WO2008083718A1

WO2008083718A1 - Beverage kit and method for producing a non-fermented malt beverage

Info

Publication number: WO2008083718A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/000259
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ahmed Zayat; Sherif Alaa El Zayat; Nabil Rizkallah
Original assignee: FAYROUZ INTERNATIONAL AG
Current assignee: FAYROUZ INTERNATIONAL AG
Priority date: 2007-01-12
Filing date: 2007-01-12
Publication date: 2008-07-17
Anticipated expiration: 2009-07-12

Abstract

A kit for the manufacture of a non-fermented malt beverage comprising : a liquid component comprising a flavor; and a powder component comprising an anhydrous acid and a stabilizing agent. The invention also comprises a method for preparing a stable non -fermented malt beverage wherein stabilizers are added during the cold wort preparation process.

Description

BEVERAGE KIT AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING A NON-FERMENTED MALT BEVERAGE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage kit and method for producing a non-fermented malt beverage. Particularly, the present invention is directed to beverage kit that permits consistent reproduction and manufacture of a stable, non-fermented malt beverage and a cold wort preparation process that leads to a stable, non-fermented malt beverage. Description of Related Art Current malted beverage production processes rely on local breweries to produce a product for delivery to consumers. In the typical scenario, each local brewery is responsible for the provision and combination of the ingredients to the final product. As a result, beverages taste and quality can vary from locality to locality based on variables such as, for example, the quality of the ingredients acquired, variations in amounts utilized, differing storage and handling conditions, and others.

Soft drink manufacturers have addressed the above problems associated with their industry through the use of standard kits provided directly by the manufacturer to the local bottlers. These kits contain the proprietary ingredients necessary to consistent taste and quality, for example, acids, color, emulsions, flavor and preservatives. These kits have the added advantage in that proprietary formulas can be kept secret and do not need to be divulged to local bottlers.

Until the present invention, however, kit methods have not been used in the preparation of non-fermented malt beverages. Non-fermented malt beverages have become popular because they can provide the taste and feel of a fermented beverage without the negative side effects of

13221108 1 alcohol. Such beverages are also popular in areas where cultural considerations mandate production of an alcohol free beverage. However, the process of fermentation is necessary to stabilize the beverage. Prior the this invention, it was unknown how to provide a kit for a non- fermented malt beverage that would also be stable and allow consistent quality across local breweries.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The purpose and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in and apparent from the description that follows, as well as will be learned by practice of the invention.

Additional advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the methods and systems particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof, as well as from the appended drawings.

It is an object of the invention to ensure consistent quality and taste for a non-fermented malt beverage across local breweries.

It is another object of the invention to provide a stable non-fermented malt beverage. In brief, one embodiment of the invention is a kit for the manufacture of a non-fermented malt beverage comprising: a liquid component comprising a flavor; and a powder component comprising a stabilizing agent and an anhydrous acid. In yet further embodiments, the liquid components comprises a tracer. In further embodiments still, the powder component comprises a foaming stabilizer. Another embodiment of the invention is a method of brewing a non-fermented malt beverage comprising: providing a kit comprising a powder component and a liquid component, wherein the liquid component comprises a flavor and the powder component comprises an a stabilizing agent and anhydrous acid; adding a sugar solution, water and cold wort to a mixer; adding the anhydrous acid to the mixer; mixing the sugar solution, water, cold wort, anhydrous

13221 168.1 O acid and stabilizing agent to produce a mixture; running the mixture through a heat exchanger; filtering the mixture; and carbonating the mixture.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a flow chart demonstrating the cold wort preparation process. Figure 2 is a diagram representing the beverage preparation process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention. The method and corresponding steps of the invention will be described in conjunction with the detailed description of the system.

One aspect of the invention is the provision of a kit having a liquid component and a powder component. Each of the liquid and powder components comprise one or more subcomponents. Preferably, each component and subcomponent is packaged separately. Thus, the different components may be added at different times during the brewing process according to the inventive method of using the kit. The liquid component comprises at least a flavoring agent, and may also comprise a tracer. The flavoring agent may comprise natural, natural identical, or a combination of natural and natural identical flavors. The tracer may comprise an analytical fingerprint for the proprietary flavor, and is added to the beverage as part of the liquid component as a method for identifying the source of the beverage for quality control purposes. The tracer may have no flavor, be invisible to the consumer and does not act as a stabilizer. The powder component comprises at least a stabilizer and an anhydrous acid, preferably citric acid,

13221108.1 although other acids such as ascorbic acid may be used. The powder component may also contain a foam stabilizer.

Preferably, the kit is composed of two packages. The first contains the liquid flavor component (including the flavor agent), and is preferably packaged in a fixed volume HDPE container at below 20° C. The second package contains the powder components, provided in sachets corresponding to the desired volume. These components are ordinarily stored at room temperature (below 20° C). The kits presented herein may be used for the production of a non- fermented malt beverage, although it should be understood by those skilled in the art of brewing that the beverage may comprise, for example, 100% malt grain, malt extract, malt powder or 25% rice or other starch, such as sorghum, barley or maize.

The steps of the manufacturing process and the inventive steps therein, are described in conjunction with Figure 1. The herein described wort preparation process comprises unique modifications to the known processes, wherein the unique modifications comprise adding stabilizing agents at particular points in the known process. The first step is usually the milling stage. This step comprises receiving malt and rice (if rice is utilized) grain from a silo in the warehouse, and cleaning it by removal of dust, lumps and impurities (such as stones, metal pieces, glass) using separators and magnets. The grist is weighed and the mills cleaned. The process is preferably repeated again for rice grist. Rollers then crush the grist. The crushed malt is transferred to a malt kettle, and the crushed rice to a rice kettle.

Second is the mashing stage. The purpose of mashing is to create enzymatic reactions, wherein enzymes both naturally existing in malt grist and others will change rice starch to soluble sugar. It may be necessary to adjust the pH level to 5.2 during mashing time. The mashing step proceeds in two different kettles as follows:

13221168 1 Λ (1) Rice Kettle: Rice grist is mixed with water (preferably 55⁰C) and α- and β- amylase enzymes, such as Thermamyle™, as generally known in the art. The total time used for rice mashing is 70 minutes as per the following schedule which shows the different temperatures and time used:

Total time 70 minutes

As rice mashing takes longer than malt mashing, rice mashing should preferably begin 30 minutes before the malt mashing.

(2) Malt Kettle: Malt grist, after milling, is mixed with water

(preferably 45⁰C) for 60 minutes as per the following schedule which shows the different temperatures and time used:

Total time 60 minutes

The mashed rice and malt are completed individually at the same time and combined for final mashing. Here, the mashing process between the first and second kettle takes place in one kettle. Final mashing takes approximately 90 minutes. The following schedule, shows the different temperatures and time used:

13221168.1

Total 90 minutes

The third step is the filtration stage. The mash is filtered, preferably using a Lauter-Tun

(L/T) or mash filter as known in the art. The mash is pumped through the L/T or mash filter to run off a first wort. The next step is to sparge the mash with water having a pH of 6.8 and run off the second wort. Spent grains are removed. The Plato of the second wort should not be less than 1%. The wort and sparging water are collected in a wort kettle.

The fourth step is the wort boiling step. The wort is boiled at approximately 103⁰C for 90 minutes, until the extract reaches 10-10.5⁰P. This step comprises adjusting the pH to 5.2. Color is then added. Preferably, the boil results in a 5-10% evaporation of the wort volume in one hour. According to a preferred aspect of the inventive process, during the last 5-10 minutes of the wort boil, 5 g/Hl of stabilizing agent (previously dissolved in warm water) is added. According to the preferred embodiment, although not necessarily, the stabilizing agent is TANAL B™. Alternatively, other stabilizers such as silica gel may be added at this stage.

The fifth step is the trub separation step, wherein the wort is subjected to trub separation. Here, the wort is pumped to a whirlpool at less than about 5 m/s and settled for about 30 minutes to produce a trub.

The sixth step is the cooling step. This step has various inventive aspects. First, the wort is cooled through a heat exchanger to about 1° C. This step differs from prior processes in which cooling is usually done at approximately 12° C. Simultaneously, according to preferred embodiments of the invention, hot and cold precipitated protein is removed by having the dense trub settle to the bottom of the vessel and running off the clear wort, sometimes from a series of

13221168.1 A levels. A further preferred inventive step is the immediate reduction of the wort to a pH of about 3.0, which prevents microbial spoilage. This step can be accomplished through the addition of acids, such as citric acid. Next, the wort is then mixed with a stabilizing agent, such as 5 g/Hl Brewtan C™, polyvinyl polypyrrolidone ("PVPP"), silica gel, or other tannic acid, which has been dissolved or suspended in water. The wort is then stored at about 0° C - 2° C for at least three to five days. At this low temperature, specially selected yeast strains may be added to remove oxygen, but without any significant alcohol production. The end result of this process is a cold wort in which stabilizers have been added at specific points. The addition of the stabilizers as described above in the fourth and sixth steps, as well as the lower temperature and pH, are each an inventive modification to the known cold wort preparation process.

Figure 2 depicts the final preparation states for the beverage. According to the invention, in the first step, the cold wort (with stabilizers added), water, a sugar solution, the anhydrous acid, and flavoring agent including a stabilizer (both from the kit) are mixed to form the mixture.

The resulting mixture is run through a heat exchanger, and then filtered through. In some embodiments, additional acid (such as ascorbic acid) and/or a foam stabilizer is added from the kit.

Finally, the beverage is carbonated with CO₂. Preferably, the carbon dioxide bubbles will be as small as possible to ensure dissolution in the beverage. The result is the finished product.

Another inventive aspect of the invention is the use of block technology to achieve a wider range of stable flavors with reduced flavor stock and increased flavor stability. According to preferred embodiments, flavors are comprised of various blocks, which are individual flavor subcomponents which can be combined according to desired ratios to provide various flavors. For example, complex flavors can be comprised of related flavor blocks such as "green," "fruity," "jammy," "floral," "creamy," "sweet," or "nutty." These blocks can be combined

13221 168.1 7 according to ratios which can be determined to give a desired ultimate flavor, such as "green peach" or "fruity peach."

Block technology may also be used according to a different embodiment in which blocks can be separated by active component rather than flavor characteristic. By separating out active components, the flavor can have a more stable shelf life because those components leading to instability of the final formulation can be maintained separately.

The tracer technology is also herein described. By way of example, tracers can be added to the flavor components in the form of known (to the supplier) ratios of isomers which can be detected to confirm source of the flavor. For example, certain enantiomeric chemicals can be used wherein two enantiomeres can be blended in a specific ratio to provide tracing capability.

By way of further example, (S)-(-)-alpha-terpineol and (R)-(+)-alpha-terpineol may be used.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the method and system of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention includes modifications and variations that are within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

13221108.1

Claims

What Is Claimed Is:

1 1. A kit for the manufacture of a non-fermented malt beverage comprising:

2 a liquid component comprising a flavor; and

3 a powder component comprising a stabilizing agent and an anhydrous acid.

1 2. The kit of claim 1 wherein the liquid component further comprises a tracer.

1 3. The kit of claim 1 wherein the powder component further comprises a foam

2 stabilizer.

1 4. The kit of claim 1 wherein the anhydrous acid is anhydrous citric acid.

1 5. A method of brewing a non-fermented malt beverage comprising:

2 preparing a cold wort, wherein one or more stabilizers are added to the wort

3 during the preparation step;

4 providing a kit comprising a powder component and a liquid component, wherein

5 the liquid component comprises a flavor agent and the powder component comprises a

6 stabilizing agent and an anhydrous acid;

7 adding a sugar solution, water and the cold wort to a mixer;

8 adding the anhydrous acid and the stabilizing agent to the mixer;

9 mixing the sugar solution, water, cold wort, anhydrous acid and stabilizing agent0 to produce a mixture; 1 running the mixture through a heat exchanger; 2 filtering the mixture; and 3 carbonating the mixture.

13221168.1 Q

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the powder component further comprises a foam stabilizer.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising adding the foam stabilizer to the mixture.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the flavoring agent is added to the mixer.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising adding a second anhydrous acid to the mixture.

10. The method of claim 5 wherein the anhydrous acid is citric acid.

11. The method of claim 5 wherein the liquid component further comprises a tracer.

12. The method of claim 5 wherein the wort is cooled to about 1° C.

13. The method of claim 12 further comprising removing hot and cold protein from the wort at the same time as the step of cooling the wort to about 1 ° C.

14. The method of claim 5 further comprising reducing the wort pH to about 3.0.

15. The method of claim 5 further comprising adding yeast for the purpose of removing oxygen but without causing alcohol production.

13221168 1 10

16. A flavor kit for imparting flavor to a non-fermented malt beverage comprising one or more flavor subcomponents.

17. The kit of claim 16 wherein the flavor subcomponents each have a flavor characteristic.

18. The kit of claim 17 wherein the flavor subcomponents are combined to provide a final flavor.

19. The kit of claim 16 wherein the flavor subcomponents each comprises a separate active ingredient.

20. The kit of claim 19 wherein the flavor subcomponents are differentiated by stability imparted to a final beverage formulation.

21. A beverage kit for a non-fermented malt beverage comprising a flavor component, wherein the flavor component comprises a tracer.

22. The kit of claim 21 wherein the tracer comprises a ratio of isomers of an isomeric chemical, said ratio known to the supplier.

23. The kit of claim 22 wherein the isomeric chemical is an enantiomeric chemical.

24. The kit of claim 23 wherein the enantiomeric chemical is a terpineol.

13221168 1 11

25. The kit of claim 24 wherein the isomers are (S)-(-)-alpha-terpineol and (R)-(+)-

alpha-terpineol.

13221168.1 γχ