JPH02150269A - Method for aging alcoholic beverage in shortened time - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow alcoholic beverage to manifest mellowness by treating an unaged alcoholic beverage with a super-high pressure for a short time. CONSTITUTION:Unaged whiskey or other alcoholic beverages is treated with a pressure of 250 to 2,000kg/cm<2> in a pressure vessel for several to several tens minutes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application! I!F) The present invention relates to a short-term aging method for alcoholic beverages and the like.

(Prior art) It is empirically known that distilled alcoholic beverages such as whiskey and brandy develop a so-called mellowness through long-term aging, which takes several years or more, and that this mellowness does not disappear even when water is added. There is. This phenomenon can be divided into chemical aging, which is caused by trace components contained in whiskey, and physical aging, which is caused by changes in the state of association between water and alcohol, which are the main components. is analyzed,
Or, it is thought that the two factors interact and progress.

In the first place, water is a polarizable molecule of I (20), which is why it is said that 10 molecules are associated with each other, and water molecules are tightly assembled due to the bonding force derived from hydrogen bonds. It has been clarified that even a solution that is in a mutually exclusive state with other substances is in a mixed state of water clusters and pond material molecules or their clusters.

The molecules of alcohol and other trace components are estimated to form clusters depending on their polarity. On the other hand, when a person drinks an alcoholic beverage, the taste receptor cells and song receptor cells in the human body have a delicate ability to sense and judge the size of clusters of water, alcohol, etc. It seems that there are.

Therefore, if there is a large cluster of alcoholic beverages, the taste and smell will be similar to that of alcohol itself, and strong drinking and drinking will be stopped. On the other hand, alcoholic beverages (r) in which the clusters of water and alcohol are small and sufficiently dispersed are said to have a mellow taste,
If we examine the difference between this mellow and delicious sake and the unappetizing sake using NMR, (Nuclear Magnetic Synthesis [!0), we find that delicious sake has 10 molecules of alcohol that often get stuck in the water molecules that are intertwined with each other. It is said that there are. In the case of whiskey and other distilled spirits, the common way to achieve this mellowness is to fill the unprocessed spirit into wooden barrels such as white oak and leave it at a constant temperature for many years to achieve mellowness.

In addition, as a method to obtain the same effect as the above ripening in a short period of time, (
1) A method of irradiating the unprocessed sake with ultrasonic waves, i.e., acoustic waves and elastic waves) A method of using energy to vibrate clusters that are not sufficiently dispersed to disperse the clusters and create a good mixed state, (2) A method of producing a mixture at a temperature higher than room temperature A method of isothermal treatment for a certain period of time. (3) There is a method of applying an electric field or magnetic field or irradiating far infrared rays, and in this method, applying the electric field or magnetic field to the unprocessed sake and irradiating far infrared rays are the same electromagnetic wave energy. This action causes vibration and rotation effects on the molecules, which are thought to be related to the dispersion of the clusters, and the penetration depth of electromagnetic waves at this time is shallow, and the vibrations and rotation of the molecules generate heat. (4) Cooling It has been revealed by thermal analysis (using a differential scanning calorimeter) that ripening progresses significantly when low-temperature treatments such as freezing and thawing are performed. It is also known that this method is expected to be effective because supercooled water, whose eutectic temperature is lower than that of water itself, has a reduced hydrogen bonding force and is in a state where water clusters are more likely to disperse. .

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) The long-term aging method using wooden barrels has excellent effects, but requires many years, storage containers, and storage space, and has low production efficiency and high costs.

Further, the dispersion of clusters by ultrasonic waves in the short-term aging method (1) causes cavitation phenomenon, which promotes this effect, but also causes temperature rise. If we want efficient ripening, we need an oscillation frequency (THZ - terahertz class) close to the natural frequency of clusters that are not sufficiently dispersed, and this wavelength of 1 to 2 μ is in the far infrared region. It is. However, the current state of commercially available ultrasonic oscillators (101 (HZ class)) requires a long time to ripen and is accompanied by temperature rise. Method (2) is easily affected by heat and maintains a constant quality. Method (3) using electromagnetic waves, which is difficult to carry out and easily denatures, also generates heat.
Moreover, it is considered unprofitable from an industrial perspective. The method (4) can also be expected to be effective because the water clusters are easily dispersed as described above, but it is industrially inefficient and expensive.

Is this short-term aging method also for supplying energy such as heat and electricity? In addition to requiring various complicated mechanical devices and equipment, there are drawbacks such as the fact that aroma substances are inevitably dissipated due to heating and temperature rise.

The present invention aims to eliminate the drawbacks of the above-mentioned prior art and to impart mellowness to alcoholic beverages through processing using simple means and equipment in a short period of time.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has a critical pressure (225 (kg/er) in the case of water).
a2), focusing on the physical properties of water that has been pressurized to 3200 (psi) or more, and making use of this to mellow distilled spirits or alcoholic beverages by sealing them in a pressure-resistant container and pressurizing them for a predetermined period of time. This is what we are trying to express.

(Example) In order to explain the present invention in detail below, we will first look at the relationship f system between water and pressure. 3200 (psi)
When pressurized above (approximately 225), a critical state is reached.

The body box accidentally shrinks due to pressurization (water has a lower compressibility than gas, but when pressurized at several thousand kg/cm2, the volume decreases by about 10%), binding molecules together. Its electrostatic force and polarity become weaker, and it begins to exhibit properties similar to those of non-polar solvents.

If pressure is applied to achieve this state, water clusters will disperse and at the same time have properties similar to those of a non-polar solvent, alcohol molecules and water molecules will intermingle, the clusters will disperse, and water and alcohol will be in an affinity state.

(a) Then, pressurization is performed by filling a pressure container with an alcoholic beverage to be treated. (Please note that when pressurizing, air remaining in the beverage inside the container may cause leakage or blowout accidents due to pressurization, or even if it is compressed without leaking, the pressure applied to the coexisting liquid may become unstable. (or dissolve in the liquid, so remove it beforehand) As the pressurizing means, a type in which the container itself has a compression function consisting of a cylinder and a piston may be used, but The liquid to be treated may be in a pressurized state while being fed into the container.

(b) Pressurization may be done in a batch manner as in (a) above, but
As a continuous processing method, the required pressure may be maintained while releasing the pressurized liquid from a nozzle or liquid outlet at one end of the container, but since the liquid to be treated is spouted from the nozzle,
If this is ejected into the air, it will dissolve the air, which is undesirable, so it should be ejected into the liquid to be treated.

(c) Pressure force is 250 [kg/eta2] to 2000
It may be between [kg/an”], but preferably 300 [k
It is better to treat at +1 before g/cm21, since it does not affect the other three components caused by high pressure, and denaturation etc. can be avoided.

(d) Each reaction that occurs within a substance has its own unique reaction rate, so the pressurized state due to the required pressure ranges from several minutes to several tens of minutes.
last for minutes. (This can be interpreted in the same way as the commonly practiced diffusion rate of a solute in a solution in a container open to the atmosphere.
) And to maintain the pressurized state, you can adjust the pressurization force for each liquid, using an electric pump (pressurization cannot be done with a manual pump, but a hydraulic pump similar to an electric pump, etc.) ) and close the valve attached to the pressure vessel.

In addition, when processing a large amount of liquid in a batch method, filling the container with the processing liquid is done in a different way.First, a certain amount of the liquid to be treated is placed in the container, sealed, and then pressurized. Since the valve can be left undisturbed, energy consumption is minimal. Further, the compressibility of liquid due to pressurization is lower than that of gas, as in the case of water, and the 4-temperature due to the adiabatic compression effect can be ignored. Therefore, there is no dissipation of aromatic substances due to temperature rise.

Next, a specific example is as follows: (1) The top of a cylinder with a bottom made of SUS as a pressure-resistant container has an inner diameter of 50 (n+m), a height of 170 (l-), and a wall thickness of 20 (mn). ++n) sealed with a blind flange,
Use a device with an air release valve attached to the two parts, and a discharge valve and liquid delivery valve attached to the bottom part.

■Uses commercially available second grade whiskey (Suntory Red Extra) as an alcoholic beverage.

(2) As a pressure pump, use the pump part of a commercially available Nozzle Tester DI-50 manufactured by Toyo Chick Co., Ltd.

The air in the container was discharged from the air vent valve of the container (2), and the whiskey (2) was pumped into the container using the pump part (2) and pressurized. The pressure gauge attached to the tester indicated 300 (kg/am2). The pressure was maintained as it was, and when the pressure seemed to drop even slightly for some reason, pressure correction was continued intermittently using the manual handle, and 5 minutes passed.

Then, release the pressure and take out the whiskey to be processed.
The taste was compared with the unprocessed whisky.

Pharmacopoeia ethanol was diluted with distilled water to give a concentration of 40% and treated in the same manner as above, and the treated and untreated liquids were alternately placed in the mouth for comparison.

(Effects of the Invention) When the whiskey treated by the pressurized method of the present invention was compared with the untreated whiskey, the treated whiskey clearly felt mellow, and compared to the commercially available first grade or special grade. It was no different from whisky.

Furthermore, when it was left to stand indoors for about 4 months, it was clearly observed that the mellowness had further increased.

When the treated liquid of the pharmacopoeial ethanol and the untreated liquid were alternately placed in the mouth and compared, the treated liquid was clearly felt to be less irritating.

As described above, according to the aging method of the present invention, it has become possible to age distilled spirits, alcoholic beverages, etc. as desired in a short time by applying pressure using a simple device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A short-term aging method for alcoholic beverages, etc., characterized by applying pressure of 250 to 2000 kg/cm^2 to unaged whiskey or other alcoholic beverages stored in a pressure-resistant container for several minutes to several tens of minutes. .