Invention Idea - Real Ale Bottle Pump

[KingBrianI]

I just had an idea for a cool invention and was hoping that if others thought it was a good idea too, that someone particularly handy on the forum might be able to piece something together.

The device would be a simple pump that attaches to the top of bottles. It would simply snap down over the top lip. There would be a telescoping tube so that you can adjust it prior to putting it in the bottle so that it was as low as possible without hitting the sediment. Then one would just pump a lever a few times to transfer the beer to a glass. It could come with a detachable sparkler so the user could choose to pour it with or without.

The benefits of the device is that it would deliver a means to get an authentic hand pulled pint without the cost or expense of buying or piecing together a hand pump, no mini kegs or cornies needed, bottles are much easier to store and chill than kegs, and no worries about oxidation to a large amount of beer since you only do a bottle at a time.

I think this could work very well if people bottle and prime to a low (1.2-1.5 volumes) amount. Just chill a bottle to 50-55 degrees, pop the cap, attach the pump, and you get instant hand-pulled real ale.

 

[KingBrianI]

I use these every day at work, and though they're expensive, they're meant to dispense very precise amounts. That accuracy wouldn't be needed for this devise and it could be made much more cheaply. Also notice that the dispenser in the link already has the option of a "sparkler"-like device. http://www.hirschmannstore.com/em-dispenser-pp-0-2-to-1-0-ml-bottle-top-dispenser-with-bottle.html?gclid=CLOlzO2y7aICFRYaswodvwyAcw

 

[TheBroonery]

look at soda pumps that use CO2 cartridges and see if that works as a prototype

 

[KingBrianI]

look at soda pumps that use CO2 cartridges and see if that works as a prototype

Avoiding outside CO2 is one of the aims of real ale, so unless I'm misunderstanding your suggestion, the soda pumps would probably not be in keeping with the spirit of the device.

This thread doesn't seem to be getting much attention, maybe I should have been more specific in the title. Or maybe convincing people that pumping beer from a bottle is different from just pouring may be difficult.

 

[Airborneguy]

I don't see how it is different than pouring it. If you carbonate at low levels, you're no really going to notice any difference by pumping it out.

I wouldn't buy a device like this unless it cost like $5, and then I might buy it to check it out.

 

[KingBrianI]

I don't see how it is different than pouring it. If you carbonate at low levels, you're no really going to notice any difference by pumping it out.

I wouldn't buy a device like this unless it cost like $5, and then I might buy it to check it out.

I think that is probably going to be the biggest obstacle to this thing selling. Have you ever had a cask ale? The texture and flavor are much different from a low-carbed beer from a bottle poured into a glass. The act of pumping it decarbs it and introduces air which really affects the texture and flavor. The addition of a sparkler increases the effect and gives you a rich creamy head not-unlike a beer dispensed on nitrogen.

 

[Homercidal]

I thought part of the appeal of cask ale was that the flavor changes over time as it oxidizes. You would lose this only doing a bottle at a time.

There is another thread using a hand pump beer engine from like an RV store or something. You could rig up this kind of thing on a small stand and place the bottle of beer underneath, insert hose, and pull some beer.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything off the shelf to do this.

 

[Bobby_M]

Just pour from 2-3" higher so that it degasses more in the glass. Real ale is much more about the carbonation method than the dispense method. Direct tapped casks are no less real ale just because they didn't use a beer engine. The engine is just a way to leave the cask in the basement.

 

[Airborneguy]

Maybe it's my palate, but I've never been able to tell the difference. I've had plenty of cask ales and plenty of ales with low carbonation from out of bottles.

 

[KingBrianI]

I thought part of the appeal of cask ale was that the flavor changes over time as it oxidizes. You would lose this only doing a bottle at a time.

There is another thread using a hand pump beer engine from like an RV store or something. You could rig up this kind of thing on a small stand and place the bottle of beer underneath, insert hose, and pull some beer.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything off the shelf to do this.

I've read through that thread several times. The idea for the pump described in this thread would be to eliminate stands and hoses and mini-kegs and all of that. Basically simplifying it to using bottles people already use and a small pump that can be attached/disattached in seconds.

Just pour from 2-3" higher so that it degasses more in the glass. Real ale is much more about the carbonation method than the dispense method. Direct tapped casks are no less real ale just because they didn't use a beer engine. The engine is just a way to leave the cask in the basement.

I frequently pour my British-style ales from one glass to another to degass and kick up some head but it's just not the same. It's been my experience that the dispense method definitely does make a difference.

It could be that there's no market for a device like this and it's something that would only appeal to me. But I'm still of the opinion that it could be a very simple solution to dispense cask-like ale that many people could possibly be excited about.

 

[Airborneguy]

If you want to make money, make a cask ale setup for corny kegs... now that would be worth paying for.

A small beer engine that connects using the regular posts and for the gas in side a simple connector with a tube that has an air filter on it.

 

[Jaysus]

Pouring from a bottle to a pitcher then from the pitcher to a glass has a similar affect on beer.

And it seems a lot cheaper than a bottle pump.

 

[klyph]

http://www.naturalsoapwholesale.com/Foaming-Pump-Bottles-Empty_p_305.html