IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF DISTILLED LIQUORS OR SPIRITS
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake,
& Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, for an Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF GRAIN FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF
DISTILLED LIQUORS OR SPIRITS." A communication from abroad by Thomas
Arnold Jebb and William Thomas Jebb, both of Buffalo, New York, United
States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 28th June 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF GRAIN
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF DISTILLED LIQUORS OR SPIRITS." [A communication
from abroad by Thomas Arnold Jebb and William Thomas Jebb, both of Buffalo,
New York, United States of America.]
This Invention relates to improvements in the method or manner of producing
distilled spirits from grain, more especially from Indian corn or maize. Heretofore
it has been the general practice to crush or grind the grain, and to mash, ferment,
and distil all the constituent parts of the crushed or ground grain together, whereby
a large amount of impurities or deleterious substances is liberated and mixed with
the spirits, from which these substances are afterwards removed to a certain
extent by rectification, while a great portion of the more volatile deleterious
substances, such as fusel oil, remains in the rectified spirits, and has to be gradually'
eliminated by the slow process of "aging." In this manner of treating grain for
the purpose of distillation the bran and gluten are discharged from the still in the
form of slops, which contain such an excessive quantity of water that they are not
desirable as feed and cannot be kept for even short periods of time without sowing,
in consequence of which these slops have no commercial value in warm weather,
Puins CJ1

page_text: and are in many localities treated as a waste product and permitted to run off, to
the great detriment of localities through which run the water courses receiving
this offal.
The objects of this Invention are to prevent the liberation of the deleterious
substances which are contained in the bran and gluten, and the contamination of
the spirits therewith; to preserve the bran and gluten in a form in which they
can be advantageously utilized as feed; and to expedite the whole process of
manufacture.
According to this Invention I effect a separation of the bran and gluten from
the starchy constituent parts of the reduced grain, and wash, feriment, and distil
the latter parts alone, while the bran and gluten are kept separate and disposed of
as feed or otherwise as may be desirable. I also introduce glucose into the mash
instead of malt, or reduced small grains, such as oats or barley, as now practised.
In carrying the said Invention into practice, the grain to be worked up is
weighed, and then passes to a steep tub arranged below the weigh hopper.
The grain is steeped in this tub for a sufficient length of time to thoroughly
soften the grain, but without causing fermentation to set in. The steep water is
preferably maintained at a temperature of from 120° to 130° Fahrenheit.
The grain after it has reached the desired state of softness, and after the water
has been drained off, is carried by an elevator to a receiver in the upper part of the
building and is shot into a grinding mill, by which the grain is ground high, so as
to reduce the bran and gluten to coarse fragments, while the starch is reduced
more finely. A stream of water is directed into the eye of the runner by a pipe,
and the product of grinding together with the water, escapes from the mill through
a discharge spout, the ground grain goes from the discharge spout to a disintegrator
in which such portions of the starchy matter as may still adhere to the fragments
of bran and gluten are completely detached from these fragments.
A disintegrating machine provided with several concentric rows of pins or
beaters revolving in opposite directions is preferably employed. An additional
supply of water from a pipe may be mixed with the material as it enters the
disintegrator if necessary. A washing or mixing tub arranged below the disin-
tegrator receives the ground and beaten grain from the disintegrator. The tub is
provided with rotating stirrers whereby a thorough mixing and washing of the
grain is effected, and whereby all the starch becomes suspended in the water with
which this tub is charged. The liquid material is taken from the washing tub by
a pump, and elevated to a receiver in the upper part of the building. A shaking
sieve arranged below the said receiver receives the liquid material from the latter,
and effects, by the aid of fine streams of water which are delivered upon the sieve
by suitable pipes, a separation of the starch from the bran and gluten, the latter
passing over the tail end of the sieve, while the starch is washed through the
perforations of the sieve and collected in a hopper or trough underneath the sieve.
A tub or vat receives the water and starch from the trough, which is provided
with a discharge pipe having a suitable gate or valve. The liquid is drawn into a
mash tub from the receiver when a sufficient quantity has accumulated. The mash
tub is of any ordinary and well known construction, and preferably provided with
stirrers revolving in opposite directions. The starchy liquid is first washed at a
temperature of about 180° Fahrenheit, then cooled down to about 160° Fahrenheit,
when a quantity of glucose, either in the form of blocks or in granulated or liquid
form, is added to the mash in about the proportion of twenty pounds of glucose
for every bushel of malt which is added at this stage of the mashing process as it
is now practised. The mash is then cooled to about 150° Fahrenheit, when an
additional quantity of glucose may be added to the mash in about the same propor-
tion in which crushed malt or small grains are now sometimes added to the mash
at this stage of the process.
When the operation of mashing is completed, the inash is conducted by troughs
or pipes to the fermenting tub or tubs in which the yeast is added, if it has not
been introduced into the mash in the mash tub.

page_text: When the fermentation is complete the beer is charged into the still, and the
spirits are distilled off in a well known manner.
The bran and gluten which are discharged by the sifting apparatus are conducted
to a squeezing apparatus in which the wet offal is passed between one or more
pairs of rollers, whereby the moisture is pressed out and the offal discharged in a
comparatively dry condition, in which it can be preserved sweet for a considerable
period of time, and transported over long distances. This starchy liquid which is
pressed out of the offal is preferably conducted by a pipe to the washing tub, if
this tub is used, or to the mash tub, if the washing tub is dispensed with. Although
I prefer to use the washing tub, its employment is not absolutely essential, and it
may be dispensed with, and the reduced grain be directly conducted to the sifting
apparatus from the disintegrator.
It will be seen from the foregoing description that in this improved process the
bran and gluten are separated from the starch before the operation of mashing is
begun, and never afterwards again brought in contact with the substance which
is fermented and distilled, whereby the following important advantages are
gained-The liberation of fusel oil and similar deleterious substances which
results mainly from the presence of the bran and gluten in the mashed, fermented,
or distilled material is avoided, and the spirits are produced free from these
deleterious substances. The bulk of the material which is mashed, fermented, and
distilled is greatly reduced by the exclusion of the bran and gluten from these steps
in the process; the apparatus employed for mashing, fermenting, and distilling is
proportionally reduced in size; the operation of distilling can be carried on less
violently or with lower steam pressure, as the alcohol will more readily pass into
the condensing worm, and the danger of carrying impurities mechanically over
with the alcoholic vapor is correspondingly reduced; the costly rectifying apparatus
is relieved of a large amount of its work, and can be much reduced in size and
capacity, and the spirits will be of better quality and be fit for consumption in
much less time than heretofore. The bran and gluten are preserved in a dry
condition in which they can be advantageously disposed of as feed, and the
annoyances and drawbucks attending the production of a large amount of
unsaleable wet offal are thereby avoided.
By the employment of glucose instead of malt or small grains in mashings, the
introduction of bran and gluten into the mash is avoided, and the operation of
mashing is expedited and cheapened.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said William Robert Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th December 1881.
WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE TREATMENT OF GRAIN
FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF DISTILLED LIQUORS OR SPIRITS." A communication
from abroad by Thomas Arnold Jebb and William Thomas Jebb, both of Buffalo,
New York, United States of America.
This Invention relates to improvements in the method or manner of producing
distilled spirits from grain, more especially from Indian-corn or maize. Heretofore
it has been the general practice to crush or grind the grain, and to mash, ferment,
and distil all the constituent parts of the crushed or ground grain together, whereby
a large amount of impurities or deleterious substances is liberated and mixed with
the spirits, from which these substances are afterwards removed to a certain extent
by rectification, while a great portion of the more volatile deleterious substances,
such as fusel oil, remains in the rectified spirits, and has to be gradually eliminated
by the slow process of aging. In this manner of treating grain for the purpose of
distillation, the bran and gluten are discharged from the still in the form of slops
which contain such an excessive quantity of water that they are not desirable as
feed, and cannot be kept for even short periods of time without souring, in con-
sequence of which these slops have no commercial value in warm weather, and are
in many localities treated as a waste product and permitted to run off, to the
great detriment of localities through which run the water courses receiving this
offal.
The objects of this Invention are to prevent the liberation of the deleterious
substances which are contained in the bran and gluten, and the contamination of
the spirits therewith, to preserve the bran and gluten in a form in which they
can be advantageously utilized as feed, and to expedite the whole process of
manufacture.
The said Invention consists to these ends in effecting a separation of the bran
and gluten from the starchy constituent parts of the reduced grain, and in mashing,
fermenting, and distilling the said parts alone while the bran and gluten are kept
separate and disposed of as feed or otherwise as may be desirable, and it also
consists in the process of manufacture as a whole, as hereinafter fully set forth.
The accompanying Drawing represents a sectional elevation of the apparatus or
plant employed in manufacturing spirits according to the said improved process.
A represents the hopper in which the grain to be worked up is weighed and
from which it passes to a steep tub B arranged below the said hopper. The steep
tub B is preferably constructed of iron in the manner described and shown in the
Specification of former Letters Patent, dated January 28, 1881, No. 386. The
grain is steeped in this tub for a sufficient length of time to thoroughly soften the
grain but without causing fermentation to set in. The steep water is preferably
maintained at a temperature of from 120° to 130° Fahrenheit.
C represents an elevator which receives the grain from the steep tub B after it
has reached the desired state of softness and after the water has been drained off.
The said elevator C carries the grain to a receiver D in the upper part of the
building. E represents a grinding mill, into which the grain is run from the
receiver D and by which the grain is ground in such a manner as to reduce the
bran and gluten to coarse fragments while the starch is reduced more finely. A
stream of water is directed into the eye of the runner by a pipe a, and the product

page_text: of grinding together with the water escapes from the mill through the discharge
spout e. F represents a disintegrator which receives the ground grain from the
discharge spout e of the mill E, and in which such portions of the starchy matter
as may still adhere to the fragments of bran and gluten are completely detached
from these fragments. A disintegrating machine provided with several concentric
rows of pins or beaters revolving in opposite directions is preferably employed.
An additional supply of water from a pipe c may be mixed with the material as it
enters the disintegrator if necessary.
G represents a washing or mixing tub arranged below the disintegrator F to
receive the ground and beaten grain from the said disintegrator. The tub G is
provided with rotating stirrers, whereby a thorough mixing and washing of the
grain is effected, and whereby all the starch becomes suspended in the water with
which this tub is charged; H represents a pump, by which the liquid material is
taken from the washing tub by a pump, and elevated to a receiver I in the upper
part of the building; J represents a shaking sieve arranged below the said receiver
to receive the liquid material from the latter. The said sieve J effects by the aid
of fine streams of water which are delivered upon the sieve by suitable pipes j a
separation of the starch from the bran and gluten, the latter passing over the tail
end of the sieve, while the starch is washed through the perforations of the sieve
and collected in a hopper or trough i underneath the same; K represents a tub or
vat which receives the water and starch from the trough i beneath the siove, and
which is provided with a discharge pipe having a suitable gate or valve kl;
represents the mash-tub, into which the liquid is drawn from the receiver K
when a sufficient quantity has accumulated. The mash-tub is of any ordinary and
well known construction, and preferably provided with stirrers revolving in
opposite directions. The starchy liquid is first mashed at a temperature of about
180° Fahrenheit, then cooled down to about 160° Fahrenheit, when a quantity of
glucose, either in the form of blocks or in a granulated or liquid form, is added to
the mash in about the proportion of twenty pounds of glucose for every bushel
of malt, which is added at this stage of the mashing process as it is now practised.
The mash is then cooled to about 150° Fahrenheit, when an additional quantity
of glucose may be added to the inash in about the same proportion in which
crushed malt or small grains are now sometimes added to the mash at this stage
of the process.
When the operation of mashing is completed, the mash is conducted by the
troughs or pipes to the fermenting tub or tubs L, in which the yeast is added
if it has not been introduced into the mash in the mash-tub. When the fermen-
tation is complete the beer is charged into a still, and the spirits are distilled off
in a well known manner.
The bran and gluten, which are discharged by the sifting apparatus J are
conducted to a squeezing apparatus M, in which the wet offal is passed between
one or more pairs of rollers, whereby the moisture is pressed out and the offal
discharged in a comparatively dry condition, in which state it can be preserved
sweet for a considerable period of time, and transported over long distances. The
starchy liquid which is pressed out of the offal is preferably conducted by a pipe n
to the washing tub G if this tub is used, or to the mash-tub K¹ if the tub G is
dispensed with. Although I prefer to use the washing tub G, its employment is
not absolutely essential, and it may be dispensed with, and the reduced grain be
directly conducted to the sifting apparatus J from the disintegrator F.
It will be seen from the foregoing description that in this improved process the
bran and gluten are separated from the starch before the operation of mashing is
begun, and never afterwards again brought in contact with the substance which
is fermented and distilled, whereby the following important advantages are
gained-The liberation of fusel oil and similar deleterious substances which
results mainly from the presence of the bran and gluten in the mashed, fermented,
or distilled material is avoided, and the spirits are produced free from these
deleterious substances; the bulk of the material which is mashed, fermented, and

page_text: distilled is greatly reduced by the exclusion of the bran and gluten from these
steps in the process; the apparatus employed for mashing, fermenting, and
distilling is proportionally reduced in size; the operation of distilling can be
carried on less violently or with lower steam pressure, as the alcohol will more
readily pass over into the condensing worm, and the danger of carrying impurities
mechanically over with the alcoholic vapor is correspondingly reduced; the costly
rectifying apparatus is relieved of a large amount of its work, and can be much
reduced in size and capacity, and the spirits will be of better quality and be fit
for consumption in much less time than heretofore. The bran and gluten are
preserved in a dry condition, in which state they can be advantageously disposed
of as feed, and the annoyances and drawbacks attending on the production of a
large amount of unsaleable wet offal are thereby avoided.
By the employment of glucose instead of malt or small grains in mashing, the
introduction of bran and gluten into the mash is avoided, and the operation of
mashing is expedited and cheapened.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to me by my
foreign correspondents, and the manner of performing the same, I wish it understood
that I claim,
First. In the manufacture of distilled spirits from grain, the method of separating
the bran and gluten from the starch contained in the reduced grain, and then
mashing, fermenting, and distilling the separated starch alone, whereby purer
spirits are produced, and the bran and gluten are preserved in a more useful
condition, substantially as above set forth.
Second. The herein described process of manufacturing distilled spirits from
grain, which process consists in first steeping the grain, then reducing the steeped
grain by grinding or beating, then separating the bran and gluten from the starchy
liquid by sifting, and then mashing, fermenting, and distilling the separated starch
alone, substantially as above set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty one.