DE2031068A1 - Process for preserving alcoholic beverages obtained by fermentation - Google Patents

Description

MESSER GRIESHEIM GMBH MG 556

Password: beer

Inventor: Trappmann, Dinglinger

Process for preserving alcoholic beverages obtained by fermentation

The invention relates to increasing the shelf life of beverages, in particular beers, by using inert gases during production, filling and storage these drinks.

In recent times, as a result of longer storage times and exports, the demands on the shelf life of the Drinks provided. In the presence of oxygen, usually atmospheric oxygen, material changes occur of beverages, which have a decisive negative impact on their technological and taste properties.

So the access of oxygen to the drinks is to avoid if possible. The production, incl. Secondary fermentation, transferring, storing and filling should therefore be carried out with the exclusion of oxygen in an inert gas atmosphere take place. The empty space remaining after the storage vessels have been filled should also be filled with inert gas be.

As an inert gas in the sense described above, carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) has so far been considered. Among other things, carbon dioxide is produced during alcoholic fermentation. The emerging

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Cabbage are ioxydmengen end so großj that they could cover their own needs at breweries, "However, it is difficult that at later operations" such as filling, required carbon dioxide in the required purity from the United "to win fermentation products" Besides incur significant in this process Investment costs for closed fermentation vats, pipelines, compressors * Storage ™ and pressure vessels etc »For this reason, the carbon dioxide is partly obtained from gas suppliers«

Carbon dioxide is dissolved in the finished beer (depending on from pressure in more or less large quantities). When the pressure is relieved part of the dissolved CO ^^ amount would be released. Therefore, all transfer and filling operations must be carried out in one higher pressure than the saturation pressure can be made »

In order to maintain this pressure in the tanks or »sales vessels, oxidation processes should be avoided be tensioned with inert gas in any case »

It has been found now surprisingly _s that for this purpose, nitrogen or argon or "other noble gases are ideal.

The present invention relates to a method for Increasing the shelf life of alcoholic beverages obtained through fermentation. The increased durability is achieved by preparing and transferring the drinks under an inert gas atmosphere after the main fermentation, bottled and stored. The inert gas used is mainly nitrogen, but also noble gases such as argon and the like Consideration.

From an economic point of view, the use of nitrogen is of particular interest.

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In order to avoid carbon dioxide losses, the alcoholic beverages that appear during the secondary fermentation are allowed to occur Equilibrium ratios can no longer be changed. This means that when filtering, when changing or Bottling and storage of the drinks must always have a minimum pressure on the liquid. Be like that E.g. the pressure tanks and, in the case of the fully automatic filling machines, the cleaned empty bottles expediently initially charged with gas. It has now proven to be particularly advantageous to apply this preload with an inert gas, e.g. nitrogen. If the bottles are still evacuated before the pre-tensioning, particularly favorable results are achieved by using the In this case, oxygen, which is harmful for storage, is almost completely eliminated. The drinks are then particularly long-lasting.

For the particular clarification of the method according to the invention, various test series with beer were used as alcoholic drink carried out. Through cold stability measurements, shake tests and Op content measurements the expediency of the procedure clearly demonstrated.

In the first series of tests, beer was bottled using an automatically operating filling system performed under different conditions. The conditions of the individual test series were set as follows:

1. Experimental series: storage and pressure tanks were filled with nitrogen

pre-tensioned, filled with beer under positive pressure and later pressed the beer with nitrogen to the bottle filling machines and pressed empty. After a pre-evacuation of 98 %, the bottles were also pre-tensioned with nitrogen.

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2nd series of experiments: pretensioning of the tank as in the 1st series of experiments. The bottles were pressurized with nitrogen, but without pre-evacuation.

5. Test series: Without pre-tensioning the tanks with inert gas

these were filled with beer under positive pressure, and later the beer with nitrogen pushed to the bottling machines. The bottles were evacuated before filling and pressurized with nitrogen.

4th series of experiments: Normally pretreated beer was filled with compressed air. .

The nitrogen supply came from a storage tank for liquid nitrogen. This was stored in a cold carburetor and via a pressure regulator that maintained an equilibrium pressure of 5 atmospheres nitrogen automatically set, directed to the demand points.

Subsequent to bottling according to the specified conditions, the beer was subjected to a cold stabilization test and subjected to a shake test.

When examining the cold stability, the beer is held alternately for 24 hours at + 24 ^° C. and 24 hours at ⁰ ° C. and the turbidity is measured. A cycle of 48 hours is called a warm day.

With the batch the beer in the storage cellar at was - I ⁰ C. shaken and the shaking time until the turbidity measured. The degree of turbidity is measured in EBC units in the Hazemeter (European Brewery Convent). The scale ranges from 0 to 12, with turbidity increasing as the EBC increases. The measured values emerge from the tables in FIGS. 1 and 2.

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The table values clearly show that the best durability of the beer with the method of test series 1, i.e. an embodiment of the method according to the invention, and the worst durability according to the method of test series 4, a method common in tent technology, was achieved. The oxygen content of a bottle from test series 1 was 0.1 mg, that of a bottle from of the test series 4 0.4 mg.

For nitrogen supply in the process according to the invention Commercially available cold carburetors can be used, which can be refilled as required. The nitrogen is converted from a liquid to a gaseous state via air heated evaporator. With the help of standard pressure regulators, inert gas pressures of up to 20 atmospheres can be set automatically can be set.

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Claims (1)

MESSER GRIESHEIM GMBH. "MO-556 Expectations 1. A method for increasing the shelf life of alcoholic beverages obtained by fermentation, characterized in that that alcoholic beverages are only prepared, decanted and bottled under an inert gas atmosphere and be kept. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the inert gas atmosphere consists of nitrogen or a Noble gas, e.g. argon. 25. The method according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that that the alcoholic drink is a beer » 4. The method according to claims 1 to jj *, characterized in that that the alcoholic beverages during the secondary fermentation and during decanting, filling and storage with exposed to an overpressure of inert gas. 5. Process according to Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that that the nitrogen supply from a reservoir for liquid nitrogen via a gasifier and pressure regulator takes place in the beverage container or the piping system of the filling plant. June 19, 1970
Roe / ST 109853/0128