JP2024050231A - Aging containers, sales and provision methods for aging containers - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide an aging container that allows for aging almost the same as that in a barrel, using a container configured to use wood for part of the container. [Solution] An aging container for aging alcoholic beverages, comprising a storage section for storing the alcoholic beverage, and one or more openings in the lid, bottom, or side, with a lid material made of wood placed over all or part of the opening, and in order to ensure an aging process similar to that of an alcoholic beverage in a large-capacity barrel, it is desirable to determine the content volume of the alcoholic beverage stored in the aging container and the inner container area of the lid material based on the relationship between the content volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the inner area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood. [Selected Figure] Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to a container for aging alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, brandy, and wine. In particular, the present invention relates to an aging container that allows for aging in a manner similar to that of a barrel, but which is not entirely covered in wood like a barrel, but is configured to use wood only in part of the container, and to a method for selling and providing the aging container.

In the case of distilled spirits such as whiskey and brandy, the fermented mash made from barley malt using multiple types of yeast and lactic acid bacteria is distilled.
During distillation, sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide derived from sulfur-containing amino acids are generated, which cause a characteristic odor and deteriorate the flavor, so the sulfides are called immature components. When copper stills are used during distillation, the copper captures sulfides and thiol compounds through a chemical reaction, but a considerable amount of sulfides remains.
In addition, immediately after distillation, the components of the new pot are colorless and transparent, with a monotonous aroma, because the wood components such as the barrel wood have not yet decomposed or dissolved. The alcohol molecules have not yet combined with water, resulting in a stimulating, rough and harsh taste.

Therefore, new pot is placed into a wooden barrel and allowed to mature for a long period of time.
The mechanism of maturation has not been completely elucidated, but as shown in Figure 2, it is generally believed to be due to a number of factors, including the adsorption and transpiration of unripe aromas such as acetaldehyde, and unnecessary unripe components such as sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide (Figure 2, A and B), the infiltration of each component of the raw liquor into the wooden barrel (Figure 2, C), the decomposition and elution of components derived from the barrel wood (Figure 2, D), reactions caused by the components derived from the barrel wood (Figure 2, E and F), chemical reactions of components derived from the raw liquor (oxidation, acetalization, esterification reactions, etc.) (Figure 2, G), and a change in the state of the ethanol component due to the association of ethanol with water (Figure 2, H).

On the other hand, aging containers other than barrels that have been devised include i) miniature barrels that are completely made of wood like barrels, ii) glass or other containers with wood placed inside, and iii) glass or other containers with wooden lids.

For example, i) when using a miniature barrel that is completely made of wood like a regular barrel, it is possible to realize many of the reactions necessary for the aging process. However, the ratio of the amount of raw liquor in the container to the surface area of the wood is significantly different from that of a large-capacity barrel, and the progress of aging is significantly different between the two, so it is only good for enjoying the aging atmosphere.
More specifically, in the relationship between the volume of raw liquor in a large barrel and the surface area of the inside of the barrel, in the case of a small miniature barrel, the surface area is too large compared to the volume of the raw liquor, and the speed of maturation in the miniature barrel proceeds significantly faster than in the original barrel, making it difficult to enjoy the slow maturation process.

As an example of ii) wood being placed in a glass or other container, for example, Patent Document 1 "Barrel Flavored Liquor" discloses a technology for producing an alcoholic beverage with a specified barrel flavor by sealing a specified piece of wood in a container together with the alcoholic beverage, which not only creates a visual effect that gives the impression of a barrel, but also imparts a flavor that is similar to that of a barrel due to the flavor imparted by the wood.

However, with the technology described in Patent Document 1, because wood is placed inside a sealed container, it is not possible to ensure breathability. As a result, the wood adsorbs unnecessary immature components contained in the raw liquor, such as oxide compounds and sulfides, and these components are unable to be released or transpire to the outside, resulting in an inconvenient difference in aroma and flavor from that achieved through barrel aging.
Furthermore, no analysis had been done on the amount of wood needed to be placed in relation to the volume of contents in order to achieve the same level of maturation as in barrels, which resulted in the wine not being sufficiently matured and remaining immature, or conversely, if stored for an inadvertently long period of time the wine could be over-aged, resulting in an aroma, flavor, color, etc. that is significantly different from that of barrel aging.

A corresponding technology is disclosed in Patent Document 2, which is classified as iii) a technology using wood for the lid of a container such as glass.
Patent Document 2, "Aging Bottle," discloses a technology for an aging bottle for aging alcohol, which comprises a container with an opening and a piece of wood that is placed in the container through the opening and has one end exposed to the outside air, and which uses wood that contains the same hardwood as barrel wood, thereby enabling favorable elution and aging of the aroma and flavor components contained in the wood.

Furthermore, paragraph 0028 of the specification of Patent Document 2 "Aging Bottle" focuses on the ratio (V/S) of the barrel volume V to the barrel's inner surface area S, and states that it is preferable for the ratio (V/S) of the surface area of the bar in the maturation bottle to the liquid volume of the new pot to be approximately the same as that in the barrel.

Unlike Patent Document 1, the technology in Patent Document 2 ensures a certain degree of breathability because the wood (the rod in Patent Document 2) is in contact with the outside (air), so although it is insufficient, it allows the wood to adsorb unnecessary immature components such as oxidized compounds and sulfides contained in alcoholic beverages and release/transpire them to the outside.

Utility Model Registration No. 3131977 JP 2020-22416 A

However, the technology in Patent Document 2 does not take into account the depth to which the new pot (corresponding to the "unblended liquor" in this application) penetrates into the wood, and simply grasps the state of maturation based on the ratio of the internal volume V (ml) of the barrel to the surface area S (cm2) of the barrel's inner surface (hereinafter abbreviated as "V/S ratio"). This means that it is not possible to properly evaluate the maturation in the barrel, and it is not possible to maintain the maturation state in the maturation bottles at approximately the same level as the maturation state in the barrel.

In addition, because vertical rods are used, there is poor ventilation between the new pot and the outside air, and the wood is not able to absorb and release/transpire unnecessary immature components such as oxide compounds and sulfides contained in the new pot to the outside insufficiently. This means that unnecessary immature components such as sulfides remain in the alcoholic beverage, and it is not possible to age the beverage in the same way as in a barrel.

In this invention, the aim is not to simply grasp the maturation state from the V/S ratio, but to carefully observe the relationship between the permeation state of the raw liquor in each part of the barrel and the maturation, and to pursue methods and means for correctly evaluating the mechanism of maturation in the barrel, thereby maintaining the maturation state in the maturation vessel approximately the same as the maturation state in the barrel.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that makes it possible to estimate the maturation of raw liquor that progresses in large-capacity barrels that store the same raw liquor by providing a means that makes it possible to maintain the maturation state in the maturation container substantially the same as the maturation state in a barrel, thereby promoting the sale of alcoholic beverages that have been matured in large-capacity barrels that store the same raw liquor.

In order to achieve the above object, the first invention provides:
1. An ageing vessel for ageing alcoholic beverages, comprising:
a storage section for storing alcoholic beverages;
and one or more openings in the lid, bottom or side;
In order to guarantee a similar aging process to that of alcoholic beverages in large barrels,
A lid material made of wood is placed on all or a part of the opening,
The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
determining the amount of alcoholic beverage contained in the large-capacity barrel based on the relationship between the inner area of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood;
This is an aging vessel characterized by the above.

The second invention is
1. An ageing vessel for ageing alcoholic beverages, comprising:
It has a transparent portion that allows the state of the contents to be observed from the outside,
When the alcoholic beverage is filled, the maturation process of the alcoholic beverage can be observed;
The aging container according to the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in that

The third invention is
The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
When determining based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the inner area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Considering that the depth to which the alcoholic beverage penetrates the wood varies depending on the parts constituting the barrel;
The aging container according to any one of the first and second inventions is characterized in that:

The fourth invention is
The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
When determining based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the inner area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Furthermore, by calculating the volume of the alcoholic beverage permeating the wood from the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood, or the weight of the permeated wood portion equivalent to the permeated volume, a liquid ratio is calculated, which is the ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel to the permeated volume, or the ratio of the weight of the alcoholic beverage to the permeated weight;
determining the amount of alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the lid material inside the container based on the liquid ratio;
The aging container according to any one of the first and second inventions is characterized in that:

The fifth invention is
The liquid ratio is a ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage to the wet volume, and is about 14 to about 18;
The aging container according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that

The sixth invention is
A method for filling and selling an alcoholic beverage into an alcoholic beverage maturation container, the container having a storage section for storing an alcoholic beverage and one or more openings in a lid, a bottom, or a side, and a wooden lid material disposed on all or part of the openings, comprising:
A barrel identification ID for individually identifying each of the large-capacity barrels in which the alcoholic beverage is stored and aged is provided,
The alcoholic beverage maturation container comprises:
The barrel identification ID of the large-capacity barrel in which the filled alcoholic beverage is stored and aged is linked to the barrel,
The structure of the alcoholic beverage maturation container is as follows:
The amount of alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are determined based on the relationship between the amount of alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel of the linked barrel identification ID, the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood.
To sell and provide the alcoholic beverage while ensuring that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container;
The present invention relates to a method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage, the method being characterized by the above.

The seventh invention is
When determining the content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Furthermore, by calculating the volume of the alcoholic beverage permeating the wood from the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood, or the weight of the permeated wood portion equivalent to the permeated volume, a liquid ratio is calculated, which is the ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel to the permeated volume, or the ratio of the weight of the alcoholic beverage to the permeated weight;
The amount of alcoholic beverage contained in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are determined based on the liquid ratio,
To sell and provide the alcoholic beverage while ensuring that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container;
The sixth aspect of the present invention relates to a method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage, the method being characterized by the above.

The eighth invention is
The liquid ratio is a ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage to the wet volume, and is about 14 to about 18;
The seventh aspect of the present invention relates to a method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage, the method being characterized by the above.

The ninth invention is
The barrel identification ID includes at least the date of barreling of the alcoholic beverage, the type of wood constituting the barrel, and information on the storage location of the barrel;
This is a method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage according to any one of the sixth to eighth inventions, characterized by the above.

The tenth invention is
The maturation container has a transparent portion through which the state of the contents can be observed from the outside,
To users who have received the aging container containing the alcoholic beverage,
To ensure that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container; and
By making it possible to observe the aging state, including the color of the alcoholic beverage inside, through the transparent portion of the container, and by making it possible to identify a large-capacity barrel for storing and aging the alcoholic beverage, which is linked to the aging container by the barrel identification ID,
The user is enabled to estimate the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in a large-capacity barrel for storing and maturing the alcoholic beverage linked to the maturation container based on the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the maturation container held by the user,
Encouraging the user to purchase a large-capacity barrel of alcoholic beverages for storing and aging the alcoholic beverages associated with the aging container;
A method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage according to any one of the sixth to eighth inventions, characterized by the above.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a large-capacity barrel for aging. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the maturation of an alcoholic beverage in a barrel, showing one embodiment of a cross-sectional view of the barrel as viewed from the direction of the mirror plate. This figure shows the state in which the components of raw liquor permeate wood, and is a diagram showing one example of the permeation state when the wood is in direct contact with the raw liquor, such as the side panel (body) or side panel (lower part) of a barrel. This figure shows the state of infiltration of raw liquor components into wood, and is an example of the infiltration state when the wood is not in direct contact with the raw liquor, such as the staves (upper part) of a barrel or the lid of an aging vessel. This is a diagram showing the state in which the components of the raw liquor permeate the wood that makes up the barrel material, and shows that the depth to which the components of the raw liquor permeate the wood varies depending on the part of the barrel material. This is a diagram to explain the mechanism for calculating the effective depth to which raw liquor components penetrate into wood, and shows that the effective depth of penetration differs for each part of the barrel wood. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the aging container of the present invention, and shows an example of a configuration in which the diameter and depth are similar in a pattern in which only the lid portion is made of wood. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the aging container of the present invention, and shows an example of a slightly vertically long structure in a pattern in which only the lid portion is made of wood. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the aging container of the present invention, and shows an example of a vertically long structure in a pattern in which only the lid portion is made of wood. FIG. 1 shows the configuration of the aging container of the present invention, and shows an example of a configuration in which the diameter and depth are similar in a pattern in which the lid and bottom parts are made of wood. FIG. 1 shows the structure of the aging container of the present invention, and shows an example of a slightly vertically elongated structure in a pattern in which the lid and bottom parts are made of wood. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the aging container of the present invention, showing one embodiment of a vertically long configuration in a pattern in which the lid and bottom parts are made of wood. This is a diagram showing the structure of the aging container of the present invention, and is a diagram showing one example of a slightly vertically long structure in a pattern in which a part of the side is made of wood. Although not shown, packing etc. is appropriately arranged around the lid material to improve the airtightness with the container. This is a diagram showing the configuration of the aging container of the present invention, and is a diagram showing one example of the configuration when a square bottle is used in a pattern in which a part of the side is made of wood. Although not shown, packing etc. are appropriately arranged around the lid material to improve the airtightness with the container. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the state in which the container of FIG. 7 is filled with an alcoholic beverage, and shows the state in which the maturation container is stored in an upright position. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the state in which the container of FIG. 8 is filled with an alcoholic beverage, and shows the state in which the maturation container is stored in a horizontal position. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the state in which the container of FIG. 10 is filled with an alcoholic beverage, and shows the state in which the maturation container is stored in an upright position. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the process of calculating the liquid ratio established in the present invention, and is a diagram showing one embodiment of the process of calculating the liquid ratio in a barrel. This figure shows the calculation process of the liquid ratio established in the present invention, and is a figure showing one example of the calculation process of the liquid ratio when the aging container of the present invention is stored upright in a case where the only part made of wood is the lid. This figure shows the calculation process of the liquid ratio established in the present invention, and is a figure showing one example of the calculation process of the liquid ratio when the aging container of the present invention is stored horizontally when the only part made of wood is the lid. FIG. 1 shows the calculation process of the liquid ratio established in the present invention, and is a diagram showing one example of the calculation process of the liquid ratio when the aging container of the present invention is stored upright when the lid and bottom parts are made of wood. FIG. 13 shows the calculation process of the liquid ratio established in the present invention, and shows one example of the calculation process of the liquid ratio when the aging container of the present invention is stored upright in a case where the wood is only in the side portion. This figure shows the amount of a specific component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and an maturation vessel, and is a diagram showing an example of the adsorption, evaporation, and disappearance by oxidation, etc., of immature aromas such as acetaldehyde and immature components such as sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide. This figure shows the amount of a specific component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and an maturation vessel, and shows an example of the maturation of mainly woody components such as vanillin (vanilla aroma). This figure shows the amount of a specific component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and an maturation vessel, and shows an example of the maturation of mainly ester-based components, such as ethyl acetate (fruity aroma). This figure shows the amount of a specific component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and maturation vessel, and shows an example of the maturation process of color components such as tannins and phlobaphenes derived from tannins. This figure shows the overall maturation process of raw liquor in barrels and maturation vessels, integrating the progress of maturation for each component shown in Figures 24 to 27. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a process for producing distilled spirits such as whiskey and a process for filling the spirits into an aging vessel. This is a barrel information management table. This is a table linking barrels and aging vessels. A diagram showing the contents of the IC tags, tags, stickers, or package printing to be attached to barrels and aging containers.

<Terminology>
◇Wood is a general term for things that have properties similar to those of trees, and includes lumber, boards, etc.
◇New pot is the raw liquid of freshly distilled whiskey that has not yet been aged or adjusted. New pot is a colorless and transparent raw liquid that has not yet turned amber in color.
◇Unpasteurized sake generally refers to new pot sake that has completed its maturation and is stored in a barrel before bottling. In this specification, however, the term unpasteurized sake also refers to sake that is in the middle of the maturation process of new pot.
◇The ingredients of the raw sake or new pot include esters, alcohols, and organic acids. Esters include ethyl acetate, ethyl caprylate, and ethyl laurate. Alcohols include ethanol, isoamyl alcohol, and isobutyl alcohol. Organic acids include acetic acid and fatty acids.

◇Alcoholic beverages refer to beverages that contain alcohol (mainly ethanol), such as distilled alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, vodka, shochu, and awamori, as well as brewed alcoholic beverages such as beer, sake, and wine. In addition, since this invention is an invention related to aging containers, unless otherwise specified, it includes "state before aging" such as a new pot of whiskey, "raw liquor in the process of aging" and "raw liquor in the completed state of aging."
◇Esterification refers to the process in which ethanol with a hydroxyl group and a carboxylic acid with a carboxyl group coexist during the aging process, and ester components are produced by the loss of water molecules (dehydration condensation).
◇Ester components are synonymous with esters, and when describing which components have what role (aroma, flavor, color) during the aging process, this is another way of saying esters.
◇Ethyl acetate is a type of hydrocarbon ester component that is produced by the reaction of acetic acid and ethanol during the aging process, and gives off a fruity aroma.

◇Acetalization refers to the process in which acetaldehyde reacts with ethanol during the aging process to turn into an aromatic component called acetal.
◇Wood components derived from barrels include essential oil components such as acetic acid and succinic acid, which are the wood components in the barrel wood that dissolve almost intact (called extractive components), and high molecular components of the wood in the barrel wood that are resistant to decomposition, such as lignin and tannins, which are gradually broken down by ethanol over a long period of time and dissolve (called ethanolysis).
◇The adsorption and transpiration of unripened components by the wood of barrels refers to the process in which, when an alcoholic beverage is infiltrated into the wood, the unripened components contained in the alcoholic beverage are adsorbed by the wood and then released to the outside through transpiration from the wood, resulting in a decrease in the amount of unripened components.
◇The disappearance of unripened components refers to the reduction or disappearance of unripened components as a result of oxidation, a chemical reaction that occurs inside the barrel other than evaporation, turning them into substances that do not emit a sulfur odor, etc. This is to be distinguished from the adsorption and evaporation of unripened components by the wood of the barrel.

◇Lignin is a polymer (aromatic polymer) contained in the cell walls of plants, a polymeric phenolic compound involved in the lignification of plants, and is also called xylin. Lignin decomposes and turns into vanillin, which has a sweet scent.
◇Vanillin is an aromatic aldehyde with a sweet fragrance. When it was first discovered, it was obtained when coniferin contained in vanilla beans was decomposed by fermentation to become vanillin, which precipitated as crystals on the surface of the beans. Nowadays, it is often produced using inexpensive lignin as a raw material. It is difficult to dissolve in water, but is highly soluble in organic solvents such as ethanol (ethyl alcohol). Lignin is also decomposed and vanillin is produced during charring in the barrel-making process, so some vanillin dissolves directly from the barrel.

◇Tannin is one of the components contained in wood. When the alcoholic components of the raw liquor soak into the wood of the barrel, it breaks down and is dissolved from the wood into the raw liquor. Tannin breaks down easily, and is converted by hydrolysis into polyphenols, the main component of which is ellagic acid. Furthermore, the polyphenols produced polymerize during storage through oxidative polymerization, producing insoluble, brown phlobaphenes (pigments). This is what causes the whiskey to turn brown.

◇Acetaldehyde is produced by the oxidation of ethanol in raw alcohol. It gives off a fishy, garbage-like smell or a pungent, grassy smell, so in the aging of whiskey and other drinks, it is called an immature component or immature aroma. However, when diluted, it can be perceived as a fruity smell, and as it decreases with aging, it is thought to be one of the elements that create a complex aroma.
Dimethyl sulfide is a type of sulfide contained in new pot, and even a small amount can give off a fishy, vegetable-like odor, so it is called an immature component or immature aroma in the aging of whiskey and other drinks. It becomes dimethyl sulfoxide through oxidation, which weakens the odor, and it is released to the outside through adsorption and transpiration from wood, so the amount is greatly affected by the state of aging.

◇Maturation peak refers to the state in the aging process when the balance of aroma, flavor, etc. is at its best. In the early stages of aging, the components of the raw liquor come to the forefront, with a sharp aroma and rough taste, but as aging progresses, the action of the wood components in the barrel and chemical reactions between the components (oxidation, esterification, acetalization, etc.) results in a fruity, gorgeous aroma and a mellow taste, and the liquor reaches its maturation peak. After that, excessive oxidation and the excessive action of the wood components in the barrel tend to cause the balance of aroma and flavor to deteriorate.

The storage section is a means for storing alcoholic beverages and is made of glass, resin, etc. The storage section may be configured to block light as appropriate, or may be entirely or partially made of transparent parts so that the inside can be observed from the outside.
◇The volume or capacity of a container refers to the volume of a barrel or aging container and the capacity (volume) of the alcoholic beverage stored in it. Note that the specific gravity of alcoholic beverages varies depending on their alcohol content, and the specific gravity can be taken into account when calculating the weight of the alcoholic beverage or raw liquor.

◇The infiltration volume refers to the volume of wood in the barrel or other wood materials where the raw liquor has infiltrated.
◇Wet weight refers to the dry weight of the wood equivalent to the wet volume.
◇Liquid ratio refers to the ratio of the volume of raw liquor to the volume of infiltrated wood (volume of raw liquor / volume of infiltrated wood) or the ratio of the weight of raw liquor to the weight of infiltrated wood (weight of raw liquor / weight of infiltrated wood).
A high liquid ratio means that the volume (or weight) of the unprocessed liquor is large compared to the volume (or weight) that has infiltrated the wood, meaning that the amount of wood is small compared to the unprocessed liquor, and is an indicator that suggests that maturation will proceed easily. Conversely, a low liquid ratio means that the volume (or weight) of the unprocessed liquor is small compared to the volume (or weight) that has infiltrated the wood, meaning that the amount of wood is large compared to the unprocessed liquor, and is an indicator that suggests that maturation will proceed easily.

◇Charing is a rapid and intense heat treatment that directly applies fire to the inside of the wood of the barrel in which alcohol is aged, charring the surface of the wood and carbonizing it. It is mainly used for distilled alcohol such as whiskey.
Charring levels are generally rated on a scale of 0 to 4, with level 1 being charred for about 20 seconds, level 2 for 25 to 30 seconds, level 3 for 35 to 40 seconds, and level 4 for 40 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the temperature of the charring. Each cooper has its own standards for charring levels, so there is no standard for charring levels. The longer the charring time, the thicker the charred layer will be, and although it depends on the type of wood, it is said that for level 1 the charred layer will be about 2 mm thick, and for level 4 it will be about 4 mm thick.
Charring breaks down the high molecular weight components of wood, such as cellulose and hemicellulose (containing arabinose and xylose), into aromatic components such as maltol and furfural. These are then oxidized during aging to produce organic acids and then esters, which are important factors in determining the aroma and flavor.
In addition, lignin dissolved from wood breaks down during the maturation process and turns into vanillin, but charring can also break down the lignin in the wood, producing vanillin, which can then be expected to dissolve into the raw liquor.

◇Toasting is a slow heat treatment that uses far infrared rays from a distant flame to heat and bend the staves. It is mainly used for brewed alcoholic beverages such as wine, but can also be used for distilled alcoholic beverages such as whiskey. Because it is heated slowly over a long period of time, it can become 7mm thick from the surface of the wood. The chemical composition of the staves changes depending on the degree of toasting, just like charring.

Examples of the present invention will now be described.
The configurations and values in the description are merely examples, and can be applied to other shapes and arrangements. The aging vessel of the present invention can be configured in various ways.
In addition, the maturation container of the present invention can be applied to alcoholic beverages such as distilled spirits such as whiskey, vodka, shochu, and awamori, as well as brewed spirits such as beer, sake, and wine, but the following explanation will mainly use whiskey and other distilled spirits as an example.

1. The current state of whisky making and development goals Currently, at whisky making sites around the world, there are no whisky making sites that use all of the raw materials for whisky, such as two-row barley and corn, or wood for barrels, from the region where the distillery is located.
For example, in regions such as Scotland, raw materials such as barley are sourced in the whiskey-producing region, but the wood used for the barrels is actually sourced from other regions.

So the project team for this invention (a joint team of brewers, distillers, various testing institutes, research institutes, raw material producers, timber manufacturers, barrel manufacturers, etc.) decided to take advantage of the regional characteristics of Hokkaido and use Hokkaido-grown two-row barley and corn as raw materials for whiskey, while also aiming to create a whiskey that is unlike any other in the world by using everything from Hokkaido, including the development of the cultivation environment for the raw materials, the production of the timber used for barrels, the barrel-making workshops, and the aging containers for this invention, all of which are produced in Hokkaido, to manufacture and sell whiskey that is unlike any other in the world.

More specifically, for example, in fields where two-row barley, corn, etc. are grown, they work with farmers and agricultural cooperatives in Hokkaido to improve the soil environment by managing the previous crop that was grown in the same place before planting the crop, fertilizing, and using organic matter. They also aim to select varieties (balance of starch and protein) and establish cultivation methods based on malting tests to increase enzyme activity as a pre-treatment of barley, brewing tests at the fermentation stage, and distillation tests.
In addition, by manufacturing barrels using wood from various regions of Hokkaido and using leftover wood from the barrel manufacturing process to manufacture small aging containers, the company aims to promote the effective use of wood, develop Hokkaido's forestry associations and lumber businesses, and pass on barrel-making techniques, thereby revitalizing the entire region and building a sustainable society.

In addition, when it comes to materials for barrels used to age whiskey, they are taking on an ambitious challenge by not only using common Mizunara and white oak, but also a variety of woods native to Hokkaido, such as Siberian cherry, Sugar maple, Japanese walnut, Japanese larch, Red spruce, Japanese Sakhalin fir, and Japanese white birch, with the aim of creating whiskey with a variety of flavors by using a variety of woods through ingenious charring techniques and the development of resin removal techniques.

They also aim to create a new market for alcoholic beverages by establishing a business model that utilizes aging containers that enable aging almost identical to that achieved in barrels (a business that links the aging containers with barrels and promotes the purchase of raw liquor that has been bottled from barrels that have been aged in the same new pot as the aging containers).
Ultimately, the project aims to go beyond the scope of producing distilled spirits such as whiskey, and to collaborate with other industries, such as food-related businesses (restaurants, meat processors, etc.) that produce alcoholic beverages well, as well as with the tourism industry, such as by establishing ecotourism that includes manufacturing sites, in order to create a place for interaction between people and manufacturers, with whiskey and other distilled spirits at its core.

2. Structure of the barrel for aging First, the structure of a barrel 100 for aging alcoholic beverages will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Although there are some differences depending on the type of alcoholic beverage, the barrel 100 generally has the structure shown in Fig. 1.

The barrel 100 has a roughly cylindrical shape and is constructed by fitting together wooden pieces (side panels) that form the barrel material without any gaps.
In order to maintain strength, the periphery is tightened with an iron band 150.
Since barrels are usually stored and aged lying down, the various parts are named according to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, and from top to bottom they are called side panel (upper part) 110, side panel (body part) 120, and side panel (lower part) 130.

As the inside dimensions are important when storing and maturing raw liquor, the dimensions of each part are indicated as follows: the inside diameter φ1 of the head panel 140, the maximum inside diameter φ2 of the central part of the barrel, and the inside depth d.
In this case, the average inner diameter φa can be expressed as φa = (φ1 + φ2) / 2. Although not shown, the average inner radius r of the barrel can be expressed as r = φa / 2.
The actual dimensions of each part vary depending on the contents of the barrel, but the inside diameter is usually around 40 to 80 cm, and the inside depth is usually around 60 to 140 cm. The thickness of the wood of the barrel is set based on the strength and other factors depending on the contents of the barrel, but a thickness of around 2 to 4 cm is often used.

3. The mechanism of maturation of alcoholic beverages Next, the mechanism of maturation of alcoholic beverages, mainly whiskey, will be explained with reference to FIG.
Fig. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the state of maturation of an alcoholic beverage in a barrel, and is a diagram showing one embodiment of a cross-sectional view of a barrel seen from the side. Note that Fig. 2 mainly shows an example of distilled alcohol such as whiskey, but the same applies to other alcoholic beverages including brewed alcohol such as wine.

3-1. Aging by various chemical reactions between ingredients contained in raw liquor The fermented moromi of whiskey contains a large number of ingredients, including those derived from the raw barley malt and those derived from fermentation. By distilling the fermented moromi, which contains such a wide variety of ingredients, various volatile components are extracted, which are said to determine the characteristics of the raw liquor. The selection of ingredients and the ingenuity of the fermentation and distillation processes are areas where the individuality of the distillery can be utilized.

Components that contribute to the aroma of raw sake include esters, alcohols (ethanol, etc.), organic acids (acetic acid, fatty acids), and phenols.
During the process of maturing raw liquor, acetaldehyde and acetic acid are produced from ethanol through the oxidation reaction of ethanol, acetal is produced through the acetal reaction of ethanol, and ethyl acetate is produced through the ester reaction of acetic acid and ethanol.

3-2. Aging by color change The new pot that has just been distilled is colorless and transparent, but it changes color rapidly in a relatively short time and then gradually increases in color. This is because the raw liquor permeates the wood of the barrel (Figure 2, c) and the components derived from the barrel dissolve into the raw liquor (Figure 2, d).
It is known that the color changes from pale yellow to yellowish brown, then to amber, and finally to reddish over time (Figure 2, F). The presence of external oxygen is essential for this color change. It is known that if there is insufficient oxygen infiltration during storage, the raw liquor will turn black, and the passage of air through the wood of the barrel (barrel breathing) (Figure 2, R) also plays an important role.

3-3. Aging with wood components derived from barrels Wood components derived from barrels include those that are essentially the same components found in the barrel wood, such as acetic acid, succinic acid, and lactones, and those that are difficult to decompose, such as cellulose-derived components, hemicellulose-derived components, lignin-derived components, and tannin-derived components, which are gradually decomposed by ethanol over a long period of time and dissolve (ethanolysis).

In addition, when making barrels, there is a process called charring, in which the inside of the barrel wood is rapidly burned at high temperatures, and a process called toasting, in which the entire barrel wood is slowly heated. It is known that charring converts the woody cellulose and hemicellulose in the barrel wood into maltol and furfural, enriching the flavor, and also oxidizes these to produce organic acids and even esters.

Over time, lignin decomposes and turns into sweet-smelling vanillin (Figure 2(e)).
In addition, lignin is broken down to produce vanillin during the charring process in the barrel-making process, so some vanillin leaches out directly from the barrel.

3-4. Other aging processes In addition, the association of water and alcohol causes a change in the state of ethanol, turning it into weaker ethanol and creating a mellow flavor (Figure 2, H).
More specifically, alcoholic beverages (ethanol aqueous solutions) are composed of water molecules, ethanol molecules, and clusters (aggregates) of aggregates of water molecules and ethanol molecules. As the beverage matures, the proportion of clusters increases and the size of the clusters also increases, and the size of the clusters becomes relatively uniform, so that the taste becomes mellow and changes to a state that can be described as having a "mellow" or "weak" mouthfeel.

During distillation, sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide derived from the raw materials and sulfur-containing amino acids are produced; these are known as "unripe components" because they produce a distinctive odor and cause a deterioration in flavor. Unnecessary unripe components such as these sulfides are effectively removed by being effectively adsorbed by the wood of the barrel material and transpiring into the outside air (Figure 2, A and B), so the amount of surface area in contact with the outside air (the area of the wood) is an important parameter.

In regards to the amount of alcoholic beverage, the new pot is not filled to the brim, but rather an appropriate amount is added. After the new pot is added, the alcohol and other substances evaporate and the weight decreases due to air moving in and out (the barrel breathing), creating space at the top inside the barrel. As a result, as shown in Figure 2, the alcoholic beverage soaks in different ways in the side panel (upper part) 110, side panel (body part) 120, and side panel (lower part) 130.

The research team of the present invention noticed that the way alcoholic beverages soak into the barrel differs depending on the part of the barrel, and also noticed that the reactions of I to II (especially III and IV) in Figure 2 differ depending on the part that makes up the barrel. Specifically, when viewed from the position when the barrel is laid down for storage, the degree of soaking or soaking of raw liquor differs depending on the side plate (upper part) 110 that makes up the top, the body side (body part) 120 that makes up the side, and the side plate (lower part) 130 that makes up the bottom, and noting that this relationship is an important parameter when replacing it with a small aging vessel, they proceeded with the development of an aging vessel that can perform aging in roughly the same way as a barrel.

4. Permeation of raw liquor into wood 4-1. Overview Next, the extent to which raw liquor permeates into wood such as barrel material will be explained with reference to Figs. 3 and 4.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the state in which the components of the raw liquor permeate the wood, and shows an example of the permeation state when the wood is in direct contact with the raw liquor, such as in the side panel (body portion) 120 or the side panel (lower portion) 130.
Figure 4 shows the state in which raw liquor components permeate into the wood, and is a diagram showing an example of the state of permeation when the wood is not in direct contact with the raw liquor, such as a side panel (upper part) 110 or the lid of an maturation container. Figure 4(A) shows an example when the wood is 36 mm thick, and Figure 4(B) shows an example when the wood is 15 mm thick. Figure 4 shows a state in which the thickness of the raw liquor permeates into the wood is slightly thinner than that of Figure 3.
With regard to the head plate 140, the upper part when viewed vertically in Figure 1 is not in direct contact with the raw liquor, so it is similar to the case in Figure 4, but the part below that when viewed vertically is in direct contact with the raw liquor, so it is similar to the case in Figure 3.

The thickness of the wood used for the barrel is set based on the strength and other factors depending on the barrel's contents, and is generally around 1.5 to 4 cm thick; however, here we will explain the case where a 3.6 cm thick wood is used.
As will be described later, the penetration depth of raw liquor into the wood is approximately 10 mm (see Figure 5), so if the thickness is greater than that, it is thought that such functions as the penetration of raw liquor into the wood components (Figure 2, C), the decomposition and elution of the wood components (Figure 2, B, D), the adsorption and transpiration of unnecessary unaged components such as sulfides (Figure 2, A, B), and the passage of air in and out (breathing of the barrel) (Figure 2, R), can be fully ensured.
Furthermore, the thickness of the lid material for the maturation container is often about 10 to 20 mm, taking into consideration the maturation mechanism in the barrel material (I to R in Figure 2) and the depth of penetration of the raw liquor into the wood, but is not limited to this.

The depth to which the raw liquor permeates the wood affects the degree to which wood components such as lignin and polyphenols (tannins) are eluted into the raw liquor in the barrel during the maturation process (Figure 2C), depending on the alcohol content of the permeated raw liquor, etc. (Figure 2D), which ultimately affects the maturation of the color and aroma components.
Furthermore, when the raw liquor is infiltrated into the wood, unwanted immature components such as oxide compounds and sulfides are adsorbed by the wood (Figure 2A). This also has an effect on the transpiration of the immature components to the outside of the barrel (Figure 2B) through contact with the air, mainly in the outer part of the barrel where the raw liquor has infiltrated.

Furthermore, depending on the volume of raw liquor that has soaked into the barrel, it affects the exchange of air with the outside of the barrel (the respiration of the barrel) (Figure 2, part (i)), as well as various chemical reactions between the components, such as oxidation (Figure 2, part (g)).
In addition, the alcohol in the raw liquor permeates the wood and evaporates to the outside of the barrel, changing the alcohol concentration and affecting the change in the state of the alcohol components due to the association of water and alcohol (Figure 2, h).

Therefore, the research team of this invention focused on the parameter of "the depth to which the raw liquor permeates into wood such as the barrel material," and hypothesized and tested that the depth to which the liquor permeates varies depending on the parts that make up the barrel.
In addition, regarding the relationship between maturation in a barrel and maturation in an maturation container, we decided to establish and verify the hypothesis that "it may be possible to bring the maturation state in a barrel closer to the maturation state in an maturation container" by establishing a relationship different from the V/S ratio of the conventional technology, for example, by "formulating the degree of maturation of a specified amount of alcoholic beverage taking into consideration the depth to which the raw liquor permeates the wood" or "formulating the degree of maturation of a specified amount of alcoholic beverage based on the fact that the depth to which the raw liquor permeates the wood differs for each part of the barrel."

As a result of the testing, it was found that when the raw liquor comes into contact with the wood of the barrel, it penetrates into the wood, but the depth of penetration (hereafter referred to as "penetration depth") varies depending on the part of the barrel.
Specifically, it was found that in cases where the raw liquor is in direct contact with the plate, such as side panel (body) 120 or side panel (lower) 130, the water seeps quite deep inside (see Figure 3), but in cases where the raw liquor is not in direct contact with the plate, such as side panel (upper) 110 or the lid of the maturation vessel, the water does not seep very deep inside (see Figure 4) (the same is true for the plate 140, in both the parts that are in direct contact with the raw liquor and the parts that are not in direct contact with the raw liquor).
It should be noted that in this case, the rate at which the raw liquor permeates the wood is not uniform from the surface to the interior of the wood, but is greatest in the area in contact with the raw liquor and decreases as one goes deeper into the wood.

Therefore, in order to numerically express the state of infiltration into the interior of the wood, we decided to use an index that indicates the proportion of wood that is infiltrated with the raw liquor relative to the dry weight of the wood (hereinafter referred to as the "infiltration rate").
By expressing the rate at which the raw liquor permeates the wood, it is possible to show that the permeation rate is approximately 1.0 at the part where the wood is in contact with the raw liquor (the wood is completely soaked), and decreases as you go deeper, to 0.9, ..., 0.5, ..., 0.1 (slightly permeated), etc.
Then, the concept of an effective value of the penetration depth can be established as a numerical value of the penetration depth equivalent to the penetration rate of 1.0, and this value is expressed as Pdev (Penetration Depth Effective Value).

4-2. Details of the state of infiltration into the wood The infiltration rate of the raw liquor varies somewhat depending on the wood material used for the barrel, the alcohol content of the raw liquor, and environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, but it has been found that after a certain aging period, the infiltration rate of the raw liquor differs depending on the parts that make up the barrel.
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the state in which the components of the raw liquor permeate the wood that constitutes the barrel material, and shows that the depth to which the components of the raw liquor permeate the wood varies depending on the part of the barrel material. The horizontal axis shows the distance from the inside of the barrel material to the depth to which the raw liquor has permeated.

According to Figure 5, in the side panel (body portion) 120, the infiltration rate is high at about 1.0 up to about 3 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, drops to about 0.6 at a point about 7 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, and thereafter, the infiltration rate gradually decreases as one goes deeper into the wood of the barrel wood.
Similarly, in the side panel (lower part) 130, the infiltration rate is relatively high at just under 0.8 up to about 3 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, drops to around 0.5 at a point about 7 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, and thereafter, the infiltration rate gradually decreases as one goes deeper into the wood of the barrel wood.

In addition, although the side panel (upper part) 110 is not in direct contact with the raw liquor, it has been found that a certain degree of infiltration occurs due to the raw liquor vaporizing and infiltrating. Specifically, the infiltration rate is relatively high at just under 0.6 up to about 3 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, drops to about 0.3 at a point about 7 mm from the inside of the barrel wood, and thereafter, the infiltration rate gradually decreases as it goes deeper into the wood of the barrel wood.

When the results are generally viewed, it can be seen that the side panel (body) 120 has the highest infiltration rate, followed by the side panel (lower part) 130 and the side panel (upper part) 110, in which the infiltration rate decreases.
Although the reason for this difference has not been fully elucidated, it is thought that as the maturation progresses, the components produced settle to the bottom, creating a tendency for the infiltration rate of the side panel (lower part 130) to be lower than that of the side panel (body part) 120, which is also in contact with the raw liquor.
On the other hand, the side panel (upper part) 110 has a relatively high infiltration rate even though it is not in direct contact with the raw liquor, and it is presumed that this is because, due to the effect of the evaporation of the raw liquor, in particular the effect of the alcohol being evaporated, a considerable infiltration effect can be expected even though it is not in direct contact with the raw liquor.
Other factors that may be considered include the water pressure of the raw liquor and the air pressure in the upper space inside the barrel, but as it is sufficient to understand the rate of infiltration, we will refrain from further analysis here.

4-3. Calculation of the effective penetration depth into wood Because it is expected that little wood components will be eluted at depths of 10 mm or more, and the penetration rate is low at depths of more than 10 mm, the effective penetration depth up to a depth of 10 mm will be estimated.
FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a mechanism for calculating the effective depth to which components of raw liquor penetrate into wood, and shows that the effective depth of penetration differs for each part of the barrel wood.

Here, the effective value of the infiltration depth means the depth to which the material would infiltrate if the infiltration rate into the wood were constant throughout and was 1.0 throughout, and is a value introduced to simplify calculations such as the liquid ratio described below.
According to Figure 6, the area used as the basis for calculating the effective value of the infiltration depth varies depending on the part of the barrel, such as the body, lower part, or upper part of the side panel. If the effective value of the infiltration depth is calculated based on this area, assuming that the infiltration rate is 1.0 throughout, it can be evaluated as approximately 7.0 mm in the body, approximately 5.0 mm in the lower part, and approximately 4.0 mm in the upper part.
Hereafter, the volume, weight, liquid ratio, etc. of the woody part soaked in the raw liquor will be calculated based on the effective value of the soaking depth.

5. Configuration of the Aging Container in the Present Invention 5-1. Configuration of the Aging Container FIGS. 7 to 14 are diagrams showing the configuration of the aging container 10 in the present invention.
The maturation container 10 is composed of a container consisting of a storage section 20 for storing an alcoholic beverage, and a lid material (lid) 30 and/or a lid material (bottom) 40 and/or a lid material (side) 50 made of wood.

Figures 7 to 9 show the configuration of an aging container in which only the lid portion is made of wood, Figures 10 to 12 show the configuration of an aging container in which the lid portion and the bottom portion are made of wood, and Figures 13 to 14 show the configuration of an aging container in which part of the side portion is made of wood.
In either embodiment, the size of the container and the size of the wooden lid, bottom or side parts can be set to any size, and the shape of the container can be cylindrical, square bottle-like, or polygonal.
For example, various configurations can be adopted, such as a configuration in which the diameter is larger than the depth (not shown), a configuration in which the diameter and the depth are approximately the same (FIGS. 7 and 10), a configuration that is slightly elongated (FIGS. 8, 11, and 13), and a configuration that is elongated (FIGS. 9 and 12).

In Figure 7 etc., it is assumed that the inner diameter of the cover material (lid) 30 and the inner diameter of the storage section 20 of the maturation container 10 are approximately the same, and the calculation of indicators such as various parameters and liquid ratios described below is simplified for explanation; however, the inner diameter of the cover material (lid) 30 and the inner diameter of the storage section 20 of the maturation container 10 may be different, and can be set freely.
The actual dimensions of the aging container are, for example, often about 2 to 6 cm for the inner radius r of the lid material (lid) 30 and about 5 to 20 cm for the depth, but are not limited to these.

The storage section 20 is a means for storing alcoholic beverages, and may be made of any material such as glass or resin as long as it has a high sealability.
The glass or resin may be configured to block light as appropriate, or may be entirely or partially transparent so that the internal state, such as color change, can be observed from the outside.

The lid materials 30, 40, and 50 are processed and molded using wood such as Mizunara oak, and the dimensions such as thickness, diameter, and area are determined through a calculation process described below with the aim of allowing the lids to be aged in the same way as in barrels.
The wooden lid, bottom and side parts may be screwed on as appropriate, and may be used in combination with a packing or the like to prevent leakage and improve airtightness.

In addition to collaborating with various testing centers and businesses (farmers, agricultural cooperatives) that produce raw materials such as two-row barley and corn, the project team of this invention has formed a team consisting of forestry associations, lumber dealers, wood processing companies, barrel manufacturers, alcohol manufacturers, etc., and will utilize scraps left over from the barrel manufacturing process to manufacture the wooden parts of the aging containers, with the aim of revitalizing the entire region and creating a society that can develop sustainably.

15 to 17 are diagrams showing the state in which the container is filled with unblended liquor. The unblended liquor may be filled so as to fill almost the entire volume of the container, or may be filled to 80 to 90 percent of the volume of the container so as to leave space at the top.
As described below, the maturation containers filled with raw liquor are linked to the same new pot or barrel that stored the same raw liquor, and the capacity and the size of the wooden parts such as the lid are adjusted so that the container undergoes the same maturation process as the linked barrel, which is the same size and made of the material.
The maturation containers filled with raw liquor can be stored upright as shown in Figures 15 and 17, or can be stored lying down as shown in Figure 16. However, to ensure that the containers undergo the same maturation process as barrels, it may be recommended in the instruction manual at the time of sale or by an announcement on a web page that the containers be stored either upright or lying down.

6. Mechanism for making the maturation process in barrels and maturation vessels approximately the same 6-1. Calculation of parameters and indices related to maturation in barrels As mentioned above, there is a close relationship between the depth to which raw liquor permeates the wood and maturation, and in order to clearly express this relationship between the two, we have decided to introduce the concept of liquid ratio as an index for determining the configuration of barrels and maturation vessels based on the relationship between the volume of raw liquor stored in a barrel and the volume of the wood into which the raw liquor permeates, or the relationship between the weight of raw liquor stored in a barrel and the weight of the wood into which the raw liquor permeates (the dry weight of the wood itself).

Here, the liquid ratio is defined as "volume of raw liquor stored in the barrel / volume of wood soaked with the raw liquor" or "weight of raw liquor stored in the barrel / weight of wood soaked with the raw liquor (dry weight of the wood itself)."
In the former case, it is expressed as a volume ratio, so it is an index that places emphasis on "the aspect of the raw liquor permeating the wood" when the raw liquor permeates the wood and the wood components decompose and dissolve.
On the other hand, the latter is expressed as a weight ratio, so it is an index that focuses on "the aspect of the decomposition and elution of wood components" when the raw liquor permeates the wood and the wood components decompose and dissolve, which means that it also takes into account the specific gravity of the raw liquor and the quality of the wood (type and specific gravity of wood).

When the liquid ratio is expressed as a weight ratio, the numerical value of the liquid ratio varies depending on the specific gravity of the wood. Therefore, if you want to avoid the liquid ratio numerical value varying due to the specific gravity of the wood, it is better to use a liquid ratio expressed as a volume ratio.
In any case, these two indicators differ in that one is measured by volume ratio and the other by weight ratio, but both take into account the amount of raw liquor and the depth of permeation, and can be said to be formulations that reflect the close relationship between the depth of permeation of the raw liquor and maturation.

As described below, in the case of an aging vessel 10 constructed based on the liquid ratio index of the present invention, it has been confirmed that the aging process of the raw liquor inside the vessel follows a similar progression as the progression of the components in the raw liquor during the aging process in the barrel over the course of the aging period (see Figures 23 to 27). It has been found that the configuration of the aging vessel can be determined more appropriately based on the liquid ratio index than the conventional index, the V/S ratio. Therefore, an example of the process for calculating the liquid ratio and other indexes of the present invention is described below.

First, using Figure 18, an example of a process for calculating parameters and indicators related to maturation in a barrel (the volume of raw liquor stored in the barrel, the volume of wood infiltrated with the raw liquor, the weight of the raw liquor stored in the barrel, and the weight of the wood infiltrated with the raw liquor (the dry weight of the wood itself)) will be described.
The list in FIG. 18 includes information such as the size of the container (a barrel in FIG. 18), the thickness and specific gravity of the wood used for the barrel, and the amount (volume) of raw liquor to be stored.
The thickness of the wood used for barrels is set based on factors such as strength and the capacity of the barrel, but for large-capacity barrels over 50 liters, a thickness of approximately 1.5 to 4 cm is often used.

Here, the effective penetration depth (of the entire cask) in the list is calculated based on the following assumption: when the content of the raw liquor is about 90% of the internal volume, in terms of area ratio, about 20% of the entire side panel is in contact with the raw liquor through space, about 60% of the entire side panel is in direct contact with the raw liquor at the body, and about 20% is in direct contact with the raw liquor at the bottom, and the penetration depth differs for each part, and the weighted average is used. Note that it is assumed that the parts of the head panel that are in direct contact with the raw liquor and those that are not are distributed in the same ratio as the side panels.
In this case, for example, the effective value of the penetration depth (of the entire barrel) Pdev (Penetration depth Effective value) can be calculated as 0.7 (effective value of the penetration depth of the side panel (body)) x 0.6 + 0.5 (effective value of the penetration depth of the side panel (lower part)) x 0.2 + 0.40 (effective value of the penetration depth of the side panel (upper part)) x 0.2 = 0.6 cm.

Then, when using a volume ratio for the liquid ratio of the raw liquor, the penetration volume Pv (penetration volume) of the wood in the infiltrated portion is calculated, and the raw volume Rv (raw volume) of the raw liquor is also calculated, and finally, Rv (volume of raw liquor)/Pv (volume of wood in the infiltrated portion) is calculated.
Alternatively, when a weight ratio is used for the liquid ratio of the unprocessed liquor, the (dry) weight of the wood in the penetrated portion, Pdw (penetration dry weight), is calculated, and the weight of the unprocessed liquor, Rw (raw weight), is calculated, and finally the liquid ratio, Rw (weight of the unprocessed liquor)/Pdw (weight of the wood in the penetrated portion), is calculated.
According to Figure 18, the liquid ratio of a typical barrel used to store whiskey varies somewhat depending on the size of the barrel and the material of the barrel, but when using the volume ratio, it is approximately 16, and it is desirable to assume a range of approximately 14 to 18, taking into account a variation of about 10%.
Alternatively, when using a weight ratio, the ratio is approximately 28 (when the specific gravity of wood is 0.5), and it is desirable to assume a ratio of approximately 25 to 30, taking into account a variation of about 10%.
It is noted that the V/S ratio in the prior art is calculated to be approximately 9.

Below, based on the calculation results of the liquid ratio in a barrel and the calculation results of the V/S ratio of the conventional technology, we will calculate the liquid ratio and V/S ratio in an aging vessel of a specified size, and consider the size of the aging vessel that is assumed to undergo approximately the same aging process.

19 to 22, calculation of parameters related to maturation in the maturation vessel and indices for determining the configuration of the maturation vessel (the volume of raw liquor to be filled in the maturation vessel, the volume of wood to be infiltrated with the raw liquor, the weight of the raw liquor filled in the maturation vessel, the weight of the wood infiltrated with the raw liquor (the dry weight of the wood itself), and the liquid ratio derived based on these parameters, etc.) will be described.
During maturation in the barrel, water and alcohol evaporate, resulting in a decrease of about 2% of the raw liquor each year. This is called the angel's share, as it is like a reward for the angels' contribution to the maturation process. However, when calculating the volume and weight of the raw liquor, the volume and weight at the time it was bottled and filled into containers are used as the basis.

6-2-1. Calculation of parameters and indices related to aging when the lid portion is the only part made of wood and the aging container 10 is placed vertically Calculation of parameters and indices when the lid portion is the only part made of wood will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the process of calculating the liquid ratio established in the present invention, specifically, a diagram showing one embodiment of the process of calculating the liquid ratio when the only wood part in the maturation container 10 of the present invention is the lid part.
In addition, Figure 19 shows the calculation results for the aging container 10 of the embodiment shown in Figures 7 to 9 when stored upright with the lid material (lid) 30 facing vertically upward.

The calculation process in Figure 19 is similar to that in Figure 18, so a detailed explanation will be omitted, but since only the lid material (lid) 30 part of the maturation vessel is made of wood, if the effective value of the infiltration depth of the raw liquor Pdev = 0.4 (corresponding to the side panel (upper part) of the barrel) is calculated, as shown in Figure 19, it is possible to calculate indicators for determining the configuration of the maturation vessel 10 (the volume of raw liquor to be filled into the maturation vessel, the volume of the wood infiltrated with the raw liquor, the weight of the raw liquor filled into the maturation vessel, the weight of the wood infiltrated with the raw liquor (the dry weight of the wood itself), etc.).

For ease of explanation, Figure 19 shows the calculation results when the inner radius r of the lid material (lid) 30 and the aging container 10 is constant at 3.5 cm and the inner depth d of the aging container is gradually changed from 6 cm to 10 cm.
It should be noted that the size of the container (inner radius r, depth d, and size of the wood) shown in FIG. 19 is merely an example, and various values can be adopted and are not limited to the example of FIG.

As shown in Figure 19, as mentioned above, in the case of a barrel, the liquid ratio is approximately 16 when using a volume ratio and approximately 28 (when the specific gravity of the wood is 0.5) when using a weight ratio. It can be seen that the size of the aging container 10 that is almost the same as this value (the suitable value when judging by the liquid ratio) is, for example, an embodiment in which the inner radius r of the lid and container is 3.5 cm and the inner depth d is 7 cm (A2 type in Figure 19).
Here, regarding the liquid ratio, whether the volume ratio or the weight ratio is used, it can be seen that the size of the aging vessel that is estimated to undergo a similar aging process to barrel aging (the suitable value when judging by the liquid ratio) is the same.
The thickness of the lid material for the aging vessel is often about 10 to 25 mm, taking into consideration the balance with the size of the aging vessel (inner radius r, depth d, etc.), the mechanism of aging in the barrel wood (I to R in Figure 2), and the depth of infiltration of the raw liquor into the wood, but is not limited to this.

On the other hand, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of conventional technology, the value for a barrel is approximately 9, so it can be seen that the size of the aging container that is almost the same as this value would be, for example, a lid and container with an inner radius r of 3.5 cm and an inner depth d of 10 cm (A5 type in Figure 19).

According to various experiments conducted by the research team of the present invention, it was found that in the case of the optimal value (A5 type aging vessel in FIG. 19) in terms of the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, the amount of wood is too small compared to the capacity, resulting in a disadvantage that the aging process is much slower than that in a barrel.
This is because when stored upright, the only part that is made of wood is the lid, so there is no direct contact between the raw liquor and the wood. As a result, maturation does not progress in the same way as on the side panels (body) or side panels (lower part) of the barrel. Although the depth to which the raw liquor permeates should be taken into consideration, this should not be taken into consideration, and this can be considered to be an inconvenience caused by judging only by the amount of raw liquor and the surface area of the wood.

6-2-2. Calculation of parameters and indices related to aging when only the lid part is made of wood and the aging container is placed horizontally Next, the calculation of parameters and indices when only the lid material (lid) 30 part of the aging container is made of wood and the container is placed horizontally will be described with reference to FIG. 20.
FIG. 20 shows an example of the calculation results for the aging container 10 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 when it is stored horizontally with the covering material (lid) 30 facing horizontally.

In comparison with FIG. 19, the positional relationship between the raw liquor 60 and the lid member (lid) 30 is different, so how to take this difference in positional relationship into consideration will be described.
When the maturation vessel 10 is placed horizontally, the positional relationship between the raw liquor and the lid material can be seen as being such that the side panel (upper part) 110 occupies approximately 20% and the side panel (body part) 120 occupies approximately 80% in comparison with the case of a barrel.
In this case, the effective permeation depth of the raw liquor can be calculated as Pdev = 0.4 (the lid of the container: equivalent to the side wall (upper part) of the barrel) x 0.2 + 0.7 (equivalent to the side wall (body) of the barrel) x 0.8 = 0.64.
By performing calculations similar to those in the calculation process shown in FIG. 19, the indexes shown in FIG. 20 are obtained.

Here, in the case of a barrel, the liquid ratio is approximately 16 when using a volume ratio, and approximately 28 (when the specific gravity of the wood is 0.5) when using a weight ratio. It can be seen that the size of the aging vessel 10 that is almost identical to this value (the suitable value when judging by the liquid ratio) is, for example, an embodiment in which the inner radius r of the lid and vessel is 3.5 cm and the inner depth d is 11 cm (A6 type in Figure 20).
On the other hand, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, the value for a barrel was approximately 9, so it can be seen that the size of an aging container that is approximately the same as this value would be, for example, an embodiment in which the inner radius r of the lid and container is 3.5 cm and the inner depth d is 10 cm (A5 type in Figure 20).

As described above, in this case as well, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, it is expected that the wine will follow a different progression over time than aging in a barrel, whereas, when looking at the indicator of the present invention, it is expected that the wine will follow approximately the same progression over time as aging in a barrel.

6-2-3. Calculation of parameters and indices related to aging when the lid and bottom parts are made of wood and the aging container is placed vertically Next, the calculation of parameters and indices when the lid material (lid) 30 and the lid material (bottom) 40 of the aging container are made of wood will be described with reference to FIG. 21.
FIG. 21 shows an example of the calculation results when the aging container 10 of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 is stored in an upright position.
In this case, the effective permeation depth of the raw liquor can be calculated as Pdev = 0.4 (lid of the container: equivalent to the side panel (upper part) of the barrel) x 0.5 + 0.5 (bottom of the container: equivalent to the side panel (lower part) of the barrel) x 0.5 = 0.45.
By performing calculations similar to those in the calculation process shown in FIG. 19, the indexes shown in FIG. 21 are obtained.

Here, in the case of a barrel, the liquid ratio is approximately 16 when using a volume ratio, and approximately 28 (when the specific gravity of the wood is 0.5) when using a weight ratio. It can be seen that the size of the aging vessel 10 that is almost identical to this value (the suitable value when judging by the liquid ratio) is, for example, an embodiment in which the inner radius r of the lid and vessel is 3.5 cm and the inner depth d is 16 cm (B2 type in Figure 21).
On the other hand, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, the value for a barrel was approximately 9, so it can be seen that the size of an aging container that is approximately the same as this value would be, for example, one in which the inner radius r of the lid and container is 3.5 cm and the inner depth d is 20 cm (B4 type in Figure 21).

As described above, in this case as well, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, it is expected that the wine will follow a different progression over time than aging in a barrel, whereas, when looking at the indicator of the present invention, it is expected that the wine will follow approximately the same progression over time as aging in a barrel.

6-2-4 Calculation of parameters and indices relating to aging when the wood is on the side surface and the aging container is placed vertically Next, the calculation of parameters and indices when the wood is on the side surface will be described with reference to FIG.
Figure 22 shows an example of the calculation results when the size of the lid material (side) 50 arranged on the side is changed for the aging container 10 of the embodiment shown in Figures 13 to 14 when stored upright.
In this case, since the lid material is on the side, it corresponds to the side panel (body) of the barrel, and it is desirable to adopt an effective value Pdev of 0.7 for the permeation depth of the raw liquor (lid part of the container: equivalent to the side panel (body) of the barrel).
By performing calculations similar to those in the calculation process shown in FIG. 19, the indexes shown in FIG. 22 are obtained.

Here, in the case of a barrel, the liquid ratio is approximately 16 when using a volume ratio, and approximately 28 (when the specific gravity of the wood is 0.5) when using a weight ratio. It can be seen that the size of the aging container 10 that is approximately the same as this value (the suitable value when judging by the liquid ratio) is, for example, a case in which the inner radius r of the lid and container is 3.5 cm, the inner depth d is 8 cm, and the size of the lid material is 5 cm in length and 5 cm in width (C2 type in Figure 22).
On the other hand, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of conventional technology, the value for a barrel was approximately 9, so it can be seen that the size of an aging container that is approximately the same as this value would be, for example, an inner radius r of the lid and container of 3.5 cm, an inner depth d of 20 cm, and a lid material size of 6 cm in length and 5 cm in width (C3 type in Figure 21).

As described above, in this case as well, when looking at the V/S ratio, which is an indicator of the prior art, it is expected that the wine will follow a different progression over time than aging in a barrel, whereas, when looking at the indicator of the present invention, it is expected that the wine will follow approximately the same progression over time as aging in a barrel.

As described above, based on the fact that the depth to which the raw liquor permeates the wood varies for each part of the barrel, if the parameters related to maturation in the maturation vessel and the indices for determining the configuration of the maturation vessel (the volume of raw liquor filled in the maturation vessel, the volume of the wood permeated with the raw liquor, the weight of the raw liquor filled in the maturation vessel, the weight of the wood permeated with the raw liquor, and the liquid ratio derived based on these parameters, and the configuration of the maturation vessel is determined, it can be expected that the maturation will follow approximately the same time course as in a barrel.

19 to 22, the calculation of parameters and indices related to the aging of various types of aging containers has been described, but the arrangement of the lid material can be changed as desired, and the adoption of either vertical or horizontal placement can also be changed as desired. In short, each parameter and index can be calculated taking into account the depth of infiltration into the wood, and the same can be applied to other embodiments.

7. Aging in barrels and aging vessels Next, the experimental results that confirmed that the aging process in the aging vessel determined by the liquid ratio was almost the same as that in barrels depending on the aging period will be described with reference to Figs. 23 to 27.
The experiments used various mass spectrometric (chromatographic) methods.
For example, low boiling point components such as vanillin are analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry, ethyl esters and acetate esters by pyrolysis gas chromatography mass spectrometry, aldehyde components by liquid chromatography, and organic acids such as acetic acid by ion chromatography.

Since the maturation of alcoholic beverages changes depending on the alcohol concentration, temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors, the storage environment of the barrels and the maturation containers was kept as similar as possible. The wood used was mainly Mizunara, and several other trees were used.
In addition, raw sake contains a huge variety of components, and it would be tedious to graph the detected amounts of all components, so we decided to graph only the components that were detected in large amounts or the components that are said to determine the aroma and flavor.

7-1. Maturation of individual components 7-1-1. Maturation due to adsorption, transpiration, and disappearance of immature components First, we will look at the adsorption, transpiration, and disappearance of immature components such as sulfides due to oxidation.
FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the amount of each component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and maturation vessel, and shows one example of the adsorption, transpiration, and disappearance through oxidation, etc., of immature components such as acetaldehyde and other immature aromas and sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide.
According to FIG. 23, it can be seen that the immature components generated by fermentation or distillation are adsorbed and evaporated relatively early in the maturation process, and then tend to decrease slowly.

Furthermore, when the liquid ratio is roughly the same as that in the barrel, it can be seen that the immature components of the raw liquor in the maturation vessel evaporate and disappear in roughly the same manner.
On the other hand, when the liquid ratio is greater than that of the barrel, the volume and weight of the raw liquor is greater than the volume and weight of the wood in the barrel, so it can be seen that there is little adsorption and transpiration from the wood of the unaged liquor, and loss through oxidation, etc., and so there is insufficient evaporation and loss effects.
Also, when the liquid ratio is smaller than that of the barrel, the volume and weight of the raw liquor is small compared to the volume and weight of the wood in the barrel, so it can be seen that a lot of the unaged liquor is adsorbed and evaporated from the wood, and is lost through oxidation, etc., and the evaporation and disappearance effects are large.

As explained in Figure 2, the reason for the decrease in immature components is thought to be that aldehydes such as acetaldehyde are oxidized (Figure 2, G) to become acetic acid, or react with ethanol to become acetal (Figure 2, G), which causes the immature aroma to fade, as well as the decrease due to adsorption and transpiration by the wood of the barrel (Figure 2, A and B). Also, the decrease in immature components such as sulfides such as dimethyl sulfide is thought to be due to adsorption and transpiration by the wood of the barrel (Figure 2, A and B).

In this case, it is not ideal for the immature components to disappear completely; rather, in order to produce complex aromas and flavors, it is acceptable for a certain amount of them to remain, and it is important that the maturation process in the maturation vessel is similar to that in the barrel.
Therefore, it is desirable to set the liquid ratio in the maturation vessel to be approximately the same as that in a barrel so that the maturation process will be similar to that in a barrel.

7-1-2. Aging of wood-based components Next, we will look at the aging of wood-based components.
The wood components eluted from the wood of barrel wood vary depending on the level of charring, etc., and there are various components, but lignin will be used as an example.
Components such as lignin dissolved from the wood of the barrel change into various lignin-derived components (compounds) during aging, contributing to the development of complex aromas and flavors.

More specifically, after the lignin-derived compounds are dissolved from the wood into the whiskey, they undergo various chemical reactions (oxidation, esterification, acetalization) between the various components contained in the raw spirit and the various components that have dissolved from the wood into the raw spirit (Figure 2 (g)) based on their common structure, and change into alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, etc., producing complex aromas and flavors.
Examples of components (compounds) derived from lignin include vanillin and vanillic acid, which have a vanilla-like scent.

FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the amount of each component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in barrels and maturation vessels, and shows one example of the maturation process of mainly woody components, such as vanillin (vanilla aroma).
FIG. 24 shows that when the liquid ratio is approximately the same as that of the barrel, the woody components of the raw liquor in the maturation vessel increase in approximately the same manner as in the barrel, and after reaching a certain level, gradually decrease.

On the other hand, if the liquid ratio is greater than that of the barrel, this means that the volume and weight of the raw liquor is greater than the volume and weight of the wood in the barrel, which means that not much is leaching out of the wood and maturation is not progressing sufficiently.
Also, when the liquid ratio is smaller than that of the barrel, the volume and weight of the raw liquor is small compared to the volume and weight of the wood in the barrel, so a lot of liquor is leaching out of the wood, maturation progresses more than necessary, and it can be seen that there is a deviation from the maturation in the barrel.
Therefore, it is desirable to set the liquid ratio in the maturation vessel to be approximately the same as that in a barrel so that the maturation process will be similar to that in a barrel.

7-1-3. Maturation of ester components Next, we will look at the maturation of ester components.
As air goes in and out (the barrel breathes) (Figure 2, part (R)), the alcohols and aldehydes in the raw liquor are oxidized, and between the alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, and other components, acetalization reactions occur between aldehydes and alcohols, and esterification reactions occur between alcohols and carboxylic acids (Figure 2, part (G)), contributing to the development of complex aromas and flavors.

More specifically, first, ethanol, the main component of raw sake, is oxidized to produce acetaldehyde and acetic acid. Acetaldehyde further reacts with ethanol to produce acetal, an aromatic component (acetalization reaction).
When ethanol, which has a hydroxyl group, and carboxylic acid, which has a carboxyl group, coexist, ester components are produced by the loss of water molecules (dehydration condensation) (esterification reaction). In the case of whiskey, the ester components in the raw liquor tend to be mostly ethyl acetate, which is produced by the condensation of ethanol and acetic acid.

FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the amount of each component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in barrels and maturation vessels, and shows one example of the maturation process of mainly ester-based components, such as ethyl acetate (fruity aroma).
According to FIG. 25, since esterification proceeds through chemical reactions between components, the amount detected is small in the early stages of aging, but from a certain point on, the chemical reaction proceeds rapidly, and after reaching a certain level, the amount becomes almost constant and then tends to gradually decrease.

Furthermore, when the liquid ratio is roughly the same as that of the barrel, it can be seen that the woody components of the raw liquor in the maturation vessel increase in roughly the same manner as in the barrel, and after reaching a certain level, gradually decrease.
In this case too, the degree of maturation can be adjusted by adjusting the liquid ratio; a higher liquid ratio will result in slower maturation, and a lower liquid ratio will result in faster maturation. By setting the liquid ratio in the maturation container to be similar to that of a barrel, it is expected that the maturation will follow a similar course to that in a barrel.

7-1-4. Aging due to changes in color Next, we will look at the process of color aging.
Tannin is one of the components contained in wood, and although the amount varies depending on the level of charring, it is one of the factors that determine the color of the raw spirit. When the alcohol components of the raw spirit permeate the wood of the barrel, they are broken down and eluted from the wood into the raw spirit (Figure 2, c and d).

Tannins affect the color tone, as well as the flavor such as astringency and depth, but here we will explain their effect on color tone.
Tannins are easily decomposed and are converted by hydrolysis into polyphenols, the main components of which are ellagic acid and tannic acid. The polyphenols produced undergo oxidative polymerization during storage to produce insoluble, brown phlobaphenes (pigments).

Fig. 26 is a diagram showing the amount of each component detected over time during the maturation process of raw liquor in a barrel and an maturation vessel, and is a diagram showing an example of the state of maturation of mainly color components. Fig. 26 shows that color components such as tannins and phlobaphenes derived from tannins rise in a relatively short time.
In this case too, the degree of maturation can be adjusted by adjusting the liquid ratio; a high liquid ratio will result in slower maturation, and a low liquid ratio will result in faster maturation. Similarly, by setting the liquid ratio in the maturation container to be similar to that of a barrel, it is expected that the maturation process will be similar to that in a barrel.

7-2. Overall aging process Up until now, aging has been confirmed individually through the loss of unaged components due to adsorption, transpiration, and oxidation, aging of woody components, aging of ester components, changes in color, etc., but the aging process can be conceptualized as shown in Figure 27.
FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the overall maturation process of raw liquor in barrels and maturation vessels, integrating the progress of maturation for each component shown in FIGS. 24 to 27.

According to FIG. 27, as the maturation progresses, various maturation components that become characteristics and individuality emerge, but after a certain period of time, they reach a certain level (maturation peak) and then gradually decrease.
From the above considerations, it has been found that although the maturation of all components does not necessarily proceed in the same way, by adjusting the liquid ratio it is possible to manufacture an maturation vessel that follows the same maturation process as a barrel.

8. Production process of distilled liquor and process of filling into maturation vessel Next, the process up to filling the raw liquor into the maturation vessel utilizing the concept of the liquid ratio of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing an example of the process for producing distilled liquor such as whiskey and the process for filling the liquor into an aging vessel.

First, in order to make the barley raw material produce the enzymes responsible for saccharification within the barley itself, germinated barley is dried to make malt and water is prepared (step S1).
In the brewing process, the malt is crushed and mixed with temperature-adjusted water called brewing water. The enzymes in the malt convert the starch into sugar, which is then filtered to produce wort (step S2).
In the fermentation process, yeast is added to the fermenting wort, and the yeast breaks down the sugars in the wort, converting the wort into alcohol and carbon dioxide gas and producing the flavor components specific to whiskey (step S3).

In the distillation process, the fermented mash is placed in a copper still called a pot still and distilled multiple times to increase the alcohol concentration to 60-70% (step S4).
The whiskey produced at this stage is called new pot (Step S5).
Next, the new pot is packed into a barrel made of a specified material (step S6), and is linked to the barrel (step R1) and then filled into an aging container (step P1).
The barreled new pot is aged (step S7), and when aging is complete (step S8), it is bottled or the like and shipped (step S9).

The maturation container filled with the new pot is sold and provided separately to consumers (step P1).
After filling, maturation also progresses in the maturation container (step P2), but since the liquid ratio in the maturation container is adjusted to be approximately the same as that of the linked barrel, by carrying out specified temperature control, etc., the maturation process will be approximately the same as that of the linked barrel, and after maturation is completed (step P3), the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the maturation container is guaranteed to be approximately the same as that of the linked barrel (step R2).
Therefore, consumers who own aging containers can check the aging status of their own aging containers, identify barrels that store the same raw liquor as the aging containers, and have an incentive to purchase products bottled from the barrels, which will encourage purchases of the products (step P4).

9. Linking of barrels and aging containers Next, linking of the two through information management of barrels and information management of aging containers will be described with reference to Figs. 29 to 31.

9-1. Management of barrel information First, a barrel identification ID is assigned to each barrel, and information about the raw liquor stored in the barrel and other information about the barrel are managed.
As an example of information management, as shown in Figure 29, information can be managed using components such as information on the raw liquor stored in the barrel (information on the type of raw material, place of production, etc., distillation location, date of distillation, date of bottling, alcohol concentration, etc.), information on the barrel (material, shape, dimensions, charring level, etc. of the barrel), and liquid ratio.

9-2. Management of information on maturation containers A container ID is also assigned to each maturation container, and information on the barrels that stored the same raw liquor is linked to each container (step R1 in FIG. 28). The information is managed using a table linking the barrels to the maturation containers as shown in FIG. 30.
As an example of information management, as shown in Figure 30, information such as the location where the new pot was filled, the date the container was filled, the barrel identification ID of the barrel in which the same new pot was filled, the same wooden material used for the barrel, the size of the lid material, the dimensions of the container, the capacity of the container, and the liquid ratio can be managed.

It is desirable to guarantee that the wood of the barrels and the wood of the lids of the aging containers are made from the same raw material (wood cut from the same tree), but it is acceptable to guarantee that they are the same type of wood produced in the same region.

The information management for linking and managing the above-mentioned barrels and aging containers may be performed manually using a paper management book, or may be performed using software on a computer device.
Alternatively, information about barrels linked to aging containers owned by consumers (users) to whom aging containers have been sold or provided may be managed on a server or the like, and the consumers (users) may be able to view the barrel information.

In this case, information about the environment in which the barrels are stored (temperature and humidity) can be made available for confirmation, and the storage environment of the maturation container owned by the consumer (user) can be managed to be as close as possible to the storage environment of the linked barrel.
In order to make the storage environment of the aging container similar to that of a barrel, for example, a device such as a wine cellar that maintains a constant temperature may be used, or a vegetable compartment of a refrigerator, a basement, or a room located semi-underground may be used.

9-3. Means of Physical Information Management for Casks and Aging Containers Next, the means of physical information management for casks and aging containers will be described.
FIG. 31(A) is a diagram showing an example of an IC tag, tag, or sticker to be attached to a barrel.
FIG. 31(B) is a diagram showing an example of printing on an IC tag, tag, sticker, or package attached to an aging container.
As shown in Figure 31, by printing on an IC tag, label, sticker, or package as appropriate, consumers (users) of aging containers filled with raw liquor and manufacturers and distributors such as distilleries can identify the relationship between the barrel and the aging container.
The contents of the tags, stickers, or packages may be character strings, or two-dimensional or three-dimensional bar codes, etc. In the case of IC tags, information such as that shown in Fig. 31 can be stored as electronic data.

9-4. Sales promotion based on the characteristics of the aging container of the present invention As described above, the content volume of the alcoholic beverage stored in the aging container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are determined based on the relationship between the content volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood, so that it is possible to ensure that the aging state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel and the aging state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the aging container are substantially the same (step R2 in FIG. 28).
In addition, by managing and linking the information on the barrels and the aging containers, a consumer (user) who has received the sale or provision of an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage can identify a large-capacity barrel that stores the same raw liquor as the aging container (see step R1 in Figure 28, Figures 29 and 30).

Then, the consumer (user) can visually check the maturation state (color and sediment state) of the raw liquor currently stored in the maturation container they currently have, or temporarily open the lid to check the maturation state of the aroma, flavor, etc., and can identify a large-capacity barrel that stores and matures the same raw liquor linked to that maturation container, and estimate the maturation state of the raw liquor in the barrel, encouraging the consumer to say, "I like this color, aroma, and flavor, so I would love to try drinking the one that has been aged in the original barrel," thereby encouraging the consumer to purchase the raw liquor (bottled product) in the large-capacity barrel that stores and matures the raw liquor linked to that maturation container (step P4 in Figure 28).

This was made possible only by calculating parameters related to maturation in the barrel and maturation vessel, and indicators for determining the configuration of the maturation vessel (volume of raw liquor to be filled, volume of wood into which the raw liquor will be infiltrated, weight of the filled raw liquor, weight of wood into which the raw liquor will be infiltrated, and liquid ratio derived based on these parameters, something that was not possible with conventional technology.

In other words, by calculating the liquid ratio, which is the ratio between the weight of the raw liquor in a large-capacity barrel and the soaked weight, and determining the volume or capacity of the maturation container and the inner area of the wooden container such as the lid based on the liquid ratio, it is possible to sell and provide the raw liquor with the assurance that the maturation state of the raw liquor in the large-capacity barrel is approximately the same as the maturation state of the raw liquor filled in the maturation container, and this is made possible for the first time by linking and managing the barrel and the maturation container.

10. Summary As described above, according to the present invention, by determining the content volume of the raw liquor stored in the maturation container and the inner surface area of the container of the lid material based on the relationship between the content volume of the raw liquor in the large-capacity barrel, the inner surface area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the raw liquor permeates the wood, it is possible to keep the maturation state of the raw liquor in the large-capacity barrel and the maturation state of the raw liquor filled in the maturation container substantially the same.

Although the components that are aged differ slightly when aging alcoholic beverages in barrels, the mechanisms of aging are almost the same for all types of beverages, including penetration into the wood of the barrel, decomposition and elution of wood components, various chemical reactions between the components, adsorption and transpiration of unaged components by the wood of the barrel, and the passage of air between the barrel and the outside air through the wood of the barrel (barrel breathing).Therefore, the aging container of the present invention can be used for distilled spirits such as whiskey, as well as brewed spirits such as wine.

10 Aging container 20 Storage section 30 Lid material (lid)
40 Lid material (bottom)
50 Lid material (side)
60 Lid (non-wooden)
70 Alcoholic beverages

100 Barrel 110 Side panel (upper part)
120 Side plate (body)
130 Side panel (lower part)
140 Head plate 150 Steel band 160 Line inside the barrel

Claims (10)

1. An ageing vessel for ageing alcoholic beverages, comprising:
a storage section for storing alcoholic beverages;
and one or more openings in the lid, bottom or side;
A lid material made of wood is placed on all or a part of the opening,
In order to guarantee a similar aging process to that of alcoholic beverages in large barrels,
The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
determining the amount of alcoholic beverage contained in the large-capacity barrel based on the relationship between the inner area of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood;
A maturation vessel characterized by: 1. An ageing vessel for ageing alcoholic beverages, comprising:
It has a transparent portion that allows the state of the contents to be observed from the outside,
When the alcoholic beverage is filled, the maturation process of the alcoholic beverage can be observed;
The maturation vessel according to claim 1 , The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
When determining based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the inner area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Considering that the depth to which the alcoholic beverage penetrates the wood varies depending on the parts constituting the barrel;
The maturation vessel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are
When determining based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the inner area of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Furthermore, by calculating the volume of the alcoholic beverage permeating the wood from the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood, or the weight of the permeated wood portion equivalent to the permeated volume, a liquid ratio is calculated, which is the ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel to the permeated volume, or the ratio of the weight of the alcoholic beverage to the permeated weight;
determining the amount of alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the lid material inside the container based on the liquid ratio;
The maturation vessel according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The liquid ratio is a ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage to the wet volume, and is about 14 to about 18;
The maturation vessel according to claim 4, characterized in that A method for filling and selling an alcoholic beverage into an alcoholic beverage maturation container having a storage section for storing an alcoholic beverage, one or more openings on a lid, a bottom, or a side, and a wooden lid material placed on all or part of the openings, comprising:
A barrel identification ID for individually identifying each of the large-capacity barrels in which the alcoholic beverage is stored and aged is provided,
The alcoholic beverage maturation container comprises:
The barrel identification ID of the large-capacity barrel in which the filled alcoholic beverage is stored and aged is linked to the barrel,
The structure of the alcoholic beverage maturation container is as follows:
The amount of alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are determined based on the relationship between the amount of alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel of the linked barrel identification ID, the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood.
To sell and provide the alcoholic beverage while ensuring that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container;
A method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage, comprising: When determining the content amount of the alcoholic beverage to be stored in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material based on the relationship between the content amount of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel, the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood, and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood,
Furthermore, by calculating the volume of the alcoholic beverage permeating the wood from the area of the inside of the barrel made of wood and the depth to which the alcoholic beverage permeates the wood, or the weight of the permeated wood portion equivalent to the permeated volume, a liquid ratio is calculated, which is the ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel to the permeated volume, or the ratio of the weight of the alcoholic beverage to the permeated weight;
The amount of alcoholic beverage contained in the maturation container and the area of the inside of the container of the lid material are determined based on the liquid ratio,
To sell and provide the alcoholic beverage while ensuring that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container;
A method for selling and providing the aging container containing an alcoholic beverage according to claim 6, The liquid ratio is a ratio of the volume of the alcoholic beverage to the wet volume, and is about 14 to about 18;
A method for selling and providing the aging container containing an alcoholic beverage according to claim 7, characterized in that The barrel identification ID includes at least the date of barreling of the alcoholic beverage, the type of wood constituting the barrel, and information on the storage location of the barrel;
A method for selling and providing the alcoholic beverage-containing maturation container according to any one of claims 6 to 8. The maturation container has a transparent portion through which the state of the contents can be observed from the outside,
To users who have received the aging container containing the alcoholic beverage,
To ensure that the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the large-capacity barrel is substantially the same as the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage filled in the maturation container; and
By making it possible to observe the aging state, including the color of the alcoholic beverage inside, through the transparent portion of the container, and by making it possible to identify a large-capacity barrel for storing and aging the alcoholic beverage, which is linked to the aging container by the barrel identification ID,
The user is enabled to estimate the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in a large-capacity barrel for storing and maturing the alcoholic beverage linked to the maturation container based on the maturation state of the alcoholic beverage in the maturation container held by the user,
Encouraging the user to purchase a large-capacity barrel of alcoholic beverages for storing and aging the alcoholic beverages associated with the aging container;
A method for selling and providing an aging container containing an alcoholic beverage according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized by: