AU2004100240B4 - Module For Flavouring Beverages - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR AN INNOVATION PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Actual Inventors: Agent and Address A P John Sons Pty Ltd Ronald Johannes Vanderzwan and Peter Robert John for Service: MADDERNS, 1 st Floor, 64 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Invention Title: MODULE FOR FLAVOURING BEVERAGES Details of Associated Provisional Application No: 2003902261 dated 12 th May 2003 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a module for flavouring beverages, in particular alcoholic beverages. In one particular form, the invention relates to a module for the artificial aging of wine.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Producers of premium red wines age these wines in barrels to obtain the complex and subtle flavours expected by wine consumers. In addition, depending on the variety, a significant proportion of premium white wines also undergo further maturation in wooden barrels. Specially prepared American or French oak have both been long recognised as materials of choice for the construction of such barrels.

In the aging process, the flavour enhancing properties of the oak reduces as the wood becomes more neutral. Commonly, a single barrel is used for up to four fills over a period of five to six years before disposal. Alternatively, the barrel may undergo further treatment such as shaving the interior to restore the flavour enhancing properties of the oak.

As can be readily appreciated the associated capital and labour costs involved with maturing wine in barrels makes this process unsuitable for those wines of a lower price bracket. However, consumers have come to expect oak flavourings even in these lower priced wines. Although there exist crude methods to add these flavourings, such as adding oak shavings directly to the wine during fermentation or storage, these have to be strictly controlled as there is a high risk of tainting the wine.

During production, wines are typically stored in large settling tanks which allow the lees to settle to the bottom of the tank after alcoholic fermentation. These tanks are commonly constructed from stainless steel and range in capacity from 10,000 litres to 210,000 litres. The most favoured methods for systematically introducing oak flavouring to artificially age wine are implemented when wines are stored in these large settling tanks. This is due to the large volumes of wine that can be processed in a controlled manner.

One such well known method involves installing a metal framework throughout the interior surface of the settling tank. Individual oak planks are then manually mounted on this framework and the tank then filled. These planks must be replaced once the wood becomes neutral and loses its flavouring properties. As with barrels, this neutralising of the flavouring properties would occur after approximately every second to third filling of the tank. Thus, it is important that the process for replacing the oak planks be timely and cost efficient given that this task will be repeated numerous times. As an example, for a 46,000 litre tank approximately 800 to 1,000 individually mounted planks are required to obtain similar flavouring properties to that obtained from barrel maturation. This indicates a serious disadvantage with this method, as it typically takes three labourers up to four hours to remove the old neutral planks and replace them. In addition, these tanks have only a small aperture or "man-hole" which is suitable for a labourer to enter the tank, thus further complicating the installation of the framework and subsequent loading, removal and reloading procedures.

Another method used to provide artificial flavouring in a tank environment involves the welding of steel rods onto the floor of a tank. These rods form a frame upon which individual planks can be mounted by sliding them onto the rods through apertures formed by drilling holes at each end of the plank. These mounted planks form a bracket arrangement which acts to retain rows formed from further planks.

Similar arrangements also include mounting frames being welded to the sides of stainless steel tanks which are then also individually reloaded with planks. Clearly, this method also suffers from similar disadvantages to the method involving mounting planks to framework as already discussed herein. Again, individual planks must be manually installed and removed approximately after every third filling of a tank in a costly and inefficient process.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus which enables a timely and cost efficient process for the flavouring of wines stored in containers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a first aspect the present invention accordingly provides a beverage flavouring module for flavouring a beverage in a container, said module including: a plurality of planks having respective faces arranged substantially parallel to each other; a plurality of spacing elements interleaved with said planks; and securing means to secure said planks and said spacing elements together to form said module, said module being able to be manually inserted into said container through an aperture and stacked one upon the other.

The ability to be able to manually insert and stack modules within a container provides a clear advantage over the prior art. In this manner a container can be quickly prepared for the flavouring of a beverage without the use of complicated framing arrangements and extensive manual labour.

In a second aspect the present invention accordingly provides a beverage flavouring module for flavouring a beverage in a container, said module including: a plurality of planks having respective faces arranged substantially parallel to each other; a plurality of spacing elements interleaved with said planks; securing means to secure said planks and said spacing elements together to form said module; and support means to support said module a predetermined distance above the floor of the container, said module being able to be manually inserted into said container through an aperture and stacked one upon the other.

The support means allows a stack of modules to be supported above the lees thereby ensuring that the maximum flavouring occurs for a given number of modules.

Preferably, said securing means includes at least one flexible band of food grade material secured about the exterior of said module to hold said planks and said spacing elements together.

The use of flexible food grade material provides a convenient and cost efficient means for securing the module together.

In a third aspect the present invention accordingly provides a method for flavouring a beverage in a container, said method including the steps of: inserting a predetermined number of modules into said container through an aperture of the container, said modules each including a plurality of planks; stacking said modules into a module stack; and filling said container with a predetermined amount of beverage for a predetermined amount of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be discussed with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1A is a plan view of a module for flavouring an alcoholic beverage in a container according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1B is a side view of the module illustrated in Figure 1A.

Figure 1C is an end view of the module illustrated in Figure 1A.

Figure 2A is a plan view of a module for flavouring an alcoholic beverage in a container according to a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2B is side view of the support module illustrated in Figure 2A.

Figure 2C is an end view of the support module illustrated in Figure 2A.

Figure 3 is a side view of a module stack as deployed in a tank consisting of a base layer made up of modules as illustrated in Figure 2A and subsequent layers of modules as illustrated in Figure 1A.

In the following description, like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the Figures, there is illustrated in Figures 1A, 1B and 1C, plan, side and end views of a module for flavouring alcoholic beverages according to a first embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the module is used for providing oak flavouring to wines to simulate the effect acquired during maturation of wine in barrels. Accordingly, the wooden material described here is either specially treated oak such as toasted American or French oak. However, in the case where other types of flavouring are required, such as in the case of various liqueurs or spirits, other types of wood may be used.

Module 100 includes a number (in this case 16) of oak planks 110 with intermediate wood spacers 120 interleaved between planks 110 and arranged in three separate rows. Oak planks 110 each have approximate dimensions of (LxWxH) 1150 mm x 8 mm x 140 mm. Spacers 120 act to ensure that the faces of planks 110 are maintained substantially parallel to each other and to maintain a pre-determined gap between the planks. In this embodiment, spacers 120 are constructed from sections of oak plank to maximise the flavouring capacity of the module but as would be appreciated by those skilled in the art, other non-reactive materials suitable for immersion in a beverage may be used. Additionally, the exact number and size of oak planks can be varied according to the flavouring requirements. However, module 100 must be capable of being manually handled and furthermore of being able to be inserted through a tank man-hole, which typically has dimensions of 550 mm x 440 mm.

Three flexible bands 130 that consist of flexible food grade tape, bind planks 110, and spacers 120 together, thereby forming a rigid module capable of being carried and stacked within the settling tank. Although in this preferred embodiment a flexible food grade strap manufactured from Polyethylene Teraphthalate (PET) is used, other means for securing the module such as stainless steel flexible bands or suitable bolting arrangements are considered to be within the scope of the invention.

Referring now to Figures 2A, 2B and 2C, there is shown plan, side and end views of a module 200 according to a second embodiment of the invention which is adapted to stand above any lees which settle in a tank. In this embodiment, a number of the outer spacers 225 are replaced with lengthened plank sections to form legs 240, 250 directed perpendicular to and away from module 200. These are further strengthened by wrapping the lower region of the legs with flexible food grade tape 270, 280. Additionally wooden spacer bracing elements 275, 285 are located across and between legs 240, 250 (see dotted outline in Figures 2B and 2C) and also bound by the flexible food grade tape 270, 280 thereby further increasing the rigidity of legs 240,250.

Two platform elements 260, also constructed from plank sections, are arranged perpendicular to and across planks 210 aligned with rows of outer spacers 225 and located at opposed ends of the module 200. Outer spacers 225 located on each end of module 200 (see dotted outline in Figure 2B) are of a similar width to platform elements 260 thereby providing additional support. Platforms 260 provide stable mounting areas upon which other modules 100 may be placed. A different securing arrangement than that described for module 100 (see Figures 1A, 1B and 1C) is used consisting of using two bands of flexible food grade strap 230 for each end row of outer spacers 225 and legs 240, 250. This arrangement allows a gap for legs 240, 250 to protrude through whilst still effectively maintaining rigidity of the module. In this embodiment, first set of legs 250 is shorter than second set of legs 240 but clearly the size and shape of these legs can be varied to suit the requirements of the tank or container being used.

Referring now to Figure 3, there is shown a module stack 300 constructed by using five modules 200 to form a base for subsequent layers of modules 100 located in a wine settling tank 500 having an aperture 510. Modules 100 are stacked in criss-cross fashion with each layer arranged perpendicular to the one below. The number of modules required is determined by the volume of the tank and the flavouring properties of the wood. As the floor settling tank 500 is sloped, the differing lengths of legs 240, 250 of module 200 ensure that the module stack 300 remains level. By 7 welding fixtures 520 to the bottom of the tank, retaining straps 400, 410 made of wire or other suitable material can be used to ensure that the module stays in position on the floor of the tank once it has been filled as the modules will in ordinary circumstances float. Although not essential, this further facilitates the location and replacement of modules after a tank has been emptied.

As an example of the effectiveness of the present invention, the applicants have found that for a 46,000 litre tank of Chardonnay variety white wine, two module stacks consisting each of a base of three support modules and seventeen standard modules in six layers can be assembled within the tank by one person in 30 minutes.

Clearly, this results in significant time and cost savings when compared to prior art methods. This module stack will provide equivalent flavouring to the wine after approximately 60 days as would be expected by equivalent maturation in oak barrels. Modules can be reused until the oak loses its flavouring properties whereby they can be easily removed and replaced by new modules.

The method of stacking is also an advantageous aspect of the present invention and may be used irrespective of the exact form of modules used.

As can be readily appreciated the present invention provides a number of advantages when compared to the prior art including: cheaper to construct, ease and speed of installation of both installation and replacement of modules, easily customisable so that size and number of planks per module may be tailored according to both the requirements of the container and degree of flavouring, and does not require expensive and sophisticated infrastructure to be installed which will require cleaning.

Although a preferred embodiment of the method and apparatus of the present invention has been described in the foregoing detailed description, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed, but is 8 capable of numerous rearrangements, modifications and substitutions without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth and defined by the following claims. For example, the method and apparatus disclosed herein may be used to flavour non-alcoholic beverages such as fruit juices if appropriate.

Claims (4)

1. A beverage flavouring module for flavouring a beverage in a container, said module including: a plurality of planks having respective faces arranged substantially parallel to each other; a plurality of spacing elements interleaved with said planks; and securing means to secure said planks and said spacing elements together to form said module, said module being able to be manually inserted into said container through an aperture and stacked one upon the other.

2. A beverage flavouring module for flavouring a beverage in a container, said module including: a plurality of planks having respective faces arranged substantially parallel to each other; a plurality of spacing elements interleaved with said planks; securing means to secure said planks and said spacing elements together to form said module; and support means to support said module a predetermined distance above the floor of the container, said module being able to be manually inserted into said container through an aperture and stacked one upon the other.

3. A beverage flavouring module for flavouring a beverage in a container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein said securing means includes at least one flexible band of food grade material secured about the exterior of said module to hold said planks and said spacing elements together.

4. A method for flavouring a beverage in a container, said method including the steps of: inserting a predetermined number of modules into said container through an aperture of said container, said modules each including a plurality of planks; stacking said modules into a module stack; and filling said container with a predetermined amount of beverage for a predetermined amount of time. A module substantially in accordance with any one of the embodiments of the invention described herein and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 31st day of March, 2004 A P JOHN SONS PTY LTD By its Patent Attorneys MADDERNS