AN IMPROVEMENT IN MALTING AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN
Year: 1877

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Alexander Melville Clark, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the
County of Middlesex, Patent Agent, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVEMENT
IN MALTING AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN."
by Auguste Marbeau, of Paris, France.
A cominunication from abroad
Sealed the 2nd April 1878, and dated the 16th October 1877.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION filed by the said Alexander Melville Clark at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 16th October 1877.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent.
"AN IMPROVEMENT IN MALTING AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN.'
[A communication from abroad by Auguste Marbeau, of Paris, France.]
"
This Invention relates to an improvement in malting and apparatus used therein,
and consists in causing a current of fresh external atmospheric air to pass through
the barley undergoing germination. By the continued passage of fresh air through
the "couch" it is kept at a comparatively low temperature, and the formation of
lactic acid, which acts very energetically and disadvantageously upon barley and
malt, is thus avoided. Moreover all the gases resulting from the germination are
carried off whilst the malt retains all its natural qualities.
The air may be made to pass through the grain by means of a powerful exhaust
fan or pump, but to do this at once, economically and effectively, involves the
employment of a special apparatus, which should combine with the utmost
simplicity of construction a maximum efficiency for the production of malt of
superior quality.
This desirable result is attained by the present Invention, which I will now
proceed to describe in detail with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in
which Figure 1 shows a part sectional elevation; Figure 2, a transverse section ;
and Figure 3, a plan of the apparatus employed.
This consists of a suitable number of chests a, a, by preference of rectangular

page_text: form (six being shown in the Drawings), in which is placed the barley to be malted;
b, suction pipes; c, main pipe leading to the fan or pump, with which the several
branch pipes bare connected; d, valves for regulating the exhaust through the
pipes be, smaller branch pipes, connecting the pipe b with the space m beneath
the perforated sheet-iron false bottoms or trays f, upon which the layers of barley
are placed; g, k, framing of chests a; 1, coarse canvas covering.
For convenience of access passages are left between the chests a, the end ones
however being close against the walls of the malt house. The chests all abut at one
end against the wall of the building, which closes that end while their opposite ends
and sides are formed of brick laid in cement, and cemented on the inside and
outside.
The sides and angles of the chests are strengthened by posts g fixed in the floor,
and united at top by the cross bars k, which bind the whole rigidly together. A
passage is left at the front ends of the cases to admit of passing freely from one
to the other. At about five inches from the bottom of each case is placed a
perforated sheet-iron tray f supported on an iron frame. This tray is removable so
that it may be taken out once or twice a year to be painted with red lead to prevent
injury from rust, and when any particles which may be lodged in the perforations
may be removed. The two pipes e at one end of each chest are of about three
inches in diameter, but at right angles near the lower ends, and connected with
pipes b by an oblique joint at about three feet above the floor; or this arrangement
may be replaced by a sort of conical cap, terminating above in a pipe to which the
suction pipe b is fitted.
The suction pipes 6 of the six chests a are all united to a main pipe c of larger
diameter, its sectional area being equal to at least the areas of five of the six
pipes b combined. Each pipe b is provided with a valve d. The main pipe c leads
to the exhaust fan or other apparatus employed, which may either be placed on the
ground floor or the one above, as most convenient. All the joints of the several
pipes are carefully luted with strips of cloth or paper so as to be impervious
to air.
"
The whole being arranged as described, the following is the system of malting
adopted: The barley after being steeped to the point desired in the ordinary way
is conveyed into one or other of the six chests, say No. 1 for example. In about 20
to 24 hours the barley will have commenced to sprout, and when it has attained
about a millimetre in length the pipes of chests Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, are shut off, and
the exhauster set in motion either by means of a single horse gear or a steam
engine where one is available. All the air exhausted has been drawn through the
grain in chest No. 1, so that the temperature is thus regulated as desired, the lowest
temperature being attained when the suction pipe is full open, and if this appears
too low and retards the germination too much, by partially closing the valve the
draught of air may be at once reduced, whereupon the temperature immediately
rises and the germination becomes more active. From 20 to 30 cwts. of steeped
barley are introduced every 24 hours into a fresh chest, so that after Nos. 2, 3, 4,
and 5 are filled with grain, that in No. 1 will be ready to be taken to the kiln and
be replaced by a fresh supply of steeped grain.
The turning over of the barley should be performed at intervals of 12 hours and
requires no special skill for its performance, all that is necessary being to clear a
space with a shovel at one end of the "couch," into which the barley is shovelled
and the whole afterwards levelled.
Care should be taken to shut off the valve on the exhaust pipe before turning
the grain or emptying the chests.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the more the valves are opened the greater
will be the air draught and the lower the temperature in each layer of grain, and
that thus by means of the valves & the temperature of the grain may be regulated
as desired.
In order that the air which traverses the barley contained in the chests a may
not abstract any of the moisture, and thus arrest the germination, a covering,

page_text: composed of a double thickness of canvas, is laid over each, which is slightly
sprinkled with water from time to time, so that the air passing through it may
become sufficiently charged with humidity and reduced in temperature to maintain
the necessary moisture in the barley for producing perfect germination.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Alexander Melville Clark in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th April 1878.
ALEXANDER MELVILLE CLARK, of 53, Chancery Lane, in the County of Middlesex,
Patent Agent. " AN IMPROVEMENT IN MALTING AND APPARATUS USED THEREIN."
A communication from abroad by Auguste Marbeau, of Paris, France.
This Invention relates to an improvement in malting and apparatus used therein,
and consists in causing a current of fresh external air to pass through the barley
undergoing germination. By the continued passage of fresh air through the "couch"
it is kept at a comparatively low temperature, and the formation of lactic acid
which acts very energetically and disadvantageously upon barley and malt, is thus
avoided. Moreover, all the gases resulting from the germination are carried off
whilst the malt retains all its natural qualities.
The air might be made to pass through the grain by means of a powerful
exhaust fan or pump, but to do this at once, economically and effectively, involves
the employment of a special apparatus which should combine with the utmost
simplicity of construction a maximum efficiency for the production of malt of
superior quality.
This desirable result is attained by the present Invention which I will now
proceed to describe in detail and with reference to the accompanying Drawings, in
which Figure 1 shows a part sectional elevation, Figure 2 a transverse section, and
Figure 3 a plan of the apparatus employed.
This consists of a suitable number of chests or compartments a, a, by preference
of rectangular form (six being shown in the Drawing), in which is placed the
barley to be malted. b are branch exhaust pipes connected at one end to the main
exhaust pipe c, leading to the fan or air pump, and at the other end by smaller
branch pipes e, with the space m beneath the perforated sheet-iron false bottoms or
trays f, upon which the layers of barley are placed. These pipes b are furnished with
valves d for regulating the exhaust; g, k, framing of chests a; 1, coarse canvas
covering.
For convenience of access passages are left on either side of the chests a except
those at the two ends which are close against the walls of the malt house. One
end of all the chests is formed by the wall of the malt house, the opposite ends and
sides being constructed of brick laid edgewise in cement and cemented on the
inside and outside.
The sides and angles of the chests are strengthened by posts g, fixed in the ground
or floor, and united at top by the cross bars k, which bind the whole rigidly together,

page_text: A free passage is left at the front ends of the chests. At about five inches from
the bottom of each chest or compartment is placed a perforated sheet-iron tray f
supported on an iron frame. This tray is removable so that it may be taken out
once or twice a year in order to be painted with red lead to prevent rust, and have
its perforations cleared of any particles which may be lodged therein. The two
branch pipes e at the front end of each chest are about three inches in diameter ;
they are bent at right angles near the lower ends and connected with pipes b by
an oblique joint at about three feet above the floor, or this arrangement may be
replaced by a sort of conical cap terminating above in a pipe to which the pipe b
is fitted.
The branch pipes b of the six chests a are all united to the main exhaust pipe c
of such diameter that its sectional area is at least equal to the areas of five of the
six pipes b combined. The main pipe c leads to the exhaust fan or other apparatus
employed, which may either be placed on the ground floor or the one above, as most
convenient. All the joints of the several pipes are carefully luted with strips of
cloth or paper so as to be air-tight.
The whole being arranged as described, the following is the system of melting
adopted: The barley after being steeped to the point desired in the ordinary way
is conveyed by shoots into one or other of the six chests, say No. 1, for example.
In about 20 to 24 hours the barley will have commenced to sprout, and when the
shoot has attained about a millimetre in length, the pipes of chests Nos. 2, 3, 4, and
5, are shut off and the exhaust apparatus set in motion either by means of a horse
gear or a steam engine where one is available. All the air exhausted is drawn
through the grain in chest No. 1, so that the temperature is thus regulated as
desired, the lowest temperature being attained when the branch exhaust pipe
is full open, and if this appears too low and retards the germination too much the
draught of air may be at once reduced by partially closing the valve, whereupon the
temperature immediately rises and the germination becomes more active. From 20
'to 30 cwts. of steeped barley are introduced every 24 hours into a fresh chest, so that
after Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are filled the malt in No. 1 will be ready to be taken to
the kiln and be replaced by a fresh supply of steeped barley.
The barley should be turned over at intervals of 12 hours, and this requires no
special skill for its perfomance, all that is necessary being to clear a space with a
shovel at one end of the "couch" into which the barley is shovelled, and the whole
afterwards levelled.
Care should be taken to shut off the valve on the exhaust pipe before turning the
barley or emptying the chests.
From the foregoing it will be seen that the wider the valves are opened the greater
will be the air draught and the lower the temperature in each layer of barley, and
that thus by means of the valves d the temperature may be regulated as
desired.
In order that the air which traverses the barley "couch" contained in the chests a
may not abstract any of the moisture, and thus arrest the germination, a covering
composed of a double thickness of canvas is laid over each, which is slightly sprinkled
with water from time to time, so that the air passing through it may become
sufficiently charged with humidity and reduced in temperature to maintain the
necessary moisture in the barley for producing perfect germination.
Having described the nature of the said Invention and the manner of
performing the same, I declare that what I claim as the Invention to be protected
by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
1st. An apparatus for malting barley in which a continuous current of fresh
air is caused to traverse the "couch" while it is undergoing germination, as described.
2nd. The combination of apparatus for drawing or exhausting air through barley
in the process of malting, consisting of air pumps or other exhaust apparatus, main
and branch pipes provided with valves and communicating with air spaces beneath
perforated false bottoms upon which the barley is placed in chests, all as herein-
before shown and described.

page_text: 3rd. In an apparatus for malting barley, the combination with the chests
containing the barley of the watered canvas covers for moistening the air, as
specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said Alexander Melville Clark, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fifteenth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight.