EP2148826A1

EP2148826A1 - Distributable packaging unit with a beer-like liquid

Info

Publication number: EP2148826A1
Application number: EP07729174A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Florian Koch
Original assignee: Carbotek Holding GmbH
Current assignee: Carbotek Holding GmbH
Priority date: 2007-05-15
Filing date: 2007-05-15
Publication date: 2010-02-03
Also published as: WO2008138400A1; US20080283532A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a distributable packaging unit with a beer-like liquid comprising as components approximately 89-94 wt.-% water and approximately 3.0-5.5 wt.-% beer extract including bitter substances from hops and having a CO<SUB>2</SUB> content of 1.5 g/kg liquid or less, wherein the beer-like liquid is located in a fluid-tight, multi-layer transport and storage container surrounding said liquid.

Description

Distributable packaging unit with a beer-like liquid

The present invention relates to a beer-like liquid, which could also be referred to as a beer intermediate, which is suitable in nature to be stored in a storable container z. B. on Schankwirtschaften, middling and retail stores to be made on site by the addition of carbon dioxide, shortly before the tasting, from the beer-like liquid a Bierendprodukt suitable for consumption.

Breweries spend a considerable amount of their business on the smooth distribution of their beer. The smooth process is usually ensured by well interlocking logistics processes of beer as a bottle and beer as Fassware. The beer produced in a brewery, alcohol-free or with a certain alcohol content, such as 2% by volume, 4.5% by volume, vol -5.5% or more, is generally consumable in bulk for large customers such as restaurants Condition filled and delivered to this. Many barrels have barrel-shaped or cylindrical shapes, so that the transport area of the delivery trucks is not optimally used. The beer in the barrels is under pressure due to the CO ₂ content, which is temperature-dependent, so that the beer transport is even qualified in some states as dangerous goods transport. The barrels, which are usually made of stainless steel, wood or aluminum, increase the transport weight, because they represent a significant proportion of the total load in terms of weight. The barrels are because they represent a significant value for the respective brewery , returned to the breweries via circulation. The logistical effort of cleaning barrels, sorting out damaged barrels and reprocessing the barrels so that they can be refilled, represents a large part of the activity in the bottling area of a brewery. It is also often the case that barrels are stolen, what for the affected breweries means a significant financial loss.

All breweries are constantly working to improve logistics. On the one hand, the environment should not be unnecessarily burdened and, on the other hand, the effort of the brewery for logistics should be limited. Until now, the approach of the breweries was to optimize the delivery routes, the distribution channels and the time sequence of the individual work steps. The task is to find a solution that promotes the logistics process and at the same time meets the high expectations of beer consumers with regard to the taste and quality of the ready-to-drink beer.

A solution according to the invention is presented in the main claim. Advantageous embodiments can be found in the dependent claims.

The invention goes a completely new way, not only unknown in the art but never imagined until the invention, although beer brewing has a millennia-old tradition. The reduction of the CO ₂ content to values of less than 1.5 g / kg of liquid eliminates all disadvantages associated with the CO ₂ pressure. Nevertheless, the full taste, the quality and the taste and other peculiarities of the beer are fully preserved; unlike the production and distribution of the known beer concentrate, where not only the taste is changed, but the advantages of the invention with regard to the reduction of transportation and storage costs, etc. are not realized, as detailed below. For the beer-like liquid according to the invention, beer is completely brewed and remains completely intact in its contents. He is only deprived of CO ₂ . The flavoring substances remain in the beer-like liquid, even the brewing water content remains unchanged.

By limiting the CO ₂ content in the beer, the qualification of the transport of a beer-like liquid as dangerous goods transport can be successfully avoided. The containers in which the liquid is stored and transported, need not be or only slightly pressurized and are therefore not subject to legal pressure vessel regulations with regard to transport safety and storage conditions. According to one criterion, the CO ₂ upper limit of the beer-like liquid is determined so that at an expected continuous temperature of the transported liquid, especially on the truck bed, no exceeding of a set pressure levels, such as 0.5 bar, can take place. For example, if the maximum expected temperature on the truck bed in the liquid to be transported is set at 50 ° C, then a CO ₂ upper limit of 1, 3 to 1, 4 g per liter of beer intermediate can begin.

In the hitherto known brewing technology, pressure tanks are used as so-called primary containers for the storage of beer, which can withstand a pressure of 2-4 bar. For transport, printable barrels, bottles and cans are known as primary containers. All of these printable containers are costly containers that also require a lot of storage space. In contrast, the present invention offers the advantage that the beer-like liquid can be filled in any liquid-tight and multi-layered container. It is preferably a composite packaging (eg Tetra Pak®, Tetra Brik® etc.) or a bag-in-box packaging. In the case of the latter packaging, the liquid is contained in an inner bag, which is usually made of film composite material, which in turn is protected and supported by a cardboard outer packaging. The inner bag made of film composite material may, for. As aluminum / HDPE or polyethylene in conjunction with ethyl vinyl alcohol / EVOH. The bag has a closure, which is preferably designed so that it can be connected to a carbonator or a line of the dispensing system, so that the beer-like product can be removed from the container, carbonized and fed to the dispensing. The closure is preferably self-closing, so that the screw-on closes again after having been tapped, z. B. via a spring mechanism or a rubber membrane. The said preferred packaging has a low weight and are advantageously stackable, since they are generally cuboid. Furthermore, they are inexpensive. They are used only once, which eliminates the return to the brewery and the washing and storage of barrels. As a result, calculations by the notifying party assume cost savings in the double-digit euro range per hectolitre of beer compared to known cask containers.

Until now, it was simply inconceivable for breweries to market beer without CO ₂ , unless it was a beer concentrate. In a beer concentrate, in the professional world also known as high-gravity brewing, beer is concentrated. CO ₂ is also lost during this process. The concentrate must then be rediluted again in a brewery or another beverage manufacturing plant and mixed with CO ₂ . Unlike the present invention, this reconstituted and carbonated beer, which consequently has the CO ₂ content of about 3.5-7 g / kg which is typical for the beverage beer, is returned to conventional containers, namely pressure drums, bottles and cans, bottled and put into the market. The advantage of the present invention is therefore not met with this beer concentrate.

The CO ₂ content in the beer contributes significantly to the beer's ability to consume and to the fact that beer is considered as such; However, it does not contribute significantly to the recognition and attributability of the beer to a specific beer producer. Beer is understood to be a beverage which, in addition to the main constituent, contains water, the extract from the brewing, digested starch source, frequently cereals such as barley, and hops with its various constituents, and optionally alcohol CO ₂ . Traffic expects beer to contain CO ₂ . Only by containing CO ₂ foam is produced and the drink bubbles. As enjoyable beer is considered if it has at least a CO ₂ content of 3 g / kg and more. Unspired beers, ie beers brewed without application of backpressure, contain at least 3 g / kg CO ₂ . The common beers, which are brewed with back pressure, contain depending on the type of beer about 5 - 7 g / kg CO ₂ . A beer-like liquid with a CO ₂ content of less than 3 g / kg is considered by the experts to be incapable of consumption. The brewing, beer storage and beer bottling technology therefore undertakes various efforts to achieve the desired CO ₂ content during the brewing process and, after brewing, to preserve the CO ₂ bound in the finished beer as loss-free as possible.

According to the invention, a distributable packaging unit is provided with a beer-like liquid. The beer-type liquid is one which has all the usual constituents of beer but has a reduced CO ₂ content of 1.5 g / kg of liquid or less. Preferably, the CO ₂ content is less than 1 g / kg of liquid, in particular 0.5 g / kg or even lower. The beer-type liquid is not a beer concentrate but a "finished" beer but with a reduced CO ₂ content, so that the beer contains as constituents at least about 89-94% by weight of water and about 3.0%. 5.5% by weight of beer extract including bitter constituents from hops The beer-like liquid has preferably been brewed from grain salt, hops, brewing water and yeast and the CO ₂ resulting from the fermentation has been removed by decarbonization This also distinguishes the subject matter of the prior art: The containers used hitherto, such as barrels and bottles, are single-layered One advantage of a multi-layer container is that a high density is achieved at a low weight can be achieved.

Since the beer-type liquid except for the CO ₂ content is "normal" beer, it can be prepared from a finished brewed beer by adding a pre-existing CO ₂ content of, for example, 5-6 g / kg CO _{2 is} added to the beer-type liquid before consumption, eg in a bar of a restaurant immediately before the beer is poured in. By carbonating, the CO ₂ content is restored to the usual level of 5-6 g / kg, thereby making beer from the beer-like liquid again.

By providing the invention, significant advantages are achieved. The costs of bottling, storing and transporting beer are greatly reduced. Also a Sending by mail or parcel service is now possible. This is particularly advantageous for smaller breweries, as a larger sphere of activity and thus customer base can be developed. The logistics costs are kept low and it can be delivered arbitrarily far away, without having to accept long delivery distances and times, for example, or having to increase the vehicle fleet.

The addition of CO ₂ during the dispensing process always provides fresh, ready-to-consume beer in excellent quality. Brewery Characteristics remain intact. Especially in cramped and / or mobile locations, such. As on ships, the benefits of the invention are also fully effective for the customer. The container with the beer-like liquid can be stored easily and space-saving. There are no special precautions to be taken because no or only a very low pressure due to the low CO ₂ content is present. Nevertheless, beer can be tapped fresh in the best quality. On the contrary, it turned out that the recarbonated, pourable beer produces a fine-bodied foam with high stability, which is valued by beer connoisseurs. Furthermore, the invention is therefore advantageous especially for smaller breweries with only a small beer output, as costs for expensive Fassbefüllungs- and - cleaning systems can be saved.

Another surprising effect was found after the first experiments with the beer-like liquid of the present invention. The quality of the beer served was even increased compared to ordinary draft beer. It was found that even after a long storage period, for example 3 or 4 weeks, the germ count in the beer is still significantly lower in the pierced storage container than in beer from barrels which were connected to a comparable dispensing system over the same period. The surprising effect promotes the willingness of the tavern beer in larger containers and not as a bottle to remove and tap on their dispensing system the guest fresh. In the previous offer to serve draft beer over a dispenser to the guests, a bar owner only resorted to the draft beer offer of a brewery, if he could have expected to have served a complete barrel in just a few days. Otherwise, many bar owners feared the explosive increase in the number of microbes, especially in the dispensing system, and the associated loss of taste and spoilage of the beer. Therefore, the not so common beers are often presented to the bar owners only as bottled beer, although the guests would like to order draft beer. The container in which the beer-like liquid is, is preferably oxygen diffusion-inhibiting. More preferably, the container has a maximum oxygen permeability of 0.1 mg / month / liter container volume. Beer is an oxygen-sensitive liquid that suffers quality losses due to oxidation processes. As a result, the container is as oxygen-tight as possible. Furthermore, the oxygen content of the liquid is at most 1 mg / l of liquid, in particular a maximum of 0.5 mg / l. Thus, possibly together with a low oxygen permeability of the container, a longer shelf life can be achieved without sacrificing quality by oxidation.

According to a preferred embodiment, the container is a barely printable container or even a pressureless container. As barely printable, a container is then designated if it can withstand up to 0.5 bar overpressure. Even a very small amount of CO ₂ generates an overpressure with increasing temperatures in a closed system. Therefore, the filling tank must withstand certain minimum pressures. The above value is based on the consideration that at a CO ₂ content of about 1 g / kg up to a temperature of about 40 ° C no CO ₂ escapes from the liquid at all. Only at a temperature of about 80 ° C is a pressure of about 0.5 bar. Consequently, in the CO ₂ content of not more than 1, 5 g / kg according to the invention, the transport safety guaranteed at any time even at higher temperatures. As a result, it is crucial that the container used does not fall under the pressure vessel regulation. This is important because it eliminates safety requirements, the implementation of which would generate high costs.

The beer-like liquid is not, as stated above, in a pressure vessel, which is subject to the pressure vessel ordinance or similar legal requirements, but is filled in any suitable and food-grade container, as long as this container meets the requirements of the main claim, namely that the container Includes liquid, liquid-tight and multi-layered and is suitable both as a transport and as a storage container. Particularly preferred examples are composite packaging and bag-in-box containers.

Claims

claims

1. A dispensable packaging unit with a beer-like liquid comprising as constituents about 89-94% by weight of water and about 3.0-5.5% by weight of beer extract including bitter constituents from hops and having a CO ₂ content of 1, 5 g / kg liquid or less, wherein the beer-like liquid is in a liquid-tight, multi-layer transport and storage container enclosing the liquid.

2. Unit according to claim 1, wherein the CO ₂ content is less than 1 g / kg of liquid, in particular 0.5 g / kg or less.

3. A unit according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container is oxygen diffusion inhibiting.

The unit of claim 3, wherein the container has a maximum oxygen permeability of 0.1 mg / month / liter container volume.

A unit according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is a composite package or a bag-in-box package.

6. Unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the container is a hardly printable container.

7. Unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the oxygen content of the liquid is at most 1 mg / l liquid, in particular at most 0.5 mg / l.

8. Unit according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the liquid has been brewed from cereal salt, hops, brewing water and yeast and wherein the resulting in the fermentation CO _{2 has} been removed by decarbonation.