Wisconsin Patent of the Month – September 2022
Spike Brewing, LLC set out to bring passion to those who wanted it. They design specialty equipment to make brewing beer as accessible as possible, bringing home brewing to the masses. To them, Brew Day is about more than beer. It’s about spending time with family and friends and knowing you had joy in making the beer you’re about to drink.
But in order to make Brew Day possible, they first put in the hard work to develop the tools and equipment needed to perfect your brew. This hard work has paid off as the company celebrates their recently awarded patent for their fermenter pressure valve.
When it comes to pressure, safety is of the utmost importance. The pressure valve is designed to be connected to the fermenter. A locking assembly is used to form an airtight seal while a port allows for fluid connection between the lid and body. A pressure control assembly tracks the pressure of the fermenter, noting when a positive pressure is achieved. It then works to maintain this pressure as gas builds, allowing controlled amounts of gas (and therefore pressure) to escape through the valve. This is achieved by breaking and reforming the seal as needed.
The valve uses vacuum release and quick pressure release to quickly release unwanted pressure. This can be employed manually to bleed off pressure or to wrap up a brew by pushing down on a plunger included within the device. Regardless of brewing skill level, any brewer needs a reliable pressure release valve.
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