, object, and purposes of this
Invention I will now proceed to describe in detail low the same may be
carried out into practical effect, and for that purpose I have hereunto

page_text: attached a Sheet of Drawings marked with letters and figures of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation. Like letters
and figures denote similar parts throughout the various views.
Figure 1 is an elevation, being a general view of apparatus constructed
according to my Invention for bottling ale, porter, and other like fer-
mented beverages.
•
Figure 6, crank for syrup pump.
Upon reference to the Drawings it will be seen that a is an apparatus
of known type used for aërated or gascous liquids, which liquids are
bottled by a detached valve apparatus, which is operated by hand, and
intermittently admits the gaseous liquids into and the air out of the
bottle to be filled, as at present practised.
Now my Invention consists in adding to the apparatus a (and in
addition to the gas pump c) the force pumps b, b³, and also in adding a
third valve to the filling apparatus, as shown at d, which communicates
only with the liquor, and through which the liquor is fed to the stuffing
box and into the bottle, e and being the valves now used for admitting
gaseous liquids and allowing for the escape of air. The valves e and f
communicate only with the piston pipe of the apparatus, and are used
for the escaping air and for the supply of carbonic gas. The valves d, e,
and ƒare so arranged that d and e are worked simultaneously and inter-
mittently with f. This filling apparatus is fitted on to a stand g, which
is provided with a rack k worked by a pinion k¹, and fitted with a piston
pipe, which communicates with the pipe ¹ of the filling apparatus;
³ is a syrup pump fitted on the stand and discharging into the filling
apparatus, and worked from the shaft which carries the pinion k². The
rack is worked by the handle i which operates the pinion k'. The
filling apparatus is worked by the handle j.
The bottle to be filled is placed in an inverted position with its neck
in the stuffing box a, and is held there by the treadle ², which operates
the rod and cap . is the pipe for supplying liquid, which liquid is

page_text: fed through the stuffing box and round the internal pipe ; m is the pipe
for supplying gas or compressed air from the apparatus a; n, n³, are
reservoirs or accumulators for containing ale, porter, or other fermented
beverages, which are pumped into them by the pumps b, b¹, through the
pipes 6, 6; o, o¹, are overflow pipes and safety valves; o³, pressure
guage; o³, liquor guage; p, pipe for connecting the reservoirs to the gas
apparatus a; 1, 1, are liquor supply pipes from the reservoirs n, n³, to
the filling apparatus; 1, 1º¹, are troughs containing ale, porter, or other
liquid, and connected to the suction of the pumps b, b¹, by the pipes 8, 8¹.
Figure 6 is a crank, which is arranged with a groove or slot for
working the syrup pump, so that the quantity of syrup forced into the
bottle can be regulated at will. The pump can also be used in the
manufacture of "shandygaff," as the pump will force any desired
quantity of ale or porter into the bottle, and the aërated water can-be
supplied by the filling apparatus.
In operation the liquor after being fined, as described in the first part
of this Specification, is fed into the troughs ", r', is from thenco
pumped to the reservoirs or accumulators n, n2¹. The reservoirs in the
Drawing are shown to receive pressure from the gas apparatus, but they
may be constructed in the form of an accumulator and the pressure
obtained by weights acting on a ram, as will be understood.
The bottle to be filled is placed in an inverted position, as shown on
the rack. The internal air pipe is inserted into the bottle by
operating the lever and rack, the filling handle is then actuated and the
valves & and e simultaneously opened, thus allowing the liquor to fill
the bottle through the pipe and through the stuffing box and round
the internal pipe h, the air from the bottle escaping through the internal
pipe h, the pipe h¹, and the valve e. The reverse action of the lever
closes the valves d and e and opens the valve f which puts a charge of
gas on the liquor in the bottle through the pipes m, h', and the piston
pipe h. The bottle is then removed by withdrawing the internal pipe by
releasing the treadle.
:
The filling apparatus may be used for aërated waters and like
beverages, in which case the filling handle is caused to operate simul-
taneously on the valves d and c, the third valve ƒnot being used. The
shaft that carries the pinion k' is fitted with a crank, Figure 6, which
works the syrup pump ². The stroke of the rack is regulated to

page_text: sufficiently insert the pipe h and to pump sufficient syrup into the
bottle.
In filling bottles with ale, porter, or like liquid, the said liquid is
pumped into the reservoirs n, n', and impregnated with carbonic gas,
but not sufficiently to make the liquor froth. The liquor is then forced 5
by the pressure in the reservoir into the bottle through the filling
apparatus and the operation is finished by charging the liquor in the
bottle with the full amount and pressure of gas by actuating the
valve f.
Having now fully described the nature, object, and purposes of this 1
my Invention, and shown how the same may be put into practical
operation, I would have it understood that I do not claim as my Inven-
tion the apparatus a, as shown in the Drawings, nor do I claim the
filling rack, as shown in the Drawings, nor the filling apparatus, as
shown in the Drawings, so far as the valves e and fand the intermittent 1
action is concerned; but what I claim as my Invention and secured to
me by Letters Patent as aforesaid is,—
Firstly. The method of fining ale, porter, and other malt and like
fermented beverages by passing the same through a "jelly bag " lined
with "papier de soie" or filtering paper, substantially in the manner 2
and for the purpose described in the beforegoing Specification.
Secondly. The reservoirs or accumulators n, n³, for containing
fermented liquors under pressure, such pressure being obtained by
weights or by a pressure of carbonic gas or compressed atmospheric air,
substantially as shown in the accompanying Drawings and described in a
the beforegoing Specification.
Thirdly. The addition to the gas apparatus a of the liquor pumps b, b¹,
connected to and in combination with the troughs 7, 1, and the
reservoirs n, n³, substantially as shown in the accompanying Drawings
and described in the beforegoing Specification.
Fourthly. The addition to the filling apparatus of the valve d which
is fitted to and works in combination with the valves e and ƒ, the action
of filling and discharging the air being simultaneous instead of inter-
mittent, and the third valve being used to charge the liquor with gas
after the bottle is filled, substantially as set forth.
{

page_text: Fifthly. The improved method of and means and apparatus for fining,
aërating, bottling, and preserving ale, porter, and like fermented
beverages, substantially as described and ascertained by the beforegoing
Specification and Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Bruce, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twenty-seventh day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five.
WILLIAM (L.s.) BRUCE.