AN APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONDENSING THE ALCOHOLIC STEAMS, ARISING FROM SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS, SUCH AS WINE, BRANDY, BEER, CYDER, AND OTHER SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS DURING THEIR FERMENTATION
Year: 1821

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I DOMINIQUE
PIERRE DEURBROUCQ, of King Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex,
Gentleman, send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King George the Fourth did, by
His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of that part of the United Kingdom.
of Great Britain and Ireland called England, bearing date at Westminster, the
Eleventh day of September, in the second year of His reign, give and grant
unto me, tho said Dominique Pierre Deurbroucq; my exors, adñiors, and
assigns, His especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority, that I, the
said Dominique Pierre Deurbroucq, my exors, admiors, and assigns, during the
term of years therein mentioned, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in all His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, the communication,
made to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad I am in possession of, "AN
APPARATUS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONDENSING THE ALCOHOLIC STEAMS, ARISING FROM
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS, SUCH AS WINE, BRANDY, BEER, CYDER, AND OTHER SPIRITUOUS
LIQUORS DURING THEIR FERMENTATION;" in which said Letters Patent there is
contained a proviso, that if I, the said Dominique Pierre Deurbroucq, shall not
particularly describe, and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, and cause the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High
Court of Chancery within six calendar months next and immediately after the
(late of tlie said Letters Patent, that then the said Letters Patent, and all
liberties and advantages whatsoever thereby granted, shall utterly cease,

page_text: determine, and become void, as in and by the same, relation being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear..
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
Dominique Pierre Deurbroucq, have executed this instrument, by which I do
declare that the nature of the said Invention of an apparatus for the purpose
of condensing the alcholic steams arising from spirituous liquors, such as wine,
brandy, beer, cyder, or other spirituous liquors during their fermentation, as
communicated to me by a certain foreigner residing abroad, is particularly
described and ascertained in and by the annexed Sheet of Drawings or Plans,
and in the following description thereof (that is to say):-
The apparatus consists of a vessel or head, which is constructed in such
a manner as to be capable of being placed and secured upon the back or vat
in which the process of fermentation is carried on for the manufacturing of
wine, brandy, beer, cyder, or any other liquors which may require the process
of the vinous fermentation during any stage of their manufacture. The back
or vat is closed air-tight (or nearly so) on all sides, except an opening at the top,
communicating with the vessel or head above-mentioned. The head is sur-
rounded by a sufficient quantity of cold water or other cool medium, so that the
alcholic vapours or steams which are generated or evolved during the process of
the vinous fermentation are allowed to rise up into the head, and by coming into
contact with its cool internal surface becomes thereby cooled, and condensed
into drops, which drops trickle or run down the inside of the said head, and
descend into the liquor in the back or vat. By the application of this apparatus
a certain portion of alcohol (which has been heretofore usually suffered to escape
in the form of vapour or steam along with the non-condensable gasses which
are evolved during the process of the vinous fermentation,) is condensed and
returned into the liquor. The non-condensable gasses are carried off in this
new apparatus through a pipe, proceeding from the internal part of the head
and passing through the cool water surrounding the head, as before-mentioned;
the end of the said pipe is then immersed some depth beneath the surface of
water or other fluid contained in a separate vessel (or otherwise, as occasion
may be found best), to cause the non-condensable gasses to escape from the
end of the pipe under a considerable pressure, the object of which is to confine
the said gasses and alcholic steams within the head, and allow them a sufficient
time to cool and condense; otherwise the pipe which proceeds from the head
to carry off the non-condensable gasses might be continued round in the form
of a spiral or worm in the cold water surrounding the head, to subject the said
gasses for a longer period to the action of the cold, in order to condense them
more completely.

page_text: . In order to render the description of the apparatus clear and intelligible,
and to enable persons conversant with such matters to put the Invention in
practice, I will refer by characters or letters to the various parts of the
apparatus as represented on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed, the same
letters being used to denote the same parts on all the Figures.
Fig. 1 shews a section of the apparatus, supposing it to be placed upon the
fermenting back or vat, and secured in a proper situation to be employed for
condensing the alcholic steams arising from the liquor contained in the vat
Fig. 2 shews a plan of the upper part of the apparatus, and Figure 3 a plan of
the lower part of the apparatus. To explain the manner in which it is adapted
to apply upon and be secured to the top of the vat, in order to prevent. the
escape of the steams or vapours, &c. under the desired pressure, Fig. 4 shews
an elevation of the lower plate, seen in Fig. 3. A, A, Fig. 1, shews the
fermenting back or vat; it is closed on all sides, leaving only an opening in the
top surface, into which the lower part or neck D of the condensing head B
enters; the upper part of the head is formed like a cone, and is soldered or
otherwise fixed at its base to a ring or neck in such manner as to form a
small circular channel or gutter round the inside circumference, as seen-at C, C,
Fig 1; the cylindrical part or neck D passes through an opening or ring d, d
formed in the centre of a metal plate E, E, which serves as a base or bottom
for the whole apparatus. F, F, shews an external vessel or reservoir of a
cylindrical or other form, which is soldered or otherwise fixed upon the plate
E, E. The reservoir F, F, is for the purpose of containing cold water or other
cool fluid, which, by surrounding the head B, keeps it cool, and effects the
condensation of the alcholic steams or vapours which rise into it from the back
or vat A; A. The water or other fluid contained in the reservoir F, F, should
be kept constantly in a cool state, by allowing a small supply of cold water to
enter near the lower part of the said reservoir, having at the same time a waste
pipe at or near to the top thereof to permit the water to flow off at a certain
level. G, G, represents a pipe which communicates with the inside of the
head B, as seen at c, in Fig. 1, it is situated at about one-third of the height
of the cone; this pipe is carried round in a spiral or circuitous direction in the
reservoir F, F, so as to be entirely surrounded by the cool water, it then passes
through the side of the reservoir at H, and is connected with a pipe I, the
lower end of which pipe is immersed in a vessel of water at K. L represents
a small pipe which proceeds from the circular channel C, C, and descends
beneath the surface of the liquor in the back or vat near to the bottom thereof
the object of which will be herein-after explained. The plate E, E, is furnished
with three circular wedges round its circumference, as seen at W, W, W, in

page_text: the Plan, Fig. 3; these wedges are adapted to act beneath pieces of metal or
looks X, X, X, which are fixed to the top of the back or vat by screws, bolts,
or otherwise, as seen at X; X; 'in the section, Fig. 1: The plate E, E, is
furnished with four handles a, a, a, a, projecting from its circumference, for the
purpose of turning the plate and apparatus round; and causing the wedges.
W, W, W, to enter beneath the hooks X, X, X, to secure the apparatus
firmly upon the top of the back or vat, and prevent the escape of any gas or
yapour; the handles a, a, a, a, also serve for the workman to hold by in
carrying the apparatus from one fermenting back or vat to. another: The
manner of using this apparatus is as follows:-The plate E, E; with the
apparatus mounted on it, should be placed upon the back or fermenting vat,'"
with a ring of thick leather or other similar substance between the joint, as
seen at b, b, in Fig. 1; the projecting or centre part d, d, of the plate E, E;
should enter into the opening formed in the top of the back or vat; and by
turning the plate round by its handle a, a, a, a, the circular wedges W, W, W;
before mentioned would be forced under the hooks X, X, X, and thereby
secure the apparatus firmly upon the vat; in this state the reservoir F, F,
should be filled with cold water, and the pipe I fixed on with its lower end
immersed in the water contained in the vessel K; in this situation all the gases
and alcholic steams which rise from the liquor in the back or vat are obliged
to pass up into the head B, there coming into contact with the cold sides of
the head B, the alcholic steams would be condensed and run down the sides of
the cone into the small circular channel C, C, from whence the alcohol would
be conveyed by the small pipe L before mentioned into the liquor contained in
the back or vat at a considerable depth beneath the surface of the liquor. The
non-condensable gases are allowed to pass out at the opening c into the spiral
or worm pipe G, G, and escape finally by bubbling up through the water in
the vessel K. If any steam or vapour of alcohol should pass off from the
head B into the pipe G, G, it would be there condensed by longer exposure to
the cold, and the alcohol would return back along the warm pipe into the
head B, and descend into the vat through the pipe L, as before mentioned:
N, Fig. 1, represents a small cock, which communicates by a short pipe with
the circular channel C, C, for the purpose of trying the strength or quality of
alcohol which is condensed in the head and worm pipe; O shows a cock to
draw off the water from the reservoir F, F, previous to removing the apparatus
to another fermenting back or vat. If it should be found that the condensation
was complete without the worm pipe G, G, the non-condensable gases might
be carried off through a pipe proceeding directly from the head B into the
vessel K, or otherwise, as by experience might be found best. If it should be

page_text: thought desirable to withdraw the yeast from the fermenting back or vat from
time to time, or allow it to escape as fast as it is produced during the process,
it might be effected by the ordinary methods known and practised in the
London breweries, viz, by having an apparatus similar to a large funnel
floating upon the surface of the liquor in the back or vat, having a pipe pro-
jecting from it, which pipe passes through a stuffing box or collar of leather in
the bottom of the back or vat, so that the yeast flows into the funnel and
descends down the pipe into another vessel or receptacle, which other vessel or
receptacle in this new apparatus must be made to communicate by a pipe with
the upper part of the fermenting back or vat; but as this does not form a
necessary part of the present apparatus I shall not enter into a more minute
description of it.
The form and proportion of the parts might be varied according to the dis-
cretion of the workman, as well as the materials of which the same might be
made, still producing the desired effect of condensing the alcholic steams
arising from the fermentation of spirituous liquors in general, and returning
the alcohol so condensed into the liquor again, such being the sole object of the
present Invention.
In witness whereof, I, the said Dominique Pierre Deurbroucq, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Ninth day of March, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and twenty-two.