GB2179672A

GB2179672A - Ingredients kit for the production of alcoholic beverages

Info

Publication number: GB2179672A
Application number: GB08619587A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter F Wilde; Graham Neil Berkman
Original assignee: Sodastream Ltd
Current assignee: Sodastream Ltd
Priority date: 1985-08-30
Filing date: 1986-08-12
Publication date: 1987-03-11
Also published as: DK407186A; DK407186D0; AU6159286A; NO863470D0; IL79772A0; GB8619587D0; NO863470L; ZA866581B; GB8521654D0

Abstract

An ingredients kit for home fermentation which can be fermented, when water is added, to produce an alcoholic beverage, which comprises a fermentation substrate and yeast, both in powder form, and the components of an effervescing system in powder form.

Description

SPECIFICATION Ingredients kit for the production of alcoholic beverages This invention is concerned with the yeast fermentation of suitable substrates to produce alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, and more particularly, with ingredient kits for carrying out such fermentation, particularly in the home.

In the following description, reference will largely be made to the production of beer, but the particular matter with which the present invention is concerned, that is the rapid dispersal of fermentation solids in water at the beginning of the process, also arises in the production of other fermented beverages, such as wine, cider and perry, and the present invention is equally applicable to such other fermented beverages.

In home brewing, some of the fermentation ingredients (other than water) can be supplied in solid form, that is in the form of powders. Whether the brewing process involves adding these ingredients to a given amount of water or, on the contrary, adding a given amount of water to these ingredients in a one-time use fermentation container (as described, for example, in our European Patent Application 0071365 (82303689.2)), it is frequently found that there is difficulty in obtaining rapid and uniform dispersal of the solids in the water. Once the fermentation has commenced, the liberation of carbon dioxide in the fermentation mixture has the necessary mixing effect so as to cause dispersal of solids, but frequently there is a delay in the onset of a significant degree of fermentation.During this initial period, the solids may settle or remain as a cake in the bottom of the fermentation container. thus further delaying the commencement of fermentation.

Whilst the home brewer may not be concerned about such an initial delay in terms of the period required to complete the fermentation process, it can have definitely undesirable consequences. In particular, it can lead to the pH varying significantly throughout the body of the mixture, more particularly as between the top and bottom of the mixture, and the pHs found at the top may be such as to encourage the proliferation of undesirable micro-organisms which degrade the quality of the product obtained or, in the worst case, prevent proper development of the yeast so that the correct fermentation does not take place.

We have now found that by adding the components of an effervescing system to one or more of the solid fermentation ingredients, rapid and uniform dispersal of the solid ingredients in the water can be obtained so that the undesirable effects referred to above can be prevented or reduced to a minimum.

According to one aspect of the present invention, therefore, there is provided an ingredients kit for home fermentation which can be fermented, when water is added, to produce an alcoholic beverage, which comprises a fermentation substrate and yeast, both in powder form, and the components of an effervescing system in powder form.

Effervescing systems are known and are used, for example, in tablet formations to accelerate dissolution of the tablet in water. Such systems comprise a base or a basic salt and an acid or an acidic salt which react together in the presence of water to liberate carbon dioxide. Neither component of the system should be hygroscopic (so that premature reaction does not occur due to the absorption of water vapour from the atmosphere) and both components and the reaction product(s) of the reactions should be non-toxic and be tasteless or have an acceptable taste.

Effervescing systems meeting these requirements are known. Suitable base components include, for example, sodium bicarbonate and ammonium bicarbonate and suitable acid components include, for example, tartaric acid, citric acid and ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate (an acidic salt). The system comprising sodium bicarbonate/tartaric acid is well known and is preferred for use in the invention. The system comprising ammonium bicarbonate/ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate has the advantage that its reaction product is diammonium hydrogen orthophosphate which, in addition to the required properties of non-toxicity and tastelessness, also has the property of being a yeast nutrient so that it is consumed during the course of the fermentation and assists in the multiplication of the yeast.

Suitable proportions of the effervescing system will depend on the nature and particle size of the solids to be dispersed. We have found that in general the desired effect is obtained by the use of 0.5 to 5% of the effervescing system, based on the weight of the solid ingredients. When the sodium bicarbonate/tartaric acid system is used, it is particularly preferred to use 1.5 to 3.0% by weight.

The substrate and the yeast of the ingredients kit may be combined, that is mixed, or may be provided separately. In the latter case, the components of the effervescing system may be present in the substrate or the yeast or one component in one of these and the other component in the other. It is generally preferred that the substrate and the yeast should be mixed and the components of the effervescing system are included in this mixture.

The ingredients kit will normally include additional materials and these and the amounts in which they are used, may be conventional. Thus for the production of beer, the kit suitably includes malt extract in powder form, sugar, and colouring and flavouring materials, such as burnt sugar, hop extract, hop oil, oatmeal extract, and yeast growth stimulants. For wine, the fermentable substrate will include dried grape juice; for cider, dried apple juice; and for perry, dried pear juice.

The present invention further comprises a fermentation kit as described in European Patent Application 0071365 (82303689.2), that is to say, a kit comprising a fermenting vessel constituted by a collapsible plastics bag having an inlet opening provided with a removable closure, and having a pressure relief valve, the interior of the closed bag being substantially sterile and containing an ingredients kit according to the present invention in which the substrate, the yeast and the effervescing system components are mixed together.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, the following examples are given by way of illustration.

Example 1 Fermentation to make beer was carried out in two fermentation kits as described in European Patent Application 0071365 (82303689.2). Each kit comprised 1 268g of fermentation solids and one kit additionally contained, mixed with the fermentation solids, 1 2g of sodium bicarbonate and 11 g of tartaric acid as an effervescing system.

Water was added to each kit to make up a total volume of 12 litres and the kits were then left to stand. After 14 hours, samples of the fermentation mixtures were taken from the top of the mixture through the opening in the top of the bag through which the water was introduced and from the bottom of the mixture through the tap provided at the bottom of the bag; the pH of the samples were determined.

The following results were obtained: pH after 14 hours top bottom Mixture without 6.4 5.0 effervescing system Mixture with 4.9 4.9 effervescing system At the same time it was observed that after 14 hours the solids in the mixture without the effervescing system were still caked at the bottom of the bag, whilst the solids in the other mixture were dispersed throughout the mixture.

Example 2 The procedure of Example 1 was repeated except that one of the fermentation kits comprised 1 2g of sodium bicarbonate and 9.5g of an hydros citric acid as an effervescing system, mixed with the fermentation solids, and the other did not. Sampling was carried out as before, the mixture without the effervescing system being sampled after 17 hours and the mixture with the effervescing system being sampled after 14 hours.

The following results were obtained: pH top bottom Mixture without 6.2 4.5 effervescing system (17 hours) Mixture with 4.8 4.8 effervescing system (14 hours) It was again observed that after the periods mentioned, the solids in the mixture without the effervescing system were caked at the bottom of the bag, whilst in the other mixture the solids were dispersed.

Claims

1. An ingredients kit for home fermentation which can be fermented, when water is added, to produce an alcoholic beverage, which comprises a fermentation substrate and yeast, both in powder form, and the components of an effervescing system in powder form.

2. An ingredients kit according to claim 1, in which the effervescing system comprises, as the base component, sodium or ammonium bicarbonate and, as the acid component, tartaric acid, citric acid or ammonium dihydrogen orthophosphate.

3. An ingredients kit according to claim 1 or 2, which comprises from 0.5 to 5% by weight of the effervescing system.

4. A fermentation kit comprising a fermenting vessel constituted by a collapsible plastics bag having an inlet opening provided with a removable closure, and having a pressure relief valve, the interior of the closed bag being substantially sterile and containing an ingredients kit according to any of the preceding claims in which the substrate, the yeast and the effervescing system components are mixed together.

5. An ingredients kit according to claim 1, substantially as herein described in either of the Examples.