IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF GRAIN OR CORN FOR BREWING AND PURPOSES" OTHER
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Richard Southby, of No. 24, Holborn Viaduct, in
the City of London, Analytical Chemist, for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN THE PREPARATION OF GRAIN OR CORN FOR BREWING AND
PURPOSES"
OTHER
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Richard Southby
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 5th August 1880.
EDMUND RICHARD SOUTHBY, of No. 24, Holborn Viaduct, in the City of
London, Analytical Chemist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF GRAIN
OR CORN FOR BREWING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
It is well known that when a meal prepared by grinding wheat, barley, and
some other varieties of corn is mixed with ground malt, and this mixture is mashed,
that is to say, mixed with water at a suitable temperature, a large proportion of
the starchy constituents of such meal are converted into certain varieties of
dextrine and sugar. The results of this conversion are also known to vary
considerably, according to the temperature of the mash, the time it is allowed to
stand, and the nature of the corn from which the meal was prepared. A much
more complete conversion also takes place in the case of some meals, such as those
from wheat and barley, than in the case of some others, such as maize or rice
meal.
The wort or saccharine liquid prepared by mashing a mixture of ground corn in
its raw state and malt is however not well adapted for the manufacture of beer,
the beer produced from it being more liable to acid and other changes than that
produced from good malt alone.
This difficulty has been to some extent overcome by cooking the raw corn
either before or after grinding, but before mixing it with the malt. All such
cooking processes however involve the necessity for special apparatus and operations
over and above those required for ordinary brewing, and there are serious
objections to adding to the already complex and delicate operations involved in
ordinary brewing.
Before describing my Invention I wish it to be understood that I use the word
corn to signify wheat, barley, rye, oats, maize, millet, rice, and other starchy seeds
which are employed to produce a meal or flour.
The object of my Invention is to prepare a meal from corn that can be used as

page_text: a substitute for a portion of the malt in the ordinary brewing operations without
increasing their complexity or injuring the quality of the beer produced.
In order to prepare this meal 'I, first, more or less completely saturate the corn
with water by steeping it or otherwise. I, secondly, cook the saturated corn by
subjecting it for some hours to such a temperature as will swell and otherwise
modify the starch granules in the manner that they are modified when made into
paste or jelly, but I do not carry the operation so far as to disintegrate the grains
of corn or to break them down into a pasty mass. I find that driving low pressure
steam through the steeped corn placed in a vessel provided with a perforated false
bottom and movable cover is a good and simple method of effecting this object.
I, thirdly, dry the cooked corn on an ordinary malt kiln or other suitable drying
apparatus until it is dry enough to allow of its being ground into a meal or flour,
and so as to free it as far as possible from any tendency to become mouldy, or to
undergo acid or other changes on keeping. This drying when desirable can be
carried to as near perfect dessication as is practicable. And, fourthly, I reduce this
cooked and dried corn to a fine meal or powder by means of any suitable grinding
apparatus.
One part of the meal prepared in the above manner may be mixed with from
2 to 3 parts of malt either before or after grinding, and the brewing operations
can then be conducted in the ordinary manner. When a much larger proportion
of my prepared meal is used it is liable to interfere with the drainage of the
wort from the mash, and special arrangements and precautions are required. The
exact proportion varies according to the quality of the malt and meal.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Edmund Richard Southby in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
3rd February 1881.
EDMUND RICHARD SOUTHBY, of 24, Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London,
Analytical Chemist. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PREPARATION OF GRAIN OR CORN
FOR BREWING AND OTHER PURPOSES."
It is known that when a product prepared by grinding wheat, barley, and some
other varieties of corn is mixed with ground malt, and this mixture is mashed,
that is to say, mixed with water at a suitable temperature, a large proportion of
the starchy constituents of such product are converted into certain varieties of
dextrine and sugar. The results of this conversion are also known to vary
considerably, according to the temperature of the mash, the time it is allowed to
stand, and the nature of the corn from which the product was prepared. A much
more complete conversion also takes place in the case of the product derived from
some corn, such as that from wheat and barley, than in the case of that derived
from some others, such as maize or rice.
The wort or saccharine liquid prepared by mashing a mixture of ground corn in
such a state and malt is however not well adapted for the manufacture of beer, the
beer produced from it being more liable to acid and other changes than that
produced from good malt alone.
This difficulty has been to some extent overcome by boiling the raw corn into a
species of porridge before mixing it with the malt. Inasmuch however as the
preparation and user of such a porridge must be contemporaneous, or nearly so,
with the brewing operations in connection with which it is to be used, all such
processes involve the necessity for special apparatus and operations over and above
those required for ordinary brewing purposes, and there are serious objections to
adding to the already complex and delicate operations involved in ordinary
brewing.
Before describing my Invention I wish it to be understood that I use the word
corn to signify wheat, barley, rye, oats, maize, millet, rice, and other starchy seeds
which are employed to produce a meal or flour.
The object of my Invention is to prepare from corn a meal that can be used at
any time, according to the brewing requirements, as a substitute for a portion
of the malt during the course of the ordinary brewing operations, without increasing
their complexity or injuring the quality of the beer produced.
In order to prepare this meal I first more or less completely saturate the corn
with water by steeping it or otherwise. This is best effected by steeping the corn
in a tank or vessel, in which the corn is placed and kept covered with water for a
longer or shorter period, according to the nature of the corn. Thus I find that a good
result is obtained by steeping maize for from forty eight to sixty hours, whereas barley
is sufficiently steeped in from twenty four to forty eight hours; as regards other
varieties of corn they require a longer or shorter steeping according as the grain is of
a harder or softer character, but in all cases the steeping should be continued until the
corn is saturated or nearly suturated with water, and the more nearly it is saturated,
that is to say, the more nearly it has absorbed all the water that it is capable of
absorbing when immersed in water the better the result will be. The water may
be wholly or partially changed several times during the process of steeping, and
this changing of the water is specially useful when it is desired to remove as
completely as possible certain soluble coloring and flavoring matters, as in the case of
maize, barley, and most other varieties of corn. In such cases the water may be
changed once in twenty four hours, or even more frequently, or a stream of water

page_text: may be run continuously through the steeping vessel, but in all cases the water must
be changed often enough to prevent the setting up of putrefactive changes in the
liquid or in the corn itself. The exact length of time during which the corn is
steeped is of very little importance, provided that it is not continued so long as to
cause the corn to undergo putrefactive changes, and provided at the same time
that it is continued long enough to saturate or nearly saturate the corn.
Any form of tank or vessel may be used for steeping the corn in. A brick and
cement tank, built on the ground and lined with cement, is one convenient form of
vessel, and another convenient form is a metal tank constructed of cast iron or
other suitable metal, and supported at such an elevation as to command the
steaming vessels, the bottom of this metal tank being in the form of an inverted
cone or pyramid, so as to deliver the corn freely to the steaming vessels by opening
a sluice or valve fixed at the apex of the cone or pyramid. The tanks or vessels
should be provided with strainers and cocks or valves at or near the bottom, so as
to allow the water to drain off when desired, leaving the grain in the tank.
The corn having been sufficiently saturated with water and the remainder of the
water drained from it, may either be at once transferred to the steaming vessels, or
it may be allowed to remain for some hours either in the steeping tank or in a heap
on a floor or otherwise, but so that the moisture with which it is saturated does
not evaporate from it, nor any considerable amount of the constituents of the
corn become soluble owing to incipient germination, nor any putrefactive or
deteriorating changes occur in the corn.
I, secondly, cook the saturated corn by subjecting it for some hours to such a
temperature as will swell and otherwise modify the starch granules in the manner
that they are modified when made into paste or jelly; but I do not carry the
operation so far as to disintegrate the grains of corn, or to break them down into a
pasty mass. This cooking may be accomplished by heating the steeped corn in a
vessel provided with a steam jacket, or heated in any other suitable manner, a
small quantity of water equal to about one quarter of the weight of the corn being
added. Pressure and agitation may also be used to assist the operation, provided
always that the corn is not reduced to a porridge or pasty mass. But I find that
driving low pressure steam through the steeped corn, placed in a vessel provided
with a perforated false bottom and movable cover, is a good and simple method of
cooking the corn.
The length of time, during which it is advisable to steam or otherwise cook the
corn, varies according to the nature of the variety operated upon; thus I find that
good results are obtained by steaming maize for from three to five hours, barley
from two to three hours, and other varieties in proportion to the size and hardness
of the corn.
The steaming cannot be carried too far, provided the grains remain
separate and sufficiently whole, and in such a state that they can be dried without
loss or difficulty on an ordinary malt kiln or other similar drying apparatus, and
provided, secondly, that no serious loss of the valuable constituents of the corn
occurs by solution in the condensed water which flows away from the steaming
vessel.
For the easy discharge of the grain from the steaming vessel, it may be made
of a small size and hung on trunions, so that it can be turned over for the
discharge of the grain, and if this form is adopted, a vessel which will contain one
quarter of corn is a suitable size, and a number of them may be employed corre-
sponding to the amount of corn that has to be steamed in a given time. If, on the
other hand, it is preferred to use a large vessel, it is advisable to provide it with!
a sluice valve, through which the corn can be discharged, the vessel remaining
stationary.
The steam need not be applied continuously after it has once blown freely
through the mass of corn; it answers well after the steam has first blown through
the mass of corn for ten minutes to turn it off for ten minutes, then turn it on for five
minutes and off for ten minutes, and so on until the steaming is completed. The
steaming vessels may if desired be fitted with steam tight covers, a perforated plate

page_text: being placed above as well as below the corn, and tho steam injected alternately
above and below the corn; or various forms of rotating vessels may be used so as to
keep the corn moving slightly during the steaming, but I find that simple vessels
provided with a perforated false bottom and movable cover, the steam being injected
below the false bottom, answer well, provided the depth of the corn in such
vessels does not much exceed two feet. One and a half to two inches is a sufficient
steam space to allow between the bottom and false bottom, and a clear space of
from three to four inches should be allowed between the top of the corn and the
The bottom of the vessel should be provided with a blow off cock to allow
cover.
the condensed water to escape.
The steaming vessels may be made of any suitable material, but I find that
those constructed of galvanized sheet iron are economical and convenient and
answer well.
After the corn is thoroughly cooked it can be at once transferred to the kiln or
other drying apparatus, or it may remain for some hours in a heap on a floor or
other receptacle provided for the purpose, but in all cases the drying must be carried
out before there is the slightest danger of putrefactive, fermentative, or other
deteriorating changes commencing in the steamed corn.
I, thirdly, dry the cooked corn on an ordinary malt kiln or other suitable drying
apparatus until it is dry enough to allow of its being ground into a meal or flour,
and so as to free it as far as possible from any tendency to become mouldy, or to
undergo acid or other changes on keeping; this drying, when desirable, can be
carried to as near perfect dessication as is practicable. I find that it answers well
to dry the corn until the moisture it contains does not exceed ten per centum of the
weight of the corn.
And, fourthly, I reduce the cooked and dried corn to a fine meal or powder by
means of any suitable grinding apparatus. For this purpose I find that ordinary mill
stones, such as are used in the production of flour, answer best, but as the steeped,
cooked, and dried corn is hard and somewhat difficult to disintegrate, it is advisable
that the millstones should be of the hardest quality. Steel mills, if of good
construction, answer the purpose, but do not generally produce such a good result
as millstones. In the case of maize, however, it is advisable to roughly break down,
or as it is technically called "kibble," the maize in a coarsely set steel mill before
it passes between the millstones. I may add here that the foregoing processes when
applied to maize have the effect of compelling it to give off certain volatile
flavouring matters, which are retained in the porridge referred to in the earlier part
of the Specification.
It is important that the corn should be ground to a fine meal, so as to enable the
diastase of the malt, when the meal and malt are mashed together, to act on the
particles of meal as perfectly as possible; I find that a meal ground so that
the greater portion of it will pass through a wire gauze of seventy holes to the inch
answers well.
One part of the meal prepared in the above manner may be mixed with from two to
three parts of malt, either before or after grinding, and the brewing operations can be
conducted in the ordinary manner. When a much larger proportion of my prepared
meal is used, it is liable to interfere with the drainage of the wort from the mash,
and special arrangements and precautions are required. The exact proportion varies
according to the quality of the malt and meal, and also the construction of the
mash tun, the mashing machine, and the false bottom of the mash tun, consequently
some brewers may not be able to use conveniently as much as one part of meal to
two or three of malt, but any smaller proportion of meal may be used, and the
brewing operations conducted in the usual manner. When a larger proportion of
meal is used it is generally requisite to employ some artificial means of separating
the wort from the solid constituents of the mash, and this may be effected by
pressing the mash in bags, filter presses, or other well known apparatus, or by
drainage in bag filters similar to those used in sugar refineries, or in any other
manner which is well understood and usually adopted in such operations.

page_text: Having now described my said Invention, and having explained the manner of
carrying the same into effect, I wish it to be understood that without confining
myself to the exact details herein before described,―
I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters Patent as aforesaid, the pro-
duction of a meal as a substitute for a portion of malt, capable of being used in the
course of ordinary brewing operations, and obtained by the treatment of corn
(using the word in the extended sense which I have before given to it), in the
manner I have pointed out in this Specification.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Richard Southby, have hereunto
set my hand and scal, this Third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
EDMUND RICHARD SOUTHBY. (L.S.)