JP2654742B2 - Low alcohol fermented beverage and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a low alcohol fermented beverage and a method for producing the same. More specifically, the present invention is a method for producing a low-alcohol fermented beverage rich in organic components such as peptides and amino acids without producing a high-concentration alcohol solution in the production process, such as a non-alcoholic beer, and a method for producing the same. It relates to a low alcohol fermented beverage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Prior Art Fermented malt beverages currently on the market are divided into beer and non-alcoholic beer. Of these, non-alcoholic beer (also called low alcohol beer, usually refers to beer with an alcohol concentration of less than 1%)
In recent years, demand has been remarkably increasing due to diversification of consumer preferences, especially light orientation in recent years. Conventional non-alcohol beer production methods include the following four types of methods, all of which have been considered from the viewpoint of producing beer having a normal alcohol concentration and de-alcoholizing in any step. 1) A method in which beer is produced by a normal production method, and then dealcoholized from the beer using a reverse osmosis membrane or by vacuum evaporation. 2) A method in which fermentation is stopped in the course of beer production due to inactivation of yeast or the like, and a non-alcoholic beer having an alcohol concentration of less than 1% is obtained. 3) In a normal beer production method, a yeast having an inferior alcohol-producing ability is used for alcohol fermentation, and an alcohol concentration of 1
How to make less than 10% non-alcoholic beer. 4) A method of producing a non-alcoholic beer by blending with sugar, malt extract, fragrance and the like.

[0003]

Currently, commercially available non-alcoholic beers are produced using these methods, but none are produced and marketed in Japan, and all are imported from overseas. Goods. Therefore, non-alcoholic beers produced by these methods generally have the following problems, and have been transported for a long period of time, so that the original flavor of the beer is usually lost. Despite the above-mentioned production method, non-alcoholic beer has not been produced in Japan. The first reason is that the products obtained by the above method are not of a quality that satisfies consumers. In addition, it is thought that this is due to prejudice that the liquor tax law restricts the development of marketable products. The methods 1) to 4) each have the following disadvantages.

The method (1) is not preferable because the flavor of hops and the aroma of fermentation are lost along with the removal of alcohol. In addition, the implementation of this method in Japan requires a beer manufacturing license, and furthermore, tax obligations are required, which increases costs. This method is the most mainstream in the world, but there are no products manufactured in Japan yet. In the method 2), a large amount of unfermented sugar remains in the liquid after inactivation of the yeast, thereby giving an unnecessary sweet and sour flavor, which is not preferable. In addition, if the sugar concentration is such that the alcohol concentration can be 1% or more in normal alcohol fermentation, it is legally recognized as "moromi" and is subject to regulation. At present, the production of "moromi" for purposes other than the production of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. In the method 3), even when the sugar concentration is sufficiently high, the yeast having a defect in alcohol production ability is used, so that the alcohol concentration is less than 1%. However, in this method, unnecessary sugar remains as in the case of the above 2). Further, it is difficult to obtain a yeast deficient in alcohol production ability. The method 4) is the easiest, but has a drawback that the flavor of beer is hardly obtained because the fermentation is not performed by yeast.

As a method of solving these restrictions and problems, there is a method of using a saccharified solution obtained by diluting a saccharide with water and carbonated water so that the alcohol concentration reached by alcohol fermentation is less than 1%. However, according to this method, only a watery product having a poor organic component such as a flavor component has been obtained until now. There is also a method of removing only the sugar content by a membrane. However, a membrane capable of separating and removing the sugar is expensive, and causes an increase in cost. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for producing a low-alcohol fermented beverage having an alcohol concentration of 3% or less, such as non-alcoholic beer, to which an organic component such as fermented aroma and flavor is added without producing a high-concentration alcohol solution. And Furthermore, a second object of the present invention is to provide a low alcohol fermented beverage produced by the above method. An object of the present invention is to produce a low alcohol fermented beverage. The low alcohol is not particularly limited, but usually means 3% or less, preferably 2% or less, and more preferably less than 1%.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The inventors of the present invention have conducted intensive studies to solve the above-mentioned problems, and as a result, a saccharified solution having a low sugar concentration but low in organic components but having a low sugar concentration has been obtained by fermentation in advance. The saccharified solution of the treatment is mixed to obtain a sugar solution to be used for alcohol fermentation, and the mixing ratio of both is adjusted to adjust the sugar concentration of the sugar solution after the fermentation to an alcohol concentration of 3 V / V% or less (hereinafter, low alcohol). Concentration or simply referred to as low alcohol), it has been found that a fermented beverage having a low alcohol concentration rich in organic components such as flavor components can be obtained. The present invention has been made based on this finding. That is, the present invention strikes the producing fermented beverages low alcohol from (1) a sugar solution, 1) saccharification solution 5: 1 to 1: bisect to be 5 ratio, the sugar one of the saccharified solution 3V / V% by fermentation
Adjusting the alcohol concentration to the following, and reducing the sugar concentration by alcoholic fermentation treatment; 2) concentrating the low sugar concentration solution of 1) by removing water; obtaining a sugar solution; and 3) 2 ) Align again each of the total amount of other raw saccharified solution divided by the the concentrated concentrate (1),
A step of obtaining a sugar solution by adjusting the sugar concentration so that the alcohol concentration after fermentation becomes 3 V / V% or less; 4) a step of adding hops to the sugar solution of 3) and boiling; and 5) 4). to alcohol fermentation processes in resulting sugar solution after boiling
The method of producing low-alcohol fermented beverages, characterized by comprising that step, and wherein (2) the yeast used for alcohol fermentation of a saccharified solution is separated from the processing liquid, be recycled to the alcohol fermentation of molasses And (3) a low alcohol fermented beverage produced by the method according to (1) or (2). The above
Alcohol after fermentation specified in paragraphs 1) and 3)
The sugar concentration at which the sugar concentration is 3 V / V% or less is about 6 W / V
% Means a sugar concentration of less than 10%.

Next, the method of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to an example of a process for producing a non-alcoholic beer having an alcohol concentration of less than 1%. FIG. 1 shows a process chart of a method for producing non-alcoholic beer as one embodiment of the method of the present invention. The raw malt is crushed to a size of 3 to 4 mm in the crushing tank (1),
It is saccharified in the saccharification kettle (2). The obtained saccharified liquid is divided into two liquids, one of which is transferred to the storage tank (3) and the other is transferred to the fermentation tank (4). The sugar concentration of the saccharified solution in the fermenter (4) is adjusted by dilution, and then yeast is added and fermented. The treated liquid in which the sugar is consumed by fermentation is appropriately removed of water and alcohol by a reverse osmosis membrane separation device (5).
It is transferred to a boiling pot (6) and mixed with the untreated saccharified solution stored in the storage tank (3). (7) is a fermenter,
Used for the main fermentation of wort boiled by adding hops,
As a result, a non-alcoholic beer is obtained. Instead of using the reverse osmosis membrane separation device (5), water and alcohol may be removed (concentrated) by vacuum evaporation in the fermenter (4). A mixing tank (not shown) in front of the boiling pot (6)
May be provided, and the saccharified solution in the storage tank (3) and the concentrated solution that has been fermented in the fermenter (4) may be mixed, and then the mixture may be transferred to the boiling pot (6). The sugar solution used in the boiling step is a mixed liquid composed of a saccharified solution of sugar solution and untreated after division fermentation process at the same time.

Next, each step will be described. The malt saccharified solution used as a raw material can be obtained by the same method as used in ordinary beer production. For example, the crushed malt is charged into a saccharification kettle (2), and proteins and starch in the malt are saccharified to obtain a saccharified solution. At this time, the sugar concentration in the saccharified solution can be freely set as long as the concentration of alcohol produced by fermentation is 1% or more, that is, 2% or more. The sugar concentration of the saccharified solution is preferably 2 to 8%. The malt saccharified solution is used in two parts. A part of the saccharified liquid is a section which is subjected to alcohol fermentation treatment by yeast before the main fermentation (hereinafter, referred to as a pre-fermentation section) and is transferred to the fermenter (4). The remainder of the saccharified solution is stored in an untreated state and used in the main fermentation (hereinafter referred to as a storage section), and is transferred to the storage tank (3). Further, the storage section may be stored as it is in the saccharification tank (2) without providing the storage tank (3). In the pre-fermentation section, the sugar concentration is adjusted by diluting with water until the alcohol concentration reached by alcohol fermentation is less than 1%, that is, the sugar concentration is less than 2%, and yeast is added. Causes the sugar in the saccharified solution to be consumed.
This alcohol fermentation (pre-fermentation) is preferably performed until the sugar in the saccharified solution is completely lost. In the pre-fermentation section, the yeast produces various flavor components while consuming and growing sugar. Therefore, in the pre-fermentation section, the protein is decomposed by the protease with the consumption of sugar, peptides, amino acids, esters, etc. are generated, and the amount of organic components increases together with the unfermented dextrin generated by malt saccharification. I do.

Next, a saccharified solution in which sugar is consumed (pre-fermentation section)
Then, water and alcohol are removed by boiling, reverse osmosis membrane, vacuum evaporation or the like, and a concentrated liquid in which organic components are relatively concentrated with respect to sugar is prepared. The removed water and alcohol can be transferred to the fermenter (4) or the boiling pot (6) and used for diluting or increasing the saccharified liquid or wort. When the reverse osmosis membrane method is used, the main purpose is to remove water,
Although unnecessary alcohol is concentrated, the alcohol in the concentrated liquid is scattered by heating in the subsequent boiling step, so that the alcohol concentration of the product is not affected. The untreated saccharified solution (preservation category) previously divided is added to the concentrated solution to obtain a saccharified solution. At the time of mixing both solutions, the sugar concentration in the sugar solution is adjusted to be less than 2%. This sugar solution is used as a raw material in a boiling step after hop addition in normal beer production. Thereafter, in the same manner as in a normal beer production process, after the boiling,
After appropriately cooling and filtering, the fermentation treatment is performed to obtain a fermented malt beverage having an alcohol concentration of less than 1%. According to the method, while maintaining a low alcohol concentration in the manufacturing process, having excellent flavor and aroma characteristics derived from the raw material,
A fermented malt beverage with a low alcohol content, preferably less than 1% alcohol concentration, which is rich and rich in organic components is obtained.

In the method of the present invention, the ratio of the saccharified liquid as a raw material into the storage section and the pre-fermentation section depends on the sugar concentration of the saccharified liquid, the alcohol concentration set during the main fermentation, and the concentration of the pre-fermentation section after the pre-fermentation treatment. Depends on degree. When the ratio of the saccharified solution to be divided is represented by the ratio of the pre-fermentation section to the preservation section, it is usually 5: 1 to 1: 5, and particularly preferably 2: 1 to 1: 2. The preliminarily fermented section does not contribute to the improvement of the alcohol concentration because the alcohol generated by the fermentation processing is removed by concentration, but contributes to the kokumi by the organic components generated by the consumption of sugar. When producing beverages with a high alcohol concentration, increase the ratio of storage categories. The alcohol concentration of the final product depends on the amount of the storage compartment. Although the degree of concentration of the pre-fermentation section after the pre-fermentation treatment depends on the set alcohol concentration of the fermented beverage after the main fermentation, the concentration is preferably 1 to 5 times, and particularly preferably 1 to 5 times.
It is preferably up to twice. Concentration can result in loss of aroma. The higher the concentration, the higher the risk, and other organic components are also affected. Therefore, the lower the enrichment, the better. In mixing the further storage segment concentrate the sugar solution obtained from the previous fermentation segment, mixed the whole amount both <br/> solution. Preferably, both solutions are in a ratio of 5: 1 to 1: 5, particularly preferably 2:
Mix at a ratio of 1-1: 2. Of these, it is particularly preferable to mix the entire amount of the concentrate obtained from the pre-fermentation section with the entire amount of the storage section separated from the same saccharified solution at the same time, from the viewpoint of economy and flavor of the obtained non-alcoholic beer. The mixing ratio is preferably equal to the ratio of the saccharified solution used. For example, the type and amount of raw materials are determined depending on the type of non-alcoholic beer to be produced, and it is desirable that the initial component composition and the total amount of the saccharified liquid do not fluctuate in subsequent steps. If they fluctuate, a variety of flavors will be produced, but it will be difficult to control the taste characteristics.

The division and mixing ratio of the saccharified solution and the degree of concentration after the pre-fermentation treatment will be described by taking as an example the production of a non-alcoholic beer having an alcohol concentration of less than 1%. For example, when there are 100 liters of a saccharified solution having a sugar concentration of 10%, 80 liters are set as the pre-fermentation treatment section, and 20 liters are set as the storage section. 80 liters in the pre-fermentation treatment category has a sugar concentration of 2%
It is pre-fermented after diluting with water to 400 liters five times so that the concentration becomes less, and further concentrated. Since the sugar concentration of the adjusted sugar solution after adding the storage category to the concentrated solution needs to be less than 2%, in order to use all 20 liters of the saccharified solution in the storage category, after the pre-fermentation treatment is completed, Concentration can be performed until the concentration remaining amount from the total amount of the liquid becomes 80 liters. If concentrated to less than 80 liters,
During or before and after the boiling step, it is necessary to adjust the amount of the sugar solution to 100 liters or more with water. In the method of the present invention, the yeast used in the main fermentation is preferably used in the pre-fermentation treatment step of the saccharified liquid, and the yeast separated from the treated liquid after the pre-fermentation treatment is preferably reused. After collecting the spontaneously settled yeast, the liquid is decanted, separated by a centrifuge, and stored at a low temperature until use. By using the yeast having a high activity, normal fermentation without contamination by various bacteria can be maintained. Although the method of the present invention has been described by taking the case of non-alcoholic beer as an example, as in this case, a part of the raw material saccharified solution is subjected to pre-fermentation in advance to reduce the sugar content, so that other than beer, This method can be applied to the production of various fermented beverages, and a fermented beverage having a low alcohol concentration and rich in aroma and aroma can be obtained.

[0012]

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to examples. Example 1 Fifty liters of a malt saccharified solution having a sugar concentration of 10.2 W / V% were divided into a saccharified solution for fermentation treatment used for consuming 40 liters of sugar and a 10-liter saccharified solution for storage. Forty liters of the saccharified solution for fermentation treatment was transferred to a 200-liter fermenter, and the volume was increased to 200 liters by adding tap water treated by a purification device. This diluted saccharified solution has a sugar concentration of 2.3 W.
/ V%. To the diluted saccharified solution, 20 g of dry yeast was added and fermented at a temperature of 20 ° C. for 4 days. The sugar concentration of the diluted saccharified solution after the completion of the fermentation treatment was reduced to 0.2 W / V%.
The alcohol concentration of this solution was about 1 V / V%. This fermentation treatment solution is supplied to a reverse osmosis membrane device (Reverse osmosis membrane manufactured by Daicel, S
V-022 type) to remove water and concentrate the organic component. The volume reached 42 liters after 6 hours of treatment. The sugar concentration of the fermented solution after concentration was 0.6 W / V%, and the alcohol concentration was 0.9 V / V%. After all the fermentation liquors were removed from the fermenter, a creamy yeast slurry was collected from the lower part of the fermenter, refrigerated and stored after removing water. The concentrated 42 liters were transferred to a boiling kettle, and 10 liters of the saccharified solution for preservation, which had been initially sorted, was added to make a wort (sugar solution) having a total volume of 52 liters. At this time, the sugar concentration of the wort was 2.
0 W / V%.

[0013] Hops were added to the boiling pot and the mixture was boiled for 90 minutes. The liquid volume reduced by boiling was increased with water (permeated water of reverse osmosis membrane, alcohol concentration 0.1 V / V%) removed at the time of concentration of the fermentation treatment liquid to make the total volume 50 liters. Transferred to tank. After adjusting the temperature to 15 ° C., the yeast kept refrigerated was added, and the fermentation was continued for 5 days. After completion of the fermentation, the fermented liquid was transferred to a keg, stored in a refrigerator for one week, and obtained as a fermented malt beverage (non-alcoholic beer). The alcohol concentration of the obtained fermented malt beverage is 0.1%.
7 V / V%, the residual sugar concentration was 0.3 W / V%. Next, five non-alcoholic beers (both A and B having an alcohol concentration of less than 0.5%) and five commercially available beers were obtained by five panelists (three males and two females). A comparative test of taste and properties of the prototypes was conducted. Non-alcoholic beer A is a reverse osmosis membrane, and B is a beer obtained by producing a beer having a normal alcohol concentration by vacuum evaporation and then removing the alcohol content. Table 1 shows the results. The indices were aroma, richness, bitterness, and foaming. The beer was evaluated as 0, and the better direction was evaluated on a scale of 1 to 3 points, and the worse direction on a scale of -1 to -3 points. The numbers in Table 1 are the average values of five panelists.

[0014]

[Table 1]

As can be seen from Table 1, the prototype is slightly inferior to the normal beer of the alcohol concentration in terms of aroma, but is superior to beer in terms of body, and has almost the same evaluation as beer in terms of bitterness and foaming. Obtained. The commercially available non-alcoholic beers (A and B) were "watery" inferior in aroma, richness and bitterness to the prototype. This means that the low-alcohol beverage obtained by the method of the present invention contains a large amount of various organic components derived from raw materials, particularly flavor components.

Example 2 Production of non-alcoholic beer 30 liters of malt saccharified solution having a sugar concentration of 8.5 W / V% was
Saccharified solution for fermentation treatment used for consumption of 20 liters of sugar and 10
The solution was divided into 1 liter of the saccharified solution for storage. 20 liters of the saccharified solution for fermentation treatment is transferred to a 100 liter capacity fermenter,
Tap water treated by the purifier was added to increase the volume to 80 liters. This diluted saccharified solution has a sugar concentration of 2.0 W / V%
Met. To the diluted saccharified solution, 10 g of dry yeast was added, and fermented at a temperature of 20 ° C. for 4 days. The sugar concentration of the diluted saccharified solution after the completion of the fermentation treatment was reduced to 0.3 W / V%. The alcohol concentration of this solution was about 1 V / V%.
The fermentation solution was subjected to 100 Torr, 50
Concentration was performed in 4 hours until the remaining amount became 32 liters by maintaining at 0 ° C. The sugar concentration of the concentrated fermentation solution was 0.7 W / V%, and the alcohol concentration was 0 V / V.
%. Before concentrating the fermentation solution,
A creamy yeast slurry was collected from the lower part of the fermenter, and after removing water, the yeast was refrigerated and stored. 32 liters of the concentrated fermentation solution was transferred to a boiling pot with a pump, and 10 liters of the preliminarily separated saccharified solution for storage was added to make 42 liters of sugar solution (wort). At this time, the sugar concentration of the wort was 2.
It was 3 W / V%.

Hops were added to the boiling pot and the mixture was boiled for 90 minutes. The liquid volume reduced by boiling was increased with evaporating water (alcohol concentration 0.8 V / V%) obtained at the time of concentration of the fermentation treatment liquid to make the total volume 50 liters, then cooled and transferred to the fermenter. After the temperature of the solution was adjusted to 15 ° C., the yeast kept refrigerated was added, and the fermentation was continued for 5 days. After completion of the fermentation, the fermented liquid was transferred to a keg, stored in a refrigerator for one week, and obtained as a non-alcoholic beer. The alcohol concentration of the obtained non-alcoholic beer was 0.6 V / V%, and the residual sugar concentration was 0.1%.
It was 2 W / V%. This non-alcoholic beer had a flavor and a moderate richness, and had a taste very similar to a beer having a normal alcohol concentration. The fermented malt beverage thus manufactured was subjected to comparative tests of taste and properties in the same manner as in Example 1. Table 2 shows the results.

[0018]

[Table 2]

As can be seen from Table 2, the trial product was slightly inferior to the target beer in terms of aroma, but the evaluation of the body, bitterness, and foaming was almost equal to that of the beer. In addition, commercially available non-alcoholic beers (A, B) are aromatic,
The body was "watery", less bitter.

[0020]

According to the method of the present invention, a part of a saccharified solution is subjected to a fermentation treatment in advance to decompose the saccharide, thereby containing a large amount of an organic component which is a decomposition product derived from a raw material,
A fermented beverage rich in natural flavor and fermented aroma based on raw materials and rich in low alcohol concentration can be obtained. Further, the method of the present invention does not produce a liquid having a high alcohol concentration in the production process, so that the cost is low and the method is not regulated by the liquor tax law. The low alcohol fermented beverage of the present invention has been produced for the first time by the method of the present invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart of a method for producing non-alcoholic beer as one embodiment of the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 malt crushing tank 2 saccharification pot 3 saccharified liquid storage tank 4 fermentation tank 5 reverse osmosis membrane separation device 6 boiling pot 7 fermentation tank

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] Per the 1. A sugar solution in the production of fermented beverages low alcohol, (1) a sugar of solution 5: 1 to 1: bisect to be 5 ratio, the sugar concentration one saccharified solution 3V / V% by fermentation
(2) a step of reducing the sugar concentration by performing an alcohol fermentation treatment so as to have the following alcohol concentration, (2) a step of removing the low sugar concentration solution of (1) by removing water, and (3) a step of being concentrated in (2). Reconstitute the total amount of each of the concentrated solution and the other untreated saccharified solution obtained by bisecting in (1) above.
So, the step of adjusting to obtain a sugar solution so as to have a sugar concentration of the alcohol concentration after fermentation is less 3V / V%, (4) (3) a step of molasses was added to hop boiling of及
Beauty (5) (4) in alcohol fermentation processes sugar solution after boiling obtained
A method for producing a low-alcohol fermented beverage, comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the yeast used for alcoholic fermentation of the saccharified liquid is separated from the treated liquid and reused for alcoholic fermentation of the saccharified liquid. 3. A low alcohol fermented beverage produced by the method according to claim 1.