Year: 1888

page_text: A communication from abroad by PIERRE FRANÇOIS TETTELIN, of Ghent, in the
Kingdom of Belgium.
I, WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON, F.C.S., M.I.M.E., of the Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors, 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and 6, Bank Street, Manchester, both in
the County of Lancaster, and 323, High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex, Civil
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement :-
Various processes have been made use of for improving alcohols; the bran and the
germs have been extracted from the wort, a process giving good results; or else
recourse has been had to the direct use of wine yeasts contained in the lees; finally,
the use of chemical processes of purification has been suggested.
All these processes are wanting in foundation. To produce a well flavoured alcohol
a pure liquid and a pure yeast are required.
The two first processes fail in one or other of these points, and chemical purification
becomes useless, if a well flavoured alcohol can be produced directly.
All grain alcohols which have not been treated by a special process of chemical
purification, contain a poisonous substance which produces maddening intoxication.
This substance called head and tail. products "is chiefly composed of ethers,
furfurol, aldehydes, higher alcohols than ethylic alcohol such as propylic, butylic,
anylic, etcetera, and of divers alkaloids.
The researches which Mr. Tettelin has made have brought to light three
facts:
A. He finds that the furfurol, which is the dangerous poison met with in commercial
alcohols, is formed by the presence of bran and germs in the wort in fermentation,
and he believes himself to be the first to point out that this wort should be filtered
before the fermentation, to avoid the formation of "furfurol."

page_text: B. That, of all yeast, that of fruits or "elliptical yeast" is the most durable and
the only one capable of producing a well flavoured alcohol, beer yeast used in
large quantities produces ferments of an impure kind, called "disease ferments"
(ferments de maladic). Elliptical yeast is contained in lees of wine and in fruit
parings.
C. That dried lees of wine, such as are found in commerce, ferment so slowly, that
it is impossible to found an industrial process on their direct use, and that they also
contain "ferments de maladie" which must be extracted from them. On these
observations the following process for the fabrication of pure yeast, and for the
production of well flavoured alcohols is founded, and consists:
1st. The regeneration, the purification and the production of the elliptical yeast, ellipsoidal
saccharomyces, contained in the lees of wine. For this purpose, a nutritive and purifying
solution of pure sugar is prepared, dissolved in distilled water, weighing fifteen degrees
Balling, and to this is added a little tartaric acid, then about one tenth of its weight
of lees of wine of good quality or other elliptical ferments, for example, those of
raisins or other fruit. The temperature is raised to between 35 degrees and forty
degrees centigrade, and it is kept constant at that temperature for 30 or 40 hours,
till the precise moment that the alcoholic fermentation appears; at this moment,
when the first bubbles appear on the surface of the sugared liquid, the temperaturo
is lowered to 28 degrees or 29 degrees centigrade, and the fermentation is allowed to
continue and increase for some time. The effect of this is that the germs of impure
ferments contained in commercial lees of wine, are rejected, leaving only the
wholesome and vigorous ferments capable of resisting the exhausting medium in which
they are regenerated.
When the microscope indicates that the pure and wholesome elliptic ferment has
been obtained and separated, there is added to the mother solution in fermentation and
in small quantities at intervals, wort which has been suitably saccharified and pressed
through a filter press or any other suitable apparatus.
The object of this filtration is to get rid of the bran and germs, which are the
ingredients producing the furfurol.
The addition of wort at the temperature most favourable for fermentation must be
effected rationally so as not to allow it to slacken.
When the mass is in full fermentation, the surface yeast is collected, then the
bottom yeast, which is pressed in the ordinary manner.
Thus, this yeast produced by the pure elliptical ferment, supplies exactly the same
class of ferments and serves to continue the fermentation in all the filtered worts,
until the microscope shows a degeneration of the yeast mother. Then the yeast
is regenerated, starting again from the lees of wine and following the process described
above.
2nd. The invention also embraces the application of this process to the production
of pure yeast and of the fermentation at the distillery, of corn and other fermentable
liquids.
3rd. In the use of yeast thus produced, for brewing on filtered worts and for
baking to replace yeast of beer, which contains "ferment de maladie" in considerable
quantity. The process for the production of Mr. Tettelin's yeast has furthermore this
considerable advantage that it can be employed wherever there is a scarcity of yeast
for producing the alcoholic fermentation, because dried yeast of wine can be kept for
several months.
4th. The addition, in small quantities, of a wort, fermentable with malt and wheat
flour, previously filtered, to the mixture, mentioned in paragraph 2, when in full
fermentation.
Also the collection of the lower surface yeast, which when washed and pressed serves
to continue the fermentation in the filtered worts, as has been described above. This
constitutes a practical and industrial process for the manufacture of pure elliptical
yeast in sufficient quantity to supply large manufactories without requiring these
latter to alter their plant or their ordinary process, with the exception of filtering the
worts.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to me by
my foreign correspondent, I declaro that what I claim is :-
1st. The manufacture and the use of pure elliptical yeast produced from dried lees
of wine with the object of reproducing well flavoured non-poisonous alcohols,
substantially as described.
2nd. The purification, substantially as herein described, of the forments of the dried
lees of wine in order to separate from it the pure elliptical ferment, whereby develop-
ment can be continued in worts duly prepared, in the manner shown above, namely by
filtration, thus avoiding the production of furfurol.
Dated this 13th day of October 1888.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Agents for the Applicant.