Fermented Liquids and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1885

page_text: Fermented Liquids and in Apparatus therefor.
We, EDMUND RICHARD SOUTHBY of 24 Holborn Viaduct in the City of London
Analytical Chemist and WALTER THOMAS RAMSDEN of 177 Kingsland Road in the
County of Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE METHOD OF BOTTLING BEER AND OTHER FERMENTED
LIQUIDS AND IN APPARATUS THEREFOR to be as follows:-
:-
13
The object of our invention is to effect the bottling of beer and other fermented
liquids in such a manner as to exclude all access of air thereto by maintaining a
greater pressure of carbonic acid therein and thereupon than the pressure of the
atmosphere, during the whole process.
Beer when first introduced into casks vats or other receptacles used for its
storage usually contains a small amount of air, which it has absorbed between the
close of the active, primary, fermentation, and the period when it is introduced
into the storage vessel, or during that introduction.
The storage vessel is then, if properly constructed and managed, closed, airtight,
and, in a short time the whole of the oxygen of the air contained in the beer, is
absorbed by the yeast still existing in the beer, and converted into carbonic acid,
or other products of oxidation. The yeast continuing to act on the beer as a
ferment then produces the slight secondary fermentation, which charges the beer
with carbonic acid, and it is then ready to be consumed, direct from the storage
vessel.
If however the beer instead of being consumed direct from the storage vessel,
is first bottled by the ordinary process, it suffers a further exposure to the air, and
again absorbs oxygen which has to be removed by the action of the yeast cells,
before the beer is again in perfect condition for consumption.
This difficulty has been partially overcome by the various methods adopted for
charging beer artificially with carbonic acid, beginning with the process patented by
William Maugham in 1845 No 10,973. In this patent he also describes the process
of heating the beer to arrest all further fermentation now commonly practised and
known as Pasteurisation from Pasteur who republished the process about the year
1872. Since Maugham's invention numerous patents have been taken out for
charging beer with carbonic acid by various methods and removing the air therefrom

page_text: previously to such charging but in all these air is allowed to come more or less in
contact or to be mixed with the beer.
We may mention that our process applies more particularly to English or high
fermentation beer. The German or low fermentation beer being stored and bottled
at such a low temperature and so fully charged with gas that even when bottled
in the ordinary way there is little or no absorption of air.
The advantages of our process are that the beer bottled thereby is brilliant and
in perfect condition for consumption directly it is bottled and if heated to 131° F
will remain so for a very lengthened period even when exported to tropical
Countries. By heating more than once to the above temperature its permanence
and freedom from deposit is still further secured as proved by Doctor Tyndals
experiments.
We generate the carbonic acid in the usual manner and in any of the usual forms
of apparatus or expand liquid carbonic acid into carbonic acid gas. We purify the
carbonic acid gas in the ordinary manner and then conduct it into a gas holder of
the usual construction. From this gas holder we pump the carbonic acid into a
vessel capable of withstanding a considerable pressure and which may be made of
iron copper or other suitable metal. This vessel is provided with a safety valve
which allows the gas to escape into a pipe as soon as it exceeds a certain
regulated pressure and the gas so escaping passes through this pipe into a second
similar vessel which is also provided with a safety valve and which is loaded so as
to allow the gas to escape therefrom at a lower pressure than that at which it
escapes from the first vessel into another pipe which returns it to the gas holder.
We call these high pressure vessels accumulators, that arranged to work at the
highest pressure we call accumulator Number 1, and the other accumulator
Number 2. Both these accumulators are further provided with stopcocks and
pipes for the discharge of the gas which are fixed to their upper parts. Cocks to
draw off any condensed moisture that may deposit in them are also fixed at or
near their lower ends. At their highest part snifting cocks are fixed to discharge
air at starting, and it is also advisable to provide each with a pressure guage.
From the discharge cock of Number 2 accumulator I carry the gas by means of
a pipe or gas tight hose to the upper portion of the cask or other vessel in which
the beer is stored. A pipe from the bottom of the storage vessel conducts the
beer to a filter the filtering medium in which is composed of paper or paper pulp
properly supported to prevent the fracture of the paper or the displacement of the
paper pulp and which filter is so arranged that the beer passing through it is not
exposed to the air. I find that Enzinger's filter as described in the Patent
No. 3036 of 1878 is suitable for our purpose but other filters may be used provided
they exclude the beer from contact with the atmosphere, and provided the filtering
medium whether paper or paper pulp supported on cloth is of such a character as
will filter the beer perfectly brilliant and at a sufficient speed. The beer is forced
through the filter by pressure.
The filtered beer if sufficiently charged with gas may be at once conducted to the
bottling apparatus, and in that case accumulator Number 1 and all the apparatus
about to be described may be dispensed with, the carbonic acid gas being pumped
directly into accumulator Number 2 but it is generally advisable to cause the beer
to absorb an additional amount of carbonic acid gas and in that case we proceed
as follows:-
The beer after passing through the filter is conducted by a pipe into one or more
condensers such as is ordinarily used for the production of soda water and other
aërated drinks. These condensers are provided with agitators driven by hand or
power in the usual manner. The gas from accumulator Number 1 is conducted to
the condensers by means of pipes with stop cocks for admitting it into one or other
of the condensers.
These condensers are further provided with a relief pipe connecting them at the
upper parts and also connecting them with the gas holder. There are stop cocks
on this pipe, one for each vessel and one shutting them off from the gas holder.

page_text: Each condenser is provided with a snifting cock at or as near as possible to its
highest point.
Each condenser is connected by means of a pipe with the bottling apparatus.
Our bottling apparatus has two pipes one of which introduces the beer through
a short filling tube actuated by the lever working the corking plunger and so con-
nected therewith that the tube is withdrawn before the cork can reach it.
The other tube is connected with a vessel capable of withstanding the necessary
pressure which may be connected with accumulator Number 1 by means of a small
pipe and stop cock so that carbonic acid may be occasionally supplied thereto.
The pressure in this vessel is maintained by means of a safety valve at a slightly
lower pressure than that in the condenser from which the bottling is being
carried on.
The pipe from the bottling machine we prefer to connect with the vessel at about
its middle, the vessel being a vertical cylinder and above the level of the condensers,
the safety valve being at the top. It may also be provided with a stop cock at
the bottom to draw off any liquid that may accidentally find its way into it.
In filling the bottles the cock from the above vessel is first turned on, when
carbonic acid or carbonic acid and air mixed rush into the bottle and raise the
pressure to that in the vessel. Immediately after the cock from the condenser is
turned on and the beer flows quickly but gently and without frothing into the
bottle, as soon as the bottle is full the cocks which may be actuated by one handle
giving a lead to the air exit cock are turned off and the bottle corked.
In filling screwed stoppered bottles we use a similar arrangement of inlet and
exit pipes a clutch on a spindle passing through a stuffing box holds the stopper.
This spindle is actuated by a wheel or handle and lever by means whereof the
stopper is inserted and screwed tightly into the bottle.
The beer is now ready for immediate consumption being brilliant and in perfect
condition in every respect, but if it has to be kept for some time it must be heated
or it will lose its brilliancy and may suffer even more serious deterioration in hot
weather and after long keeping. To prevent this deterioration the beer is heated
to a temperature of 131° F or to very slightly above that point and this heating
may be repeated if desired so as to still further increase the keeping properties of
the beer.
Any form of apparatus may be used for the heating that is adapted for the purpose;
such as the common german apparatus in which the heating is accomplished by
means of a mixture of air and steam in a close box, but we prefer to heat the
bottles in water baths and we find a series of two baths answer well; in the first
bath the water is maintained at a temperature of about 100° F and in the second
at about 135 to 130° F, and the bottles are placed first in the cooler and then in
the hotter bath.
These baths may be placed close together and the bottles passed continuously
through them by means of an endless revolving web or belt, the temperature may
also be maintained at the required point by means of gas regulated by a hydrostat
by means of steam or in any other well known way.
In working our apparatus we first expel the air from the accumulators by
pumping carbonic acid into them and keeping the snifting cock on Number 1 open
until it is filled with carbonic acid and the air expelled, then we close that snifting
cock and open the one attached to Number 2 until the air is expelled from that
also. We then allow the carbonic acid to pass into the filter by connecting the
hose or pipe from accumulator Number 2 with the hose or pipe which is afterwards
to conduct the beer to the filter. We leave the snifting cocks and also the beer
charging cocks on the condensers open and we thus expel the air from the whole
apparatus and fill it with carbonic acid gas. The snifting cocks are then shut and
the two hose or pipes from Number 2 accumulator are disconnected: that from
Number 2 accumulator is at once connected with the top of the beer storage vessel,
and the other with the bottom of same vessel and the filtering, charging of the
condensers, and the bottling therefrom then proceeds in a regular manner.

page_text: By another plan of carrying out our process we use only one accumulator and
one condenser and we pass both the gas and beer or other fermented liquid
simultaneously through the pump.
When working on this plan the Number 2 accumulator is kept charged with gas
from the condenser. The beer after passing through the filter flows into an airtight
reservoir which is provided with a safety valve opening inwards. A pipe from the
gas holder is connected with this safety valve so that when it opens owing to the
reduction of pressure in the reservoir carbonic acid rushes in from the gasholder. A
branch from this carbonic acid gas pipe communicates with the pump by a pipe
and regulating cock or valve. Another pipe brings the beer from the reservoir to
the pump and has also a regulating cock or valve fitted to it. The beer or other
fermented liquid and gas are pumped together into the condenser. This condenser
has no agitator in it. It is a vertical cylinder filled or partially filled with hollow
glass balls, trays, or other suitable arrangements for exposing large surfaces of the
beer to the action of the gas. The beer is pumped continuously into this condenser
near its upper end and is saturated with the carbonic acid gas partly by being
pumped together with it and partly by the large surface exposed in the condenser.
The beer saturated with carbonic acid gas flows from the bottom of the cylinder to
the bottling machine and is bottled in the manner already described. If balls are
used for the extended surface precautions must be taken by means of a strainer or
otherwise to prevent them from closing the orifice of the pipe leading to the bottling
apparatus. The condenser is furnished with a gauge showing the height at which
the beer stands in it. The pump is driven by double coned pulleys or in some
other suitable manner so that its speed may be regulated, and by this regulation of
its speed and also by means of the cocks or valves on the beer or gas suction mains
the supply of beer and gas is regulated so as to correspond with the requirements
of the bottling apparatus. An excess of gas is pumped into the condenser and this
excess escapes through a safety valve placed at its upper end or on the top of a
chamber erected upon it. This chamber may if necessary be filled or partially filled
with diaphragms of wire gauze or with small glass balls or in any way so as to
break the bubbles of froth and prevent as far as possible the froth passing over into
No 2 accumulator. The safety valve on the condenser or on the chamber erected
upon it is loaded to allow the gas to escape at a higher pressure than it escapes
from the safety valve on No 2 accumulator.
בד

page_text: Fermented Liquids and in Apparatus therefor.
WC, EDMUND RICHARD SOUTHBY, of 24 Holborn Viaduct, in the City of London,
Analytical Chemist, and WALTER THOMAS RAMSDEN, of 177 Kingsland Road, in
the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The object of our invention is to effect the bottling of beer and other fermented
liquids in such a manner as to exclude all access of air thereto by maintaining a
greater pressure of carbonic acid therein and thereupon than the pressure of the
atmosphere, during the whole process.
Beer when first introduced into casks vats or other receptacles used for its
storage usually contains a small amount of air, which it has absorbed between the
close of the active, primary, fermentation, and the period when it is introduced
into the storage vessel, or during that introduction-The storage vessel is then, if
properly constructed and managed, closed, airtight, and, in a short time the whole
of the oxygen of the air contained in the beer, is absorbed by the yeast still
existing in the beer, and converted into carbonic acid, or other products of
oxidation. The yeast continuing to act on the beer as a ferment then produces
the slight secondary fermentation, which charges the beer with carbonic acid, and
it is then ready to be consumed, direct from the storage vessel.
If however the beer instead of being consumed direct from the storage vessel, is
first bottled by the ordinary process, it suffers a further exposure to the air, and
again absorbs oxygen which has to be removed by the action of the yeast cells
before the beer is again in perfect condition for consumption.
This difficulty has been partially overcome by the various methods adopted for
charging beer artificially with carbonic acid, beginning with the process patented
by William Maugham in 1845 No 10,973. In this patent he also describes the
process of heating the beer to arrest all further fermentation now commonly
practised and known as Pasteurization from Pasteur who republished the process
about the year 1872. Since Maugham's invention numerous patents have been
taken out for charging beer with carbonic acid by various methods and removing
the air therefrom previously to such charging but in all these air is allowed to
come more or less in contact and to be mixed with the beer.
We may mention that our process applies more particularly to English or high
fermentation beer The German or low fermentation beer being stored and bottled
at such a low temperature and so fully charged with gas that even when bottled
in the ordinary way there is little or no absorption of air.
The advantages of our process are that the beer bottled thereby is brilliant and
in perfect condition for consumption directly it is bottled and if heated to 131° F
and upwards to a temperature not exceeding 212° will remain so for a very
lengthened period even when exported to tropical Countries. By so heating the
beer more than once its permanence and freedom from deposit is still further
secured as proved by Dr Tyndal's experiments,

page_text: We may remark that some qualities of beer will stand higher temperatures than
others without injury; the exact temperature to which it is advisable to subject
the beer must be ascertained in each case by trial; the rule being to use the
highest temperature that will not seriously injure the beer.
We
We generate the carbonic acid in the usual manner and in any of the usual
forms of apparatus or expand liquid carbonic acid into carbonic acid gas.
purify the carbonic acid gas in the ordinary manner and then conduct it into a gas
holder of the usual construction. From this gas holder we pump the carbonic acid
into a vessel capable of withstanding a considerable pressure and which may be
made of iron copper or other suitable metal. This vessel is provided with a safety
valve which allows the gas to escape into a pipe as soon as it exceeds a certain
regulated pressure and the gas so escaping passes through this pipe into a second
similar vessel, which is also provided with a safety valve, and which is loaded so
as to allow the gas to escape therefrom at a lower pressure than that at which it
escapes from the first vessel into another pipe which returns it to the gas holder.
We call these high pressure vessels accumulators, that arranged to work at the
highest pressure, we call accumulator No 1, and the other accumulator No 2.
Both these accumulators are further provided with stop cocks and pipes for the
discharge of the gas which are fixed to their upper parts. Cocks to draw off any,
condensed moisture that may deposit in them are also fixed at or near their lower
ends at their highest part shifting cocks are fixed to discharge air at and it is also
advisable to provide each with a pressure gauge.
From the discharge cock of No 2 accumulator we carry the gas by means of a pipe
or gas tight hose to the upper portion of the cask or other vessel in which the beer
is stored. A pipe from the bottom of the storage vessel conducts the beer to a
filter the filtering medium in which is composed of paper or paper pulp properly
supported to prevent the fracture of the paper or the displacement of the paper
pulp and which filter is so arranged that the beer passing through it is not exposed
to the air. I find that Enzinger's filter as described in the Patent No 3036
of 1878 is suitable for our purpose but other filters may be used provided they
exclude the beer from contact with the atmosphere, and provided the filtering
medium whether paper or paper pulp supported on cloth is of such a character as
will filter the beer perfectly brilliant and at a sufficient speed. The beer is forced
through the filter by pressure.
The filtered beer if sufficiently charged with gas may be at once conducted to
the bottling apparatus, and in that case accumulator No 1 and all the apparatus
about to be described may be dispensed with the carbonic acid gas being pumped
directly into accumulator No 2 but it is generally advisable to cause the beer to
absorb an additional amount of carbonic acid gas and in that case we proceed as
follows:-
The beer after passing through the filter is conducted by a pipe into one or more
condensers, such as those ordinarily used for the production of soda water and
other aërated drinks. These condensers are provided with agitators driven by
hand or power in the usual manner. The gas from accumulator No 1 is conducted
to the condensers by means of pipes with stop cocks for admitting it into one or
other of the condensers. These condensers are further provided with a relief pipe
connecting them at the upper parts, and also connecting them with the gas holder.
There are stop cocks on this pipe, one for each vessel and one shutting them off
from the gas holder. Each condenser is provided with a shifting cock at or as near
as possible to its highest point.
Each condenser is connected by means of a pipe with the bottling apparatus.
Our bottling apparatus has two pipes one of which introduces the beer through a
short filling tube actuated by the lever working the corking plunger and so con-
nected therewith that the tube is. withdrawn before the cork can reach it.
The other tube is connected with a vessel capable of withstanding the necessary
pressure which may be connected with accumulator No. 1 by means of a small pipe
and stop cock so that carbonic acid may be occasionally supplied thereto. The

page_text: pressure in this vessel is maintained by means of a safety valve at a slightly lower
pressure than that in the condenser from which the bottling is being carried on.
The pipe from the bottling machine we prefer to connect with the vessel at about
its middle, the vessel being a vertical cylinder and above the level of the condensers,
the safety valve being at the top. It may also be provided with a stop. cock at the
bottom to draw off any liquid that may accidentally find its way into it.
In filling the bottles the cock from the above vessel is first turned on, when
carbonic acid or carbonic acid and air mixed rush into the bottle and raise the
pressure to that in the vessel. Immediately after the cock from the condenser is
turned on and the beer flows quickly but gently and without frothing into the
bottle, as soon as the bottle is full the cocks which may be actuated by one handle
giving a lead to the air exit cock are turned off and the bottle corked.
In filling screw stoppered bottles we use a similar arrangement of inlet and exit
pipes a clutch on a spindle passing through a stuffing box holds the stopper. This
spindle is actuated by a wheel or handle and lever by means whereof the stopper is
inserted and screwed tightly into the bottle.
The beer is now ready for immediate consumption being brilliant and in perfect
condition in every respect, but if it has to be kept for some time it must be heated
or it will lose its brilliancy and may suffer even more serious deterioration in hot
weather after long keeping. To prevent this deterioration the beer is heated to a
temperature of 131° F and upwards, as herein before mentioned, and this heating
may be repeated if desired so as to still further increase the keeping properties of
the beer.
Any form of apparatus may be used for this heating that is adapted for the
purpose such as the common gerinan apparatus in which the heating is accomplished
by means of a mixture of air and steam in a close box but we prefer to heat the
bottles in water baths and we find a series of two baths answer well in the first
bath the water is maintained at a temperature of 100° F and upwards and in the
second at a still higher temperature and the bottles are placed first in the cooler
and then in the hotter bath these baths may be placed close together and the
bottles passed continuously through them by means of an endless revolving web
or belt.
The temperature may also be maintained at the required point by means of gas
regulated by a thermostat by means of steam or in any other well known way.
In working our apparatus we first expel the air from the accumulator by
pumping carbonic acid into them and keeping the shifting cock on No 1 open until
it is filled with carbonic acid and the air expelled then we close that shifting cock
and open the one attached to No 2 until the air is expelled from that also. We
then allow the carbonic acid to pass into the filter by connecting the hose or pipe
from accumulator No 2 with the hose or pipe which is afterwards to conduct the
beer to the filter. We leave the shifting cocks and also the beer charging cocks on
the condensers open and we thus expel the air from the whole apparatus and fill it
with carbonic acid gas. The shifting cocks are then shut and the two hose or pipes
from No 2 accumulator are disconnected: that from No 2 accumulator is at once
connected with the top of the beer storage vessel and the other with the bottom of
same vessel and the filtering, charging of the condensers and the bottling therefrom
then proceeds in a regular manner.
By another plan of carrying out our process we use only one accumulator and
one condenser and we pass both the gas and beer or other fermented liquid simul-
taneously through the pump.
When working on this plan the No 2 accumulator is kept charged with gas from
the condenser. The beer after passing through the filter flows into an airtight
reservoir which is provided with a safety valve opening inwards. A pipe from the
gas holder is connected with this safety valve so that when it opens owing to the
reduction of pressure in the reservoir carbonic acid rushes in froin the gas holder.
A branch from this carbonic acid gas pipe communicates with the pump by a pipe
and regulating cock or valve. Another pipe brings the beer from the reservoir to

page_text: the pump and has also a regulating cock or valve fitted to it. The beer or other
fermented liquid and gas are pumped together into the condenser. This condenser
has no agitator in it. It is a vertical cylinder filled or partially filled with hollow
glass balls, trays, or other suitable arrangements for exposing large surfaces of the
beer to the action of the gas.
The beer is pumped continuously into this condenser near its upper end and is
saturated with the carbonic acid gas partly by being pumped together with it and
partly by the large surface exposed in the condenser.
The beer saturated with carbonic acid acid gas flows from the bottom of the cylinder
to the bottling machine and is bottled in the manner already described. If balls are
used for the extended surface precautions must be taken by means of a strainer or
otherwise to prevent them from closing the orifice of the pipe leading to the
bottling apparatus. The condenser is furnished with a gauge shewing the height
at which the beer stands in it. The pump is driven by double coned pulleys or in
some other suitable manner so that its speed may be regulated, and by this
regulation of its speed and also by means of the cocks or valves on the beer and
gas suction mains the supply of beer and gas is regulated so as to correspond with
the requirements of the bottling apparatus. An excess of gas is pumped into the
condenser and this excess escapes through a safety valve placed at its upper end or
on the top of a chamber erected upon it. This chamber may if necessary be filled
or partially filled with diaphragms of wire gauze or with small glass balls or in any
way so as to break the bubbles of froth and prevent as far as possible the froth
passing over into No 2 accumulator. The safety valve on the condenser or on the
chamber erected upon it is loaded to allow the gas to escape at a higher pressure
than it escapes from the safety valve on No 2 accumulator.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what
we claim is
1. The method of botting beer in such a manner as to exclude all access of air
thereto by maintaining during the whole of the process, a greater pressure of
carbonic acid gas therein and thereupon than the pressure of the atmosphere,
substantially as herein before described.
2. In connection with our improved process the method of heating and reheating
the beer, after bottling to a temperature of 131 degrees Fahr. and upwards in order
to preserve the same in a brilliant condition for lengthened periods, and render the
same suitable for tropical countries, substantially as herein before described.
3. The general arrangement and combination of processes together constituting
our improvements in the method of bottling beer and other fermented liquids and
in apparatus therefor, substantially as herein before described.
GEO. DOWNING,
Agent for Applicants.