JPS61195682A - Fermentation apparatus for liquor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the production of fermented liquor having uniform quality, by detecting the rate of generation of carbon dioxide gas during the fermentation process, and controlling the temperature of the fermentation system in a manner to equalize the measured rate to that of the preset cycle of carbon dioxide gas generation during the fermentation. CONSTITUTION:The side wall 4 of the closed fermentation vessel 1 has double- walled jacket structure 6, and the jacket 6 is supplied with cooling water of a specific temperature by the cooler 14 attached to the jacket 6 via the control valve 19 and the pipings. The vessel 1 is furnished with a gas flow meter 12 via a pipe, and the signal corresponding to the volume of carbon dioxide gas generated in the vessel 1 by fermentation is inputted to a computer system 18. A signal is outputted periodically from the system to the control valve 19 so as to equalize the rate of the generated carbon dioxide gas to that of the preset value memorized in the system 18 as a function of the elapsed time. The opening of the valve 19 is controlled by the signal to control the circulation of the cooling water, and accordingly to control the temperature of the fermentation system. The fermentation can be proceeded at a CO2 generation rate coinciding with the preset value by this process.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Conventionally, the progress of fermentation of alcoholic beverages has been determined by adjusting the quality of the mash and by observing the progress of the fermentation period by observing the state of foaming and the progress of the components of the mash. Judgments are made empirically from analysis. In general, if you raise the temperature of mash,
Fi fermentation becomes more active and progresses faster. However, in reality, even if the raw material composition is the same, the rate of fermentation progress will differ depending on the raw materials in the mash and the type of yeast mash, so even if the temperature of the mash is changed in the same way during the fermentation period, it will not necessarily be the same for each preparation. It is not possible to make the same fermented sake. Experience has shown that conventional mash fermentation, which controls the temperature of mash, is insufficient to accurately control the progress of fermentation.

The present invention detects the rate at which carbon dioxide gas is generated during fermentation, from which carbon dioxide gas is generated in proportion to the alcoholization reaction of alcoholic beverage fermentation, and adjusts this to match a preset fermentation carbon dioxide gas generation cycle. The present invention relates to a fermentation device for alcoholic beverages that adjusts the temperature of mash. That is, a gas outlet is provided at the top of a closed fermentation tank (hereinafter referred to as tank), and this is connected to a gas flow meter located at a predetermined location. Carbon dioxide gas (hereinafter referred to as gas) generated by the fermentation of mash in the tank enters a gas flow meter, and the gas generation rate is detected throughout the fermentation period. A jacket is provided in the tank, and a cooler is attached to the tank to adjust the temperature of the mash through which cooling water is passed, and the mash is supplied into the jacket via a control valve. In the fermentation of alcoholic beverages, the temperature of the mash in the tank generally rises by ten degrees due to fermentation heat, so cooling is required to suppress this.
If it is necessary to raise the temperature of the mash, a jacket and a water heater or a heating heater may be attached to the bottom of the tank to heat the mash in the same manner as described in L.

The signal measured by the gas flow meter is input to a computer system (hereinafter referred to as a computer), and the gas generation rate is calculated from a set carbon dioxide gas generation rate - elapsed time cycle (hereinafter referred to as a set cycle) stored in advance in the computer. The temperature of the mash is calculated from the correlation between the temperature of the mash, the temperature of the cooling water, and the degree of opening and closing of the control valve, and a signal is output from the computer to control the degree of opening and closing of the control valve to adjust the temperature of the mash. This is characterized by allowing fermentation to proceed in accordance with the set carbon dioxide gas generation. According to the present invention, it is possible to numerically know the fermentation status of mash from the gas generation rate online, and to match this value with the set cycle prescribed by the administrator to efficiently ferment alcoholic beverages.

The details of the device of the invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, the ceiling of a tank 1 is equipped with a mash filling port 2 and a sealable lid 3, through which the mash raw material is charged. The peripheral walls on the sides of the tank 1 are made double 4 and 5, and a jacket 6 is provided between them, and the jacket 6 is provided with a cooling water inlet pipe 7 at the lower part and a cooling water outlet pipe 8 at the upper part to supply the cooling water. The mash is fed in as shown by the arrow, passes through the jacket, and circulates through the attached cooler 4 and control valve 19, thereby regulating the temperature of the mash in the tank 1. A gas discharge port 9 is provided at approximately the center ceiling of the tank, and the gas discharge port 9 is connected to a conduit 10, and the gas passes through the conduit 10 to the moisture separator 1.
1, the gas flows through a gas flow meter 12, and is released into the atmosphere. A take-out valve 13 is installed at the bottom of the tank 1, and the fermented mash is collected from there. One or more temperature detection elements 15 are installed at appropriate positions on the side wall surface of the tank 1 to measure the temperature of the mash. 7 is the installation of a blackness detection element for measuring the temperature of the gas at the gas discharge port 16 of the gas flowmeter 12. The temperature detection elements 15, 17 and the gas flow meter 12 are each connected to the computer 18 by electrical circuits shown by dotted lines. The amount of gas measured by the gas flow meter 12 correlates with the temperature signal from the temperature detection element 17, is input into the computer 18, and is calculated, and the gas is emitted at a rate of 15°C.
It is stored in the computer 18 as a raw speed. The control valve] 9 is connected to the computer 18 by an electric circuit shown by a dotted line, and if the gas generation rate does not match the set cycle, the computer 18 controls the temperature of the mash, the temperature of the cooling water, and the gas generation from the temperature detection element 15. A signal is output from the computer 18 to the control valve 19 based on a calculation based on the correlation of speeds, and the degree of opening and closing of the control valve changes, and the cooling water circulates within the jacket 6 in response to the change. Depending on the type of alcoholic beverage fermentation, it is easy to calculate the alcohol concentration produced in the mash by integrating the gas generation rate from the reaction mechanism and reaction formula to determine the amount of gas, so it is easy to calculate the alcohol concentration from the gas generation rate. It is also possible to use a converted set alcohol concentration-elapsed time cycle.

As an example, a four-stage preparation of sake with a total amount of 2 tons of rice will be explained using a tank with a capacity of 6 kQ. The raw materials were mixed in the following steps from initial addition to four stages and charged into the tank. Brewing Association No. 7 yeast is used, and the raw materials are of the quality used in conventional brewing and fermentation of sake, and no special raw materials are required for implementing the present invention.

From the beginning of preparation to Nakazoe, the temperature of the mash in the tank hardly changes between 12 and 12.5℃ due to slow fermentation (there is also little foaming). The moromi was chilled to keep the product temperature below 13℃.

6- During this period, the control valve was closed and the cooler was stopped while the tank jacket was filled with well water at 11'C.

The cooler is directly connected to a 1-horsepower refrigerator, and the 800-liter cold water tank constantly stores cooling water at 5°C.

After distillation, fermentation of the mash in the tank increases and the entire surface becomes foamy, generating heat, raising the temperature of the product and producing significant carbon dioxide, so the cooler is started and cooling water is circulated inside the jacket. Figure 2 shows a curve of the rate of carbon dioxide gas generation during the fermentation period after distillation.

Dotted line A is a set cycle programmed into the computer. During the elapsed period of 4 to 10 days, when the gas generation rate exceeds the set value, the control valve opens according to the cooling requirement and cools the water for up to 601.7 minutes. It circulates through the flow to lower the temperature of the mash and suppress the fermentation speed. The solid line B is the actual gas generation rate curve obtained through fermentation in this manner. During this fermentation process, the temperature of the mash rose from 12°C at the time of distillation addition to 15.5°C on the 5th day, gradually decreased after 10th day, and reached 12°C on the 200th day. Ta.

As described above, the fermentation device of the present invention is different from the conventional fermentation device in which the temperature of the mash is adjusted and the fermentation is managed visually from the outside. It is possible to control the fermentation of alcoholic beverages, and it is possible to efficiently manage the fermentation of alcoholic beverages while monitoring the fermentation status such as carbon dioxide gas generation rate and alcohol production rate online, and it is useful because it allows the production of the same fermented alcoholic beverage at all times. It is. Note that the device of the present invention can be applied without being restricted by the shape of the tank or its capacity.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the rate of carbon dioxide gas generation and the number of days of fermentation in a specific example of fermentation of alcoholic beverages using the apparatus of the present invention. Explanation of drawing symbols 1 Closed fermentation tank, 2. Moromi filling port, 3. Lid, 4
Closed type fermenter surrounding wall, 5 jacket wall, 6 jacket,
7 - Cooling water inlet pipe, 8 Cooling water outlet pipe, 9 Carbon dioxide gas outlet, 10 - Gas conduit pipe, 11 - Moisture separator, 12 -
Gas flow meter, 13 Mash removal valve, 14 RFJ quencher, 15... Mash temperature detection element, 16 Carbon dioxide gas release port, 17 Carbon dioxide temperature detection element, 18 Computer system, 19 Control valve

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A closed type for alcoholic beverages, which has a double jacket structure on the side wall surface, and a chiller that supplies a prescribed amount of cooling water is connected to the jacket via a control valve to circulate the cooling water. In the fermentation tank, a gas flow meter is connected to the fermentation tank via piping, and a signal obtained by measuring the carbon dioxide gas generated by fermentation of the mash in the fermentation tank is input into the computer system,
Cooling is performed by periodically outputting a signal from the computer system and controlling the opening/closing degree of the control valve so that the carbon dioxide gas generation rate matches a set carbon dioxide gas generation rate-elapsed time cycle stored in advance in the computer system. An apparatus for fermenting alcoholic beverages, which is characterized by adjusting water circulation and controlling the temperature of mash to advance fermentation to a carbon dioxide gas generation rate that matches a set carbon dioxide gas generation rate.