JP2006280359A - Method for reductive aging of alcoholic beverage and reductively aged alcoholic beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique for accelerating aging of alcoholic beverages and a technique for improving quality, and the alcoholic beverage having high functionality. <P>SOLUTION: The alcoholic beverage is continuously treated to be reduced and stored in a storage tank and accelerate aging of the same by using a reduction treatment apparatus for creating a gas-liquid colloidal solution of hydrogen before the aging step by combining a reduction treatment technique and the aging technique. The technique requires short treatment time, accelerates aging of any alcoholic beverages such as brewage, distilled liquor or synthetic liquor, shortens aging time and expresses high economic effects. The finished beverages have antioxidation functions, become to be products which can not easily deteriorate, express improved preservation and are good for health through taking the beverages owing to elimination of active hydrogen in the body, suppression of peroxylipids and the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

  The present invention keeps the aging stage in a reduced state and promotes aging in the production of sake, buddo, fruit wine, beer and other brewed sake, shochu, awamori, vodka, whiskey, gin, and baked spirits. , Related to quality improvement.

Alcohol ripening is the final stage of brewing for brewed liquor, and the final stage of distilled storage for distilled liquor. The purpose is to mellow the taste.
Aging is different in mellowness and umami depending on the age of storage and laying down, and the storage age is emphasized along with the production year indicating the quality of the raw material.
If the aging period can be shortened, the production cost of alcoholic beverages can be significantly reduced.
Therefore, from the viewpoint that it is the components and properties of water that are involved in aging, many attempts have been made such as investigating the characteristics of groundwater, trying to use electromagnetic treatment, and using piwater. However, it has been unsuccessful and traditional aging has been carried out.

Regarding the water reduction treatment technology, the present inventor conducted research in 1991-3, and was recognized as Patent No. 890342 on February 26, 1999, "Reducible hydrogen water for foods and its manufacturing method" As well as manufacturing equipment ". In this patent, water that dissolves hydrogen gas in water and exhibits reducibility and its manufacturing method are recognized as patents.
Thereafter, further research was conducted, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-19426 “Production method of gas-dissolved liquid medium and production system of gas-dissolved liquid medium” filed on May 1, 2001 was proposed. In this application, it was a technique that provides a technique for adjusting the oxidation-reduction of a liquid by adding hydrogen to a flowing liquid.
Furthermore, in a later study, there is Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-158698 “Automatic redox treatment system using colloidal solution of hydrogen gas and oxygen gas under reduced pressure and pressure dissolution” filed on April 28, 2003.
In this application, gas bubbles are crushed by cavitation of a rotor that rotates at high speed by adding oxygen or hydrogen to a flowing liquid, and a reduced pressure condition and a pressurized condition are applied to make the fine bubbles colloidal, thereby causing a supersaturated state of the gas. It is a technology that gives strong oxidizing and reducing power to liquids.
These techniques are all related to redox of water and liquid, and are not proposed as techniques for aging alcohol.

Means to solve the problem

As described above, as a means of aging alcohol, it is the present condition that a good aging method is to wait for the passage of time slowly while keeping the aging temperature at an appropriate temperature.
Therefore, in order to solve the above problems, the present technology creates the gas-liquid colloidal solution of hydrogen in the aging stage, which is the final stage of liquor production, by combining the reduction treatment technique proposed by the inventors and the aging technique of liquor. Using a “reduction treatment device” (Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-158698), a method for continuously reducing and storing alcoholic beverages in a storage tank has been developed.

There are two factors in the aging of alcoholic beverages, and one factor is that the alcohol and water components contained during storage are in harmony. It is empirically known that this harmony is affected by the difference in physical properties of water, and the speed at which this harmony and conformity varies depending on the water.
Another factor is that the components contained in the liquor during aging are slightly denatured by oxidation. In order to stop this, it is necessary to put the reaction system of the liquor being stored in a reduced state.
The reduction treatment has a function that promotes the action of hydrogen molecules with intense molecular motion entering between alcohol and water molecules, preventing the local molecules from intermingling with each other and mixing the components uniformly as a whole. ing.
Further, as described above, the reduction treatment prevents oxidation of components contained in alcoholic beverages, in particular, oxidation of lipids contained in trace amounts having a great influence on aroma components.

In brewing liquor, prevention of denaturation of lipid components during aging is an important key, and reduction treatment prevents them from being oxidized while they are laid in the tank, and the physical properties of water change to change alcohol and water. Familiar with the ingredients and fragrance ingredients, it is possible to create a clean feel in a short period of time.
The life of liquor is that this fragrance component is well-familiar and has a clean feel.

In distilled liquor, there are no components that oxidize and give off a strange odor, but the familiarity of aroma-based volatile components, water, and alcohol collected in trace amounts during distillation is a major goal of aging.
In addition, in distilled liquor that is colored and flavored by smoking and barreling such as whiskey, aging is also an important factor for familiarity with the coloring and flavoring components.
The reduction treatment promotes the physical properties even in aging for the above two types of familiarity, and has the effect of increasing the aging speed and aroma.
Distilled liquor as a reduced beverage is a high-quality liquor that works positively on health because it has a function of eliminating active oxygen in the body and suppressing the formation of lipid peroxide.

The introduction of the reduction processing device is slightly different depending on the alcoholic beverage.
In brewing liquor (Fig. 1), it is possible to apply a reduction process twice in liquor, budo liquor, etc. at the time of squeezing and solid-liquid separation after completion of fermentation and immediately before storage aging after burning.
In the case of beer (FIG. 2), a reduction process can be performed at the stage where the beer is placed in the storage tank after completion of fermentation. Distilled liquor (FIG. 3) can be reduced immediately before being put into a storage tank after cooling by distillation.

As shown in FIG. 1, in brewed sakes such as sake, budodo liquor, fruit liquor, etc., the process of reduction treatment 1 for promoting ripening usually shifts to the aging stage after the post-fermentation process 3 and the firing process 4. At the time, it is continuously reduced and aged.
However, in order to further enhance the effect, reduction processing is performed at the stage of entering post-fermentation 3 after the squeezing filtration process, and reduction processing 1 is performed again at two stages before being sent to the storage tank 5 after burning 4 and sealed and stored. Promotes aging.
The steps after the storage tank 5 are a sterilization filtration device 7 and a container filling device 8, and at this stage, the alcoholic beverages indicate the reducing conditions.
In the reduction process, the direction of IN and OUT is confirmed in the middle of the pipe connecting the processes, the direction of IN and OUT is confirmed, the process is continuously performed by utilizing the motor of the apparatus.
In reduced storage, it is also possible to store draft sake and draft beer.

In the case of brewed liquor such as beer, it is applied to the stage before being sent to the storage tank 5 after the fermentation process 2. That is, the reduction treatment 1 is continuously performed and ripened at the time of transition to the ripening stage.
After the liquor storage tank 5, it passes through the serving tank 6, passes through the sterilization filtration device 7, and reaches the container filling device 8. At this stage, beer exhibits reducing conditions and is oxidized without the addition of antioxidants.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the distilled liquor such as shochu, awamori, whiskey, vodka, tequila, dry gin, cognac, etc., the reduction process for promoting ripening has completed the distillation process 9 and entered the cooling stage 10. At the stage, continuous reduction treatment 1 is put into the storage tank 5 and the aging stage is entered. Aging is performed at a low temperature.
Similarly, in the case of distilled liquor, the reduction process is performed continuously by checking the direction of IN and OUT in the middle of the pipe connecting the processes, connecting in the direction of the arrow, and using the motor of the apparatus. Process.

In any liquor, the redox potential gradually rises due to the influence of oxygen generated in the lot and the absorption of hydrogen in the product with the lapse of time after the treatment is completed, so that the reduction treatment is performed again as necessary.
At the stage of ripening, the redox potential of the alcoholic beverages of the product becomes negative due to repetition of the reduction treatment, and the product is difficult to oxidize or deteriorate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the whole process of brewing sake such as sake is proceeded in the order of raw material adjustment process, preparation process, koji preparation process, fermentation process, squeezing process, post-fermentation process, aging process, and product process. Introducing the reduction treatment apparatus into the process is usually the easiest to carry out the reduction treatment at the stage of entering the storage tank after the firing.
However, in order to raise the temperature of the firing, the variable components dissolved at the stage of the firing may be oxidized and cause a deterioration in quality. In that case, it is safe to add a reduction treatment when the fermentation product is fed into the post-fermentor. In that case, the alcohol recovery rate also increases.
The whole process of beer proceeds in the order of raw material adjustment process, preparation process, cooling process, fermentation process, liquor storage process, aging process, and product process. In general, the reduction treatment apparatus is most easily introduced into the process at the stage before the liquor storage process after the fermentation process.

The invention's effect

As described above, in the present invention, the reduction treatment device is used for each production process of brewed liquor and distilled liquor, hydrogen is dissolved in the alcohol solution, and the aging of the liquor is promoted. Economic effect by shortening the aging period And to improve the quality of liquors.
In addition, reduced liquor is thought to have a good effect on health, such as eliminating active oxygen when it is absorbed in the body and suppressing the formation of lipid peroxide. Phenomena such as pleasant healing of atopic dermatitis have been observed in water using water.

Example of normal application of reduction processing equipment to sake brewing process Example of normal application of reduction processing equipment to beer brewing process Example of normal application of reduction processing equipment to the spirits manufacturing process Application examples of reduction treatment in all processes and aging of brewed sake Application examples of reduction treatment in all processes and aging of distilled spirits

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Reduction processing apparatus 2 Fermentation tank 3 Post-fermentation tank 4 Burning 5 Storage tank 6 Serving tank 7 Sterilization filtration apparatus 8 Container filling machine 9 Distillation apparatus 10 Cooling apparatus

Claims (7)

  In the aging stage of alcoholic beverages, a reduced colloid generation device that uses hydrogen under pressure and dissolution under reduced pressure is used to keep the alcoholic beverage in a gas-liquid colloidal solution by adding hydrogen gas, speeding aging in the storage tank, A method for reducing and ripening alcoholic beverages, characterized in that the alcoholic beverages can be shortened and produce fragrant and highly aromatic alcoholic beverages.   The method for aging alcohol according to claim 1, wherein the storage tank is in a reduced pressure state of 0.0001 to 0.1 Torr. According to claim 1, liquor way ripening, wherein the pressure in the alcohol storage tank is pressurized state of normal pressure ^{to 105} Pa.   A reduced aging liquor produced by the aging promotion method according to claim 1, wherein the redox potential = ORP is negative.   2. The alcoholic beverage according to claim 1, wherein the type of sake to be aged is brewed sake.   2. The alcoholic beverage according to claim 1, wherein the type of alcohol to be aged is distilled alcohol.   2. The alcoholic beverage according to claim 1, wherein the type of alcohol to be aged is synthetic alcohol.

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