Why We Can't Brew Bland Beer

We here at Viking Brewing Company do not condone the use of other peoples patents without the payment of appropriate royalties. So we wouldn't think of infringing on this fine company's patent....

United States Patent 

4,180,589 Chicoye, et. al.

* Dec. 25, 1979

Preparation of a bland beer 

 Inventors: 
           Chicoye; Etzer (Milwaukee, WI); Helbert; J. Raymond
(Waukegan, IL); Rice; James F. (Milwaukee, WI). 
 Assignee: 
           Miller Brewing Company (Milwaukee, WI). 
 [*] Notice: 
  The portion of the term of this patent subsequent to Jan. 10,1995
   has been disclaimed.
 Appl. No.:            865,358
 Filed:            Dec. 28, 1977

          References Cited | [Referenced By:]
       U.S. Patent Documents
       3,332,779  Jul., 1967   Knabbe et al.    426/16
       3,798,331  Mar., 1974   Barisotto et al. 426/16
       3,908,021  Sept., 1975  Rehberger et al. 426/16
       3,911,139  Oct., 1975   Wolter et al.    426/16
       4,021,580  May, 1977    Raymond et al.   426/16
       4,068,005  Jan., 1978   Chicoye et al.   426/16
       4,123,475  Mar., 1964   Wendt et al.     426/16


      Other References

     Rice et al., The Quantitative Influence of Agitation on Yeast
Growth During Fermentation, ASBC Proceedings, 1974, pp. 94-96. 

     Hind, A. L., Brewing Science and Practice, vol. II, Chapman & Hall,
London, 1950, pp. 679, 783-785 & 839-847. 

     Rice et al., Inhibition of Beer Volatiles Formation by Carbon
Dioxide Pressure, J. of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, vol.
35, No. 1, 2/1977. 

Primary Examiner: Naff; David M. 

A method of preparing a lager beer having a mild, bland, less aromatic character comprises conducting the fermentation of the wort for about 60 to 200 hours under suitable conditions to maintain the dissolved carbon dioxide concentration in the fermenting wort at about 2.1 to about 4.0 cc of dissolved carbon dioxide per cc of wort. In a preferred embodiment, the fermentation of the wort is conducted at a temperature of 60 deg. to 85 deg. F. with an appropriate overpressure of from 5 to 40 psig of carbon dioxide. The beer thus obtained has a mild character and can be used, if desired, as a base for flavored beverages.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures