IMPROVEMENTS IN TREATING BOTTLED BEER
Year: 1884

page_text: I CHARLES GRAHAM of University College in the County of Middlesex Doctor
of Science do hereby declare the nature of said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TREATING BOTTLED BEER" to be as follows:-
My Invention consists in first charging the beer intended to be bottled whilst in
a bright condition with Carbonic Acid Gas and then bottling the same whilst so
charged in any convenient manner and after the same is so bottled submitting such
bottled beer to a temperature sufficiently high (say about 160° Fahrenheit) to
destroy all organisms which may be existing in the beer by which means the beer
will be kept in a perfectly brilliant condition and the difficulty now existing in
obtaining English bottled beer in that state will be avoided.
J. HENRY JOHNSON,
47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London, W.C.,
Agent for the said Charles Graham.

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, CHARLES GRAHAM of University College in the County of Middlesex Doctor
of Science do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN
TREATING BOTTLED BEER" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention consists in first charging the beer intended to be bottled whilst in
a bright condition with carbonic acid gas and then bottling the same whilst so
charged, in any convenient manner and after the same is so bottled submitting such
bottled beer to a temperature sufficiently high (say about 165° Fahrenheit) to
destroy all organisms which may be existing in the beer, by which means the beer
will be kept in a brilliant condition and. the difficulty now existing in obtaining
English bottled beer in that state will be avoided.
And in order that my said Invention may be fully understood I shall now
proceed particularly to describe the same.
I take English beer which is brilliant (if it be not already bright it must be
rendered bright by fining it with Brewers, finings or by filtering) and I run it into
a gassing cylinder in which the beer-is charged with artificially prepared carbonic
acid gas which may be prepared in the usual way as in the preparation of Soda
water and other aërated beverages.
The beer thus charged with carbonic acid gas is then bottled and the bottles
closed or corked; the gassing, bottling, and closing or corking apparatus which
I employ and have found satisfactory is Barnett and Foster's apparatus for the
preparation and bottling of Aërated waters, and in place of ordinary corks I can
if desired use their patented screw stoppers and bottles.
The bottles being filled with the beer charged with carbonic acid gas and closed,
are then submitted (preferably the same day or within 24 hours of bottling) to the
action of heat. This can be conveniently done by placing the bottles in iron cages
or boxes with a compartment for each bottle, similar to the compartments in the
boxes in which aërated waters are sent out, in order to prevent them knocking
against each other.
These cages or bottle holding vessels being filled with bottles with their mouths
downwards, are then placed in a tank of water at a temperature of about blood
heat, but cold water may be used if desired so that the bottles are covered with
water. The water in the tank is now raised in temperature by steam being blown
in from a boiler, the pipe conducting the steam being carried round the tank and
perforated with holes about a foot apart, or the water may be heated with an
ordinary steam coil.
I raise the temperature in this way to about 165° Fahrenheit and keep the water
at this temperature for say about 3 hours. If the beer is to be consumed within a
few weeks two hours will suffice.
The bottle holding cages or vessels are then removed and set aside so that the
bottles and their contents may cool. Some of the water is now run off from the
tank and cold water is added to bring the temperature of the water in the tank
down to blood heat and another set of cages or bottle holding vessels filled with
bottles of beer charged with carbonic acid gas, are put in, and the heat is raised as
before described.

page_text: Instead of using an open tank or vessel in which to heat the bottled beer,
a closed vessel may be used. This may be constructed like the vessels used in
certain Breweries in Germany, in which one end of an iron vessel is moveable, and
the trucks of bottled beer being run in, the said end is tightly closed by means of
screws and indiarubber packing at the joints, and the temperature inside is then
raised to about 165° Fahrenheit.
Or I may use an iron vessel with a moveable top capable of being let down,
fastened and made tight by means of india rubber or other packing of the joints,
so as to withstand the pressure on the temperature being raised.
I do not limit myself to any particular mechanical means for carrying my
Invention into effect, so long as the required heat is obtained.
One advantage of heating in a closed vessel is to obtain on the outside surface
of the bottles a pressure acting against the internal pressure in the bottles, thus
materially diminishing the liability to the bursting of the bottles, and reducing the
amount of breakage to a minimum.
Whether the open or closed vessels be used for heating the bottled beer, the corks
or closures must be kept from being forced out or opened by the internal pressure
produced by the heat, and this may be ensured as follows.
By circular disks of tinned iron placed on the corks or closures which are then
strongly wired or,
By metal cork flanges as used in heating bottled Lager Beer.
By treating beer as hereinbefore described the yeast organism is killed, and
bottled English beer is thereby obtained which will not ferment, but will remain
bright and sound, as fermentation in the bottled beer is prevented, and the produc-
tion of carbonic acid cannot take place, which production has hitherto given rise to
much loss from the bursting of the bottles; nor can a thick sediment of yeast form,
which has hitherto been a great drawback to English beer bottled in the ordinary
way.
Bottled beer made by the process hereinbefore described will keep bright, sound,
and with an invariable amount of briskness for a great length of time.
I do not claim separately, either charging beer with Carbonic acid, or heating
Lager Beer, or heating English Beer which has undergone fermentation in bottles
sufficient to produce enough Carbonic acid.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
The treatment of beer by charging it artificially with Carbonic acid gas; and
then submitting such artificially gassed beer to the action of heat substantially as
herein before described.