Method for treating a wort in a boiling kettle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11725166-B2
Application number	US-201415033880-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 7, 2014
Priority date	Nov 7, 2013
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A method for treating a wort in a kettle provides a kettle with an inlet for feeding a wort into the kettle and with an outlet for flowing the wort out of the kettle. A heating means for bringing the wort contained in the kettle close to or at boiling temperature, as well as for controlling the temperature. A gas sparging system for sparging an inert gas into said wort. Feeding wort from a lautering step into said boiling kettle through the inlet, the wort at a temperature below its boiling temperature. During sparging, heating the wort and maintaining it at a treatment temperature below the boiling temperature of the wort for a duration between 15 and 90 min, and no longer than required to evaporate at most 4 wt. % of water initially in the wort. Transferring the treated wort to a trub separation step through the outlet.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for treating a wort in a kettle comprising the steps of:
(a) providing:
a kettle provided with an inlet suitable for feeding a wort into the kettle and with an outlet suitable for flowing the wort out of the kettle,
heating means suitable for pseudo-boiling the wort which is bringing the wort contained in the kettle to a treatment temperature, T a , which is below the boiling temperature, T b , of the wort, as well as for controlling said temperature,
a gas sparging system suitable for sparging an inert gas into said wort,
(b) feeding wort from a lautering step into said boiling kettle through the inlet, said wort being at a temperature below its boiling temperature T b ,
(c) while sparging an inert gas through the wort, pseudo-boiling said wort to, and maintaining it at the treatment temperature, T a , which is below the boiling temperature, T b , of the wort for a duration, t treat , comprised between 15 and 90 min, and no longer than required to evaporate at most 4 wt % of water initially present in the wort; and
(d) transferring the treated wort to a trub separation step through the outlet; wherein the wort does not reach the boiling temperature, T b , thereof during the whole duration of its residence in said boiling kettle, and
the treatment temperature T a , is between (T b -2° C.) and T b , wherein T b is the boiling temperature of the wort.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is sparged into the wort by means of a gas sparger located at the bottom of the kettle and oriented upwards, said sparger preferably comprising a circular plate cylinder or ring provided with a multitude of apertures.

3. The method to claim 2 , wherein the kettle is of the internal boiler type, comprising vertically oriented heating tubes through which the wort to be heated or to be maintained at elevated temperature flows, said heating tubes being located above the gas sparger.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the kettle is of the external boiler type, comprising heating tubes through which the wort to be heated or to be maintained at elevated temperature flows, said heating tubes being located outside the kettle and in fluid communication therewith through tubing and a pump.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the inert gas sparging flow rate has an initial value upon introduction of the wort in the boiling kettle, which is highest and comprised between 0.05 and 50 m 3 /h/hl wort, and decreases progressively as the wort reaches its treatment temperature, T a , to a value comprised between 25 and 75%, of the initial value of the inert gas sparging flow rate.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the treatment time, t treat , is comprised between 30 and 60 min.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen or carbon dioxide.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the thus treated wort is transferred to a whirlpool and then to further treatment vessels to produce a beer or a malt based beverage.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the beer or malt based beverage has one or more of the following properties:
(a) Foam stability (NIBEM) of at least 150 s;
(b) Haze measured on fresh beer or malt based beverage lower than 1.0 EBC; and/or
(c) Haze measured on beer or malt based beverage aged for 3 days at 60° C. lower than 1.5 EBC.

Assignees

• Anheuser Busch Inbev Sa

Inventors

• De Schütter David

Classifications

• C12C7/22 Primary

  Processes or apparatus specially adapted to save or recover energy · CPC title

• C12C13/08

  with internal heating elements · CPC title

• C12C7/20 Primary

  Boiling the beerwort (brew kettles C12C13/02) · CPC title

• C12C9/02

  Beerwort treatment; Boiling with hops; Hop extraction · CPC title