Refined fermented beverages, and method thereof

Abstract

To provide methods and systems for making refined fermented beverages, including natural malt beverages, having reduced or negligible levels of organic acids, particularly acetic acid, relative to bright beer and other untreated fermented beverages.SOLUTION: The refined fermented beverages are produced using a caustic dosing system to neutralize naturally-present organic acids typically present in untreated fermented beverages and convert them into their respective conjugate bases as salts. The salts of the neutralized organic acids are then removed or separated from the treated fermented beverage to form the refined fermented beverage.SELECTED DRAWING: None

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the production of fermented beverages. [Background technology]

[0002] Traditional fermented beverage (FB) manufacturing processes undergo several processing steps to convert barley malt and other grains into sugar extracts that can be fermented to create drinkable products. One example of a FB is a neutral malt base (NMB), an ideally colorless, tasteless and odorless solution that can be further processed to formulate malt beverages of various flavors. Such processes are described in detail in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,440,795, 5,294,450, 5,618,572 and 7,008,652, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014 / 0127354, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. However, NMB is only one example of a FB, and other examples of FBs include, but are not limited to, beer, wine, spirits, liqueurs, mead, cider, sake, and fermented tea.

[0003] Barley-based beverages have historically been produced in malthouses, where barley is converted into barley malt, and in breweries, where the malt is converted into a malt extract, also known as wort. Malting involves steeping barley grains to promote germination, followed by kiln drying at high temperatures. Brewery-centric processes, known to those skilled in the art, process the malt to break down the starch in the malt into smaller sugars, primarily mono-, di-, and trisaccharides, to form wort. The wort can then be further boiled and blended with other sugars in specific proportions, and hops can be added to produce a final fermentation substrate that can be combined with yeast to produce ethyl alcohol. After fermentation is complete, the fermentation product can be filtered, treated, and decolorized to produce NMB.

[0004] The production of neutral flavored alcoholic beverages utilizing hopped wort is described in Canadian Patent No. 1,034,064, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The process uses as a starting material low kiln malt having a soluble protein content of 30-37% by weight, a moisture content of 5%-6%, and a diastase value of 150-240. The low kiln malt is then mixed with water at 66°C-77°C to form a mash and maintained at that temperature range to produce wort. The wort thereby produced is then boiled for 10-40 minutes, mixed with a carbohydrate supplement and a supplemental nitrogen source, and fermented with brewer's yeast. U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,204, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference, also discloses the production of a neutral flavored alcoholic beverage by mashing well-modified standard brewing malt mixed with fermentable carbohydrates in an amount of 2% to 20% and mixed with water at a temperature of 80° C. to 90° C. in an amount of 80% to 98% to obtain a fermentable solution, which is then cooled, pitched with brewer's yeast, and fermented.

[0005] After post-fermentation processing is complete, the exhaustible NMB product often has an acidic pH. The acidity of NMB can be traced back to the malt grinding process, which converts starch into fermentable sugars. Typically, milled grains are mixed with hot water in a saccharification tank to create a cereal mash. At the high temperatures encountered in this process, insoluble calcium salts can form, which contribute to a decrease in pH in the mash (see South, JB, "Variation in pH and Lactate Levels in Malts" (1996) J. Inst. Brew. 102: 155-159, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). The resulting wort contains a pH ranging from about 5.4 to about 5.8, depending on the type of malt and calcium content. Similarly, organic acids also found in malt, particularly lactic acid, can further decrease the pH of the wort. Additionally, organic acids can be formed in batch or continuous fermentation processes (see Whiting, GC "Organic Acid Metabolism of Yeasts During Fermentation of Alcoholic Beverages--A Review" (1976) J. Inst. Brew. 82: 84-92, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety).

[0006] Conventional techniques used to process FBs, including NMB, generally do not affect the removal of organic acids, such as acetic acid, citric acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, or tartaric acid, that are naturally produced during fermentation. As a result, organic acids can often be found in the FB or NMB that is ultimately consumed. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The present invention provides a method and system for producing purified FB with reduced or negligible levels of acidic congeners compared to FB or NMB processed by conventional means after fermentation. Organic acids retained in consumable FB, including in NMB, defined herein as acidic congeners, can affect the sensory properties of fermented beverages, particularly NMB.

[0008] According to the present invention, one or more of the acid congeners may be organic acid congeners that adversely affect the aroma and / or taste of the FB. According to the present invention, by reducing or eliminating one or more of the organic acid congeners, the aroma and / or taste of the resulting FB can be improved.

[0009] According to the present invention, the raw fermentation product or FB having acid congeners, preferably organic acid congeners, can be produced from any fermentable carbohydrate source selected from the group consisting of grains, fruits, honey, syrup or sap, starchy vegetables, sugars, and any mixture or combination thereof.

[0010] According to the present invention, untreated or unneutralized FB can refer to the FB before the addition of an alkaline treatment agent, in an amount sufficient to convert at least a portion of the acidic homologues contained therein to the corresponding salts, while treated or neutralized FB can refer to the FB produced after the addition of an alkaline treatment agent.

[0011] According to the invention, the fermentable carbohydrate source may be a grain selected from the group consisting of barley, wheat, rye, millet, rice, sorghum, maize, and any mixture or combination thereof. According to the invention, the grain may be a gluten-free grain and may be selected from the group consisting of millet, rice, sorghum, maize, and any mixture or combination thereof. According to the invention, the fermentable carbohydrate source may naturally have a gluten concentration in the range of 0 ppm to 20 ppm. According to the invention, the fermentable carbohydrate source may be modified to reduce or eliminate gluten until the concentration of gluten in the fermentable carbohydrate source is in the range of 0 ppm to 20 ppm. According to the invention, the gluten concentration in the natural fermentable carbohydrate source or in the modified fermentable carbohydrate source may be about 0 ppm, or at least about 1 ppm, 2 ppm, 3 ppm, 4 ppm, 5 ppm, 10 ppm, or 15 ppm, up to at least about 20 ppm.

[0012] According to the present invention, the grain used to produce the refined FB according to the method and system of the present invention can be germinated by a malting process to form malt. According to the present invention, the malt can be further ground to form wort. According to the present invention, the wort can be concentrated to form an extract. However, according to the present invention, the grain used as the fermentable carbohydrate source does not have to go through a malting process. Thus, according to the present invention, any form of grain can be utilized as a fermentable carbohydrate source to produce the unprocessed FB.

[0013] According to the invention, the fermentable carbohydrate source may be a fully fermentable sugar selected from the group consisting of L- and / or D-glucose, maltose, fructose, sucrose, invert sugar, Belgian sugar, brown sugar, golden syrup, maple sugar, raw sugar, and any mixture or combination thereof. According to the invention, the fermentable carbohydrate source may be a sugar mixture where not all of the sugars in the mixture are fermentable, selected from the group consisting of turbinado sugar, molasses, rice syrup solids, and any mixture or combination thereof. According to the invention, the sugar may have any combination of the aforementioned fully fermentable and partially fermentable sugars.

[0014] According to the present invention, any unprocessed fermentation product or FB can be utilized according to one or more of the methods and systems of the present invention described below. Non-limiting examples of FBs include, but are not limited to, NMB, beer, wine, mead, cider, sake, and fermented tea, although one skilled in the art will appreciate that this list is not exhaustive. According to the present invention, the unprocessed fermentation product or FB can be any of the FBs defined below in the "Definitions" section. According to the present invention, the FB can include one or more flavoring and / or stabilizers, including hops, spices, herbs, chocolate, coffee, sweeteners, and the like. According to the present invention, the FB can be hopped or substantially free of hops.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention, the purified FB, particularly the purified NMB, produced by the methods and systems described below can be used to produce a flavored malt beverage (FMB) with a flavor profile that may otherwise clash with organic acid congeners that are common and naturally present in unprocessed FB produced by conventional methods. In accordance with the present invention, the organic acid congeners may include lactic acid, tartaric acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and / or acetic acid.

[0016] In one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of acid congeners, comprising: (a) treating the FB by adding an alkaline treatment agent to the FB to neutralize acid congeners present in the FB; and (b) removing at least a portion of the neutralized acid congeners from the treated FB to produce a purified FB.

[0017] In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid homologs, comprising the steps of: (a) treating an FB having one or more organic acid homologs by adding an alkaline treatment agent to the FB to neutralize at least a portion of the one or more organic acid homologs present in the FB; and (b) separating at least a portion of the neutralized organic acid homologs from the treated FB to produce a purified FB. According to the present invention, substantially all of the organic acid homologs in the FB can be neutralized. According to the present invention, substantially all of the neutralized organic acid homologs can be separated from the treated FB. According to the present invention, all of the organic acid homologs in the FB can be neutralized and / or all of the neutralized organic acid homologs can be separated from the treated FB.

[0018] In another aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners is provided, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an FB having at least one organic acid congener; (b) neutralizing at least a portion of the at least one organic acid congener by titrating or adding an alkaline treatment agent to the FB in an amount sufficient to convert the at least one acid congener to an organic salt to form a neutralized FB; and (c) filtering off at least a portion of the organic salt to produce a purified FB. According to the present invention, substantially all of the organic acid congeners can be neutralized to organic salts. According to the present invention, substantially all of the organic salts can be filtered from the neutralized FB. According to the present invention, all of the organic acid congeners in the FB can be neutralized to organic salts and / or all of the organic salts can be separated from the treated FB.

[0019] In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for producing a purified FB in which all or substantially all of the organic acid congeners are neutralized and removed from the FB solution, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing an FB solution having at least one organic acid congener; (b) treating the FB solution by neutralizing the at least one organic acid congener by adding an alkaline treating agent to the FB solution in an amount sufficient to convert some, all, or substantially all of the at least one organic acid congener to a salt of the organic acid congener; and (c) producing a purified FB by separating some, all, or substantially all of the salt of the organic acid congener from the treated FB solution. According to the present invention, a sufficient amount of the alkaline treating agent can neutralize the FB solution to a pH of at least about 5.5, or within a range of at least about 5.5, such pH may be at least any one of about 5.7, 5.9, or 6.1 and up to about 6.5, which may be up to any one of about 6.7, 6.5, 6.3, or 6.1. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the alkaline treatment may comprise an alkali (Group I) or alkaline earth (Group II) metal hydroxide, preferably sodium hydroxide. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects or embodiments, the alkaline treatment may comprise up to about 50% by volume of food grade sodium bicarbonate. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the at least one organic acid homologue may comprise one or more organic acids. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the FB solution may be bright beer.According to the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of treating the FB solution may include the steps of: (i) providing a FB solution of a predetermined content having at least one organic acid homologue; (ii) titrating a sample of the FB solution of the predetermined content with an alkaline treating agent sufficient to neutralize the at least one organic acid homologue in the sample to a salt form; and (iii) treating the FB solution by adding a predetermined amount of an alkaline treating agent to the FB solution of the predetermined content to neutralize the at least one organic acid homologue in the sample to a salt form, the amount of alkaline treating agent added being determined based on the titration of the sample. According to the present invention, the alkaline treating agent used to treat the FB solution of the predetermined content may be the same alkaline treating agent used to titrate the sample or a different alkaline treating agent in a stoichiometric equivalent amount. According to the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of neutralizing the at least one organic acid homologue may be performed using an in-line caustic dosing system, the caustic dosing system having: (a) a means for supplying FB to the caustic dosing system; (b) at least one pH meter for detecting the pH of the FB; (c) a container for an alkaline treatment agent; (d) a delivery means for providing liquid communication of the alkaline treatment agent between the alkaline treatment container and the supplied FB; and (e) a central programmable logic controller in communication with the at least one pH meter and the alkaline treatment agent delivery means. According to the present invention, using an in-line caustic dosing system, at least one organic acid homolog in an FB solution can be neutralized by the following steps: (i) introducing an FB stream into the in-line caustic dosing system; (ii) detecting the pH of the FB stream with at least one pH meter; (iii) determining, with a central programmable logic controller, a stoichiometric amount of alkaline treating agent required to neutralize the one or more organic acid homologs in the FB stream; and (iv) dispensing a stoichiometric amount of alkaline treating agent from an alkaline treating agent container into the FB stream with a delivery means.According to the present invention, the in-line caustic dosing system may have a pH meter upstream of the delivery of the alkaline treating agent to the FB stream; and a pH meter downstream of the delivery of the alkaline treating agent to the FB stream.

[0020] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an FB solution having at least one organic acid congener; (b) treating the FB solution by neutralizing the at least one organic acid congener by adding an alkaline treating agent to the FB solution in an amount sufficient to convert all or substantially all of the at least one organic acid congener to a salt of the organic acid congener; and (c) producing a purified FB by separating the salt of the organic acid congener from the treated FB solution. According to the invention, a sufficient amount of the alkaline treating agent can neutralize the FB solution to a pH of at least about 5.5 or a pH within a range of at least about 5.5, including a pH of at least about 5.7, 5.9, or 6.1 and up to about 6.5. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects or embodiments, the alkaline treating agent may comprise a Group I or Group II metal hydroxide, particularly sodium hydroxide. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the alkaline treatment may have up to about 50% by volume of food grade sodium bicarbonate. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the at least one organic acid congener may have one or more organic acids. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the FB solution may be bright beer. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the separating step may include filtering the salt of the organic acid congener from the treated FB. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the separating step may consist solely of filtering the salt of the organic acid congener from the neutralized FB. According to the invention useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the FB may have at least about 10% by volume and up to about 20% by volume of ethyl alcohol, and the at least one organic acid congener may have acetic acid.According to the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of treating the FB solution may include the steps of: (i) providing a FB solution having a predetermined content with at least one organic acid homologue; (ii) titrating a sample of the FB solution having the predetermined content with an alkaline treating agent sufficient to neutralize the at least one organic acid homologue in the sample to a salt form; and (iii) treating the FB solution by adding a predetermined amount of an alkaline treating agent to the FB solution having the predetermined content to neutralize the at least one organic acid homologue in the sample to a salt form, the amount of alkaline treating agent added being determined based on the titration of the sample. According to the present invention, the alkaline treating agent used to treat the FB solution having the predetermined content may be the same alkaline treating agent used to titrate the sample or a different alkaline treating agent in a stoichiometric equivalent amount. According to the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of neutralizing at least one organic acid homologue may be carried out using an in-line caustic dosing system, the caustic dosing system having: (a) a means for supplying FB to the caustic dosing system; (b) at least one pH meter for detecting the pH of the FB; (c) a container for an alkaline treatment agent; (d) a delivery means for providing liquid communication of the alkaline treatment agent between the alkaline treatment container and the supplied FB; and (e) a central programmable logic controller in communication with the at least one pH meter and the alkaline treatment agent delivery means. According to the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, at least one organic acid homolog in an FB solution can be neutralized using an in-line caustic dosing system according to the following steps: (i) introducing an FB stream into the in-line caustic dosing system; (ii) detecting the pH of the FB stream using at least one pH meter; (iii) determining, using a central programmable logic controller, a stoichiometric amount of alkaline treating agent required to neutralize the one or more organic acid homologs in the FB stream; and (iv) dispensing a stoichiometric amount of alkaline treating agent from an alkaline treating agent container into the FB stream using a delivery means.In accordance with the present invention, the in-line caustic dosing system may include a pH meter upstream of the delivery of the alkaline treating agent to the FB stream; and a pH meter downstream of the delivery of the alkaline treating agent to the FB stream. A system for neutralizing and removing organic acid congeners from an FB having an in-line caustic dosing system in accordance with the present invention is described in further detail below.

[0021] In another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of acid congeners, comprising the steps of: (a) providing an FB solution having acid congeners; (b) treating the FB solution by adding an alkaline treatment agent to the fermented beverage solution to neutralize at least a portion of the acid congeners; and (c) producing a purified FB by removing the neutralized acid congeners from the treated FB solution. According to the invention, the purified FB has a reduced or negligible concentration of acid congeners, preferably acetic acid, compared to the FB solution. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the neutralized acid congeners may be salts. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the acid congeners may be organic acids. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the acid congeners may be acetic acid. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of removing the neutralized acid congeners may comprise filtering the neutralized acid congeners from the treated fermented beverage. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the step of removing the neutralized acidic congeners may consist only of filtering the neutralized acidic congeners from the treated fermented beverage. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the addition of the alkaline treatment agent may increase the pH of the fermented beverage solution to at least about 5.5 and up to about 8.5. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the alkaline treatment agent may comprise either an alkali metal hydroxide or an alkaline earth metal hydroxide, preferably sodium hydroxide, or the alkaline treatment agent may comprise a weak base, preferably sodium acetate. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the purified FB may have a pH in the range of about 5.8 to about 6.5. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the purified FB may have at least about 10% by volume and up to about 20% by volume of ethyl alcohol. According to the invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above aspects and embodiments, the purified FB may be flavorless.

[0022] According to the invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may retain some of the acidic congeners from the untreated FB. According to the invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may retain none or essentially none of the acidic congeners from the untreated FB.

[0023] According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be beer. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be wine. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be spirits. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be liqueur. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be mead. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be cider. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be sake. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be fermented tea. According to the present invention, the fermented tea may be kombucha, as a non-limiting example. According to the present invention, the kombucha may have alcohol. According to the present invention, the refined FB produced by any of the above methods may be NMB. According to the present invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may be naturally gluten-free, gluten-reduced or gluten-removed, such that the concentration of gluten is in the range of about 0 ppm gluten to about 20 ppm gluten, preferably 0 ppm gluten. According to the present invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may be substantially free of hops. According to the present invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may be substantially free of barley malt. According to the present invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above methods may be free of barley malt.

[0024] Using purified NMB as an example, in one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of producing purified NMB having reduced or negligible levels of acid congeners, comprising the steps of: (a) providing bright beer having at least one acid congener; (b) titrating or adding an alkaline treating agent to the bright beer to convert at least a portion of the at least one acid congener into a salt to form a neutralized bright beer; and (c) producing purified NMB by separating some or all of the salt from the neutralized bright beer. According to the invention, all of the at least one acid congener can be neutralized. According to the invention, all of the salt can be separated from the neutralized bright beer. According to the invention, the acid congener may be an organic acid congener. According to the invention, the separation of the salt from the neutralized bright beer can comprise filtration. According to the invention, the separation of the salt from the neutralized bright beer may consist solely of filtration. In accordance with the present invention, any of the other purified FBs described above or in the "Definitions" section below can be produced by simply substituting bright beer for the desired untreated FB in step (a) above and performing the same step of neutralizing at least a portion of at least one acidic congener to form a salt and isolating some or all of the salt.

[0025] According to the present invention, a purified FB is a FB in which some or all of one or more acidic congeners in the FB are neutralized by an alkaline treatment agent to form salts, and then some or all of the salts are removed from the neutralized FB to produce a purified FB. This application relates to and claims priority from U.S. Nonprovisional Application No. 16 / 101,797 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 880,827, both of which describe and claim the same process of neutralizing some or all of the acidic compounds in the FB to form salts, and then removing some or all of the formed salts to form a purified FB. However, "clarified" is generally a common term within the brewing industry to describe a FB produced by any process in which solids are removed from wort, beer, or other FB. Thus, according to the present invention, a purified FB can also be described as a clarified FB, such as when salts are removed using a separation technique or device that also removes solid particulates, or when a FB that is first clarified with respect to solid materials is subsequently neutralized and purified. Further, in accordance with the present invention, a purified FB may be formed by removing salts from a treated or neutralized FB, without necessarily removing any or all of the other solids present, thereby producing a purified FB that is not a purified FB. In accordance with the present invention, an FB that has been purified, but is not purified, can then be purified to form a purified (and purified) FB. The separation devices and techniques used to form the purified FB and the purified FB are described in further detail below.

[0026] According to the present invention, alternatively, the neutralized acid congeners, organic acid congeners, and / or salts thereof can be optionally retained without subsequently separating, filtering, or otherwise removing them from the neutralized FB. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a neutralized FB having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a FB having at least one organic acid congener; and (b) titrating or adding an alkaline processing agent into the FB in an amount sufficient to neutralize at least a portion of the one or more organic acid congeners present in the FB to form a neutralized FB. Without being limited to a particular theory, it is believed that the organic acid congeners can only be detected by taste when they are in their acidic form, but that organic acid congeners that have been neutralized have a reduced or negligible impact on taste, even if the neutralized organic acid congeners and / or salts thereof are still present in the FB. The impact of acid congeners on the taste and odor of the FB is described in more detail below.

[0027] According to the present invention, the above method can produce a refined FB with reduced or negligible levels of acetic acid, which, if present, may impart undesirable vinegar-like flavor and odor notes in FMB. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be colorless and may have reduced vinegar-like flavor notes and odors compared to untreated bright beer or FB. According to the present invention, the vinegar-like flavor notes and / or odors in the refined FB may be substantially imperceptible to a person drinking or smelling the beverage. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be free of vinegar-like flavor notes and / or odors. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be NMB.

[0028] The alkaline treating agent may have any basic compound capable of reacting with organic acid analogs, including both strong and weak bases. According to the present invention, the alkaline treating agent may be a caustic having at least one Arrhenius base that increases the concentration of hydroxide ions in solution with water. Non-limiting examples include alkali (Group I) and alkaline earth (Group II) metal hydroxides, such as potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, cesium hydroxide, strontium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and rubidium hydroxide. According to the present invention, the alkaline treating agent may have up to about 50% by weight of sodium hydroxide. According to the present invention, the alkaline treating agent may have up to 50% by weight of potassium hydroxide.

[0029] According to the invention, the alkaline treatment agent may comprise a weak base, in which case the base and its conjugate acid are in equilibrium with each other. According to the invention, the alkaline treatment agent may comprise up to 50% by weight of sodium bicarbonate.

[0030] According to the present invention, the alkaline treatment agent can comprise one or more caustic substances, one or more weak bases, and / or a combination of one or more caustic substances and one or more weak bases.

[0031] In one aspect of the present invention, a method for neutralizing at least one organic acid congener in an FB solution, which may include a bright beer solution, is provided, the method comprising the steps of: (1) providing a predetermined amount of an FB stream containing at least one organic acid congener; (2) introducing a neutralizing amount of an alkaline treating agent into the FB stream to adjust the pH of the FB stream to within a target pH range sufficient to neutralize at least a portion of the organic acid congeners in the FB stream; (3) detecting the pH of the treated FB stream; and (4) adjusting the neutralizing amount of the alkaline treating agent based on the detected pH of the treated FB stream to maintain the pH of the treated FB within the target pH range.

[0032] According to the present invention, the amount of the FB flow may be a mass flow rate or a volume flow rate, and the neutralization amount of the alkaline processing agent may be a mass flow rate or a volume flow rate. According to the present invention, the mass flow rate or the volume flow rate of the FB flow may be substantially constant. According to the present invention, the mass flow rate or the volume flow rate of the FB flow can be detected, and the adjustment of the neutralization amount of the alkaline processing agent can be based on the detected pH of the treated FB and the mass flow rate or the volume flow rate of the bright FB.

[0033] According to the present invention, the process of treating the FB to neutralize the acidic congeners present in the FB may include the steps of: (i) preparing a batch of fermented beverage solution having the acidic congeners; (ii) extracting a sample of the fermented beverage solution from the batch; (iii) titrating the sample with an alkaline treatment agent to neutralize at least a portion of the acidic congeners in the sample to form salts; (iv) calculating the amount of salt formed by titrating the sample with the alkaline treatment agent; (v) determining the amount of alkaline treatment agent to be added to the batch based on the titration of the alkaline treatment agent to the sample; and (vi) adding the determined amount of alkaline treatment agent to the batch to neutralize at least a portion of the acidic congeners in the batch to form salts. According to the present invention, the alkaline treatment agent used to treat the predetermined content of the FB may be the same alkaline treatment agent used to titrate the sample, or may be a different alkaline treatment agent in a stoichiometric equivalent amount.

[0034] According to the present invention, the step of neutralizing at least one organic acid homologue may be carried out in a batch (or continuous batch) system having (a) a container for a predetermined amount of FB having the acid homologue; (b) a pH meter for detecting the pH of the FB at a predetermined content; (c) a metering means for introducing a controlled amount of alkaline treating agent to the FB at a predetermined content; and (d) a controller, e.g., a central programmable logic controller, in communication with the pH meter and the metering means. The metering means can be a metering pump or a liquid flow controller.

[0035] According to the present invention, the step of neutralizing at least one organic acid homologue may be carried out in an in-line caustic dosing system, which includes: (a) a piping system for the FB stream; (b) one or more pH meters for detecting the pH of the FB stream or one or more pH meters for detecting the pH of the treated FB stream, or both; (c) an alkaline container for the alkaline treating agent; (d) a metering means for introducing a controlled amount of the alkaline treating agent into the FB stream; and (e) a controller, such as a central programmable logic controller, in communication with the one or more pH meters and the metering means. The metering means can be a metering pump or a liquid flow controller. In some embodiments, the in-line caustic dosing system further includes a mixing means for homogenizing the alkaline treating agent into the FB stream. The mixing means may include an in-line mixer, a holding piping, and an in-line mixing vessel, or a recirculation system.

[0036] According to the present invention, the in-line caustic dosing system may further include a conductivity meter to detect the conductivity of the FB stream or the treated FB stream or both.

[0037] According to the present invention, at least one organic acid homolog in the FB can be neutralized in an in-line caustic dosing system by the following steps: (1) introducing an FB stream having an organic acid into the in-line caustic dosing system; (2) detecting the pH of the FB stream using a pH meter; (3) determining a neutralizing amount of alkaline treating agent sufficient to neutralize the organic acid homolog in the FB stream using a controller; and (4) dispensing the neutralizing amount of alkaline treating agent from an alkaline container into the FB stream downstream of detection by the pH meter by a metering means to form a treated FB stream. According to the present invention, the in-line caustic dosing system can have a pH meter for detecting the pH of the FB stream or for detecting the pH of the treated FB stream or both at a location downstream of where the alkaline treating agent is introduced and mixed into the FB stream. The detected pH of the treated FB stream may be used by the controller to determine a sufficient neutralizing amount of alkaline treating agent.

[0038] According to the present invention, any of the above methods of neutralizing FB using an in-line caustic injection system can further include detecting the conductivity of the FB stream using a conductivity meter. According to the present invention, the detected conductivity of the treated FB stream may be used by the controller to determine a sufficient neutralization amount of alkaline treating agent. According to the present invention, both the detected conductivity and pH of the treated FB stream can be used by the controller to determine a sufficient neutralization amount of alkaline treating agent.

[0039] According to the present invention, any of the above neutralization methods can further include one or more salt removal or salt separation steps that can be performed after neutralizing the organic acid homologs in the FB to remove the salt forms of the organic acid homologs generated during neutralization. According to the present invention, the removal step can include a filtration step and a step of passing the treated FB through a filter to separate and remove the salt forms of the organic acid homologs. A suitable filter can typically include a filter or separation device sufficient for desalination of seawater. Non-limiting examples of the filtration system of the present invention for separating salts from the neutralized FB to form a purified FB can include ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis filtration, and nanofiltration. According to the present invention, the method can also include filtering the FB to remove other particulates or filterable homologs before neutralizing the organic acid homologs in the FB. According to the present invention, the separation can include separation steps in addition to or instead of filtration, including but not limited to column distillation, vacuum distillation, multi-stage flash distillation, multiple effect distillation, vapor compression distillation, ion exchange chromatography, especially cation exchange chromatography, gravity, centrifugation, decantation, freeze-thaw systems, solar evaporation systems, and electrodialysis reversal. According to the present invention, purified FB can be formed by removing at least a portion of the salt form of the organic acid homologues.

[0040] According to the present invention, the salt forms of the organic acid homologs may be separated from the treated FB stream to form a purified FB without the use of distillation. According to the present invention, the salt forms of the organic acid homologs may be removed from the treated FB stream using filtration only.

[0041] The present invention can also include a refined spirit and a method for producing the same, in which a fermented beverage having ethanol and acidic homologues is neutralized to convert at least a portion of the acidic homologues to a salt form, and then the neutralized fermented beverage is distilled to separate the ethanol from the salt form, thereby forming a drinkable refined spirit. The refined spirit has reduced or negligible levels of acidic homologues in the distillate, thereby improving the organoleptic properties. According to the present invention, the refined FB can be distilled after filtering off at least a portion of the salt form of the acidic homologues to separate the ethanol, together with water in the form of an azeotrope, from any trace organic acid homologues or neutralized salt forms or other water-miscible homologues of the organic acid homologues remaining after filtration.

[0042] According to the present invention, without being limited by another theory, it is believed that distillation after neutralization, with or without filtration, removes vinegar-like flavors and aromas from the FB and achieves an overall improved refined spirits taste profile compared to distilled spirits produced by directly distilling bright beer. According to the present invention, the titratable acidity of the refined spirits may be lower than the titratable acidity of the unneutralized distilled spirits. According to the present invention, the titratable acidity of the refined spirits relative to acetic acid may be lower than the titratable acidity of the unneutralized distilled spirits. According to the present invention, the titratable acidity of the refined spirits may be less than about 0.3 grams per liter (g / L) to less than about 0.01 g / L, including less than about 0.2, 0.1, or 0.05 g / L. According to the present invention, the titratable acidity of the refined spirits may be essentially zero or undetectable.

[0043] Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a refined spirit with reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners can include the steps of: (a) providing a FB having ethanol and at least one organic acid congener; (b) titrating or adding an alkaline treatment agent to the FB to convert at least a portion of the at least one acid congener to an organic salt to form a neutralized FB; and (c) producing the refined spirit by distilling ethanol from the neutralized FB containing the organic salt of the acid congener. According to the present invention, the method for producing the refined spirit may further include filtering at least a portion of the organic salt from the neutralized FB prior to the distillation step. According to the present invention, the FB with ethanol that can be used to produce the refined spirit can be beer.

[0044] According to the present invention, spirits prepared and distilled by conventional processes may contain residual amounts of one or more acid or organic acid congeners that were present in the FB prior to distillation. In another aspect of the present invention, a method for producing a refined spirit with reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners is provided, comprising the steps of: (a) providing a distilled beverage having ethanol and at least one organic acid congener; (b) titrating or adding an alkaline treatment agent to the distilled beverage to convert at least a portion of the at least one acid congener to an organic salt to form a neutralized distilled beverage; and (c) separating at least a portion of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage to produce a refined spirit. According to the present invention, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage may comprise filtering. According to the present invention, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage may comprise filtering. According to the present invention, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage may comprise a second distillation. According to the present invention, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage may comprise filtering and a second distillation. According to the present invention, all organic acid congeners can be separated from the neutralized distilled beverage to form a refined spirit.

[0045] In another aspect, the present invention provides a neutralization system for neutralizing and removing acidic congeners in an FB to produce a purified FB, the neutralization system having: (a) an in-line caustic dosing system configured to treat the FB by titrating or adding an alkaline treating agent to the FB to neutralize the organic acid congeners; and (b) at least one separation device configured to separate the neutralized organic acid congeners from the treated FB to produce the purified FB.

[0046] In another aspect of the invention, the neutralization system can include: (a) an in-line caustic injection system to neutralize the organic acid congeners in the bright beer stream; and (b) a filter or other device to separate the salt form of the organic acid congeners from the treated FB stream.

[0047] In accordance with the present invention, which is useful in combination with any one or more of the above neutralization systems, an in-line caustic dosing system can include one or more pH meters configured to monitor the pH of the FB stream, the treated FB stream, or both; a container for the alkaline treating agent; a metering means for the alkaline treating agent; and a central programmable logic controller configured to monitor the pH of the FB stream, the treated FB stream, or both detected by the one or more pH meters and to control the amount of alkaline treating agent dispensed from the container by the metering means.

[0048] According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treating agent that can be titrated into the FB in any of the above methods or systems can be an amount sufficient to neutralize at least about 10% of the organic acid congeners present in the FB, and up to at least about 99.9% of the organic acid congeners present in the FB. According to the present invention, sufficient alkaline treating agent can be titrated into the FB such that all or substantially all of the organic acid congeners present in the FB are neutralized. According to the present invention, sufficient alkaline treating agent can be titrated into the FB such that less than about 99.9% of the organic acid congeners present in the FB, and at least less than about 25% of the organic acid congeners present in the FB, are neutralized. According to the present invention, from about 90% to up to about 99% of the acid congeners present in the FB can be neutralized.

[0049] Similarly, the amount of organic acid homologues neutralized can be controlled by the amount of alkaline treatment agent, particularly sodium hydroxide, added to the FB to achieve the target pH maintained in the neutralized or treated FB. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB can be at least about 5.0, and up to at least about 8.7. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB can be less than about 8.7, even less than about 5.0. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB can be from about 5.5 to about 7.0. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB can be from about 5.8 to about 6.5. According to the present invention, any two pH values ​​listed above from 5.0 to 8.5 can be selected to form a target pH range for the neutralization of the FB without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0050] According to the present invention, when distillation is used alone or in combination with one or more filters during the removal or separation step during the production of refined spirits, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB when producing refined spirits may be at least about 5.0, and at most about 8.7. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB when producing refined spirits may be less than about 8.7, and even less than about 5.0. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB when producing refined spirits may range from about 5.5 to a maximum of about 7.0. According to the present invention, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB when producing refined spirits may range from about 5.8 to a maximum of about 6.5. According to the present invention, any two pH values ​​listed above between 5.0 and 8.5 can be selected to form a target pH range for neutralizing the FB to form a refined spirit without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0051] According to the present invention, whether the raw FB, clarified FB, treated FB, or neutralized FB is distilled, the purified FB should have a pH of at least about 5.0 to at least about 8.7. According to the present invention, the pH of the purified FB may be less than about 8.7, even less than about 5.0. According to the present invention, the pH of the purified FB may range from about 5.5 to a maximum of about 7.0. According to the present invention, the pH of the purified FB may range from about 5.5 to a maximum of about 6.5. According to the present invention, the pH of the purified FB may range from about 5.8 to a maximum of about 6.5. According to the present invention, the purified FB should have a pH in the range between any two of the above pH values ​​of 5.0 to 8.5 without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0052] According to the present invention, the pK of the organic acid present in the FB aBased on this, the amount of alkaline treating agent titrated into the FB may be an amount sufficient to raise the pH enough to cause at least about 10% of the organic acids, which may be at least about 25%, or at least about 50%, or at least about 60%, or at least about 70%, or at least about 75%, or at least about 80%, or at least about 85%, or at least about 90%, or at least about 95%, or at least about 96%, or at least about 97%, or at least about 98%, or at least about 99%, or at least about 99.5%, or at least about 99.9% of the organic acids to be present in the treated FB in their conjugate base form upon their neutralization. According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treatment agent titrated into the FB may be sufficient to raise the pH enough to cause less than about 99.9% of the organic acids to be present in the treated FB in their conjugate base form upon neutralization, which may be less than about 99.5%, or less than about 99%, or less than about 98%, or less than about 97%, or less than about 96%, or less than about 95%, or less than about 90%, or less than about 85%, or less than about 80%, or less than about 75%, or less than about 70%, or less than about 60%, or less than about 50%, or less than about 25%, or less than about 10%. According to the present invention, from about 80% to up to about 99.9% of the organic acids in the treated FB may be in their conjugate base form. According to the present invention, from about 90% to up to about 99% of the organic acid homologues in the treated FB may be in their conjugate base form. According to the present invention, about 92% to about 97% of the organic acid congeners in the treated FB may be in their conjugate base form. According to the present invention, about 95% of the organic acid congeners in the treated FB may be in their conjugate base form.Similarly, according to the present invention, at least about 10% (which can be at least about 25%, or at least about 50%, or at least about 60%, or at least about 70%, or at least about 75%, or at least about 80%, or at least about 85%, or at least about 90%, or at least about 95%, or at least about 96%, or at least about 97%, or at least about 98%, or at least about 99%, or at least about 99.5%, or at least about 99.9%) of the organic acids present in their conjugate base form as salts upon neutralization can be separated and removed from the treated FB when forming the purified FB using any of the filtration, distillation, and / or separation devices described above. According to the present invention, less than about 99.9% (which may be less than about 99.5%, or less than about 99%, or less than about 98%, or less than about 97%, or less than about 96%, or less than about 95%, or less than about 90%, or less than about 85%, or less than about 80%, or less than about 75%, or less than about 70%, or less than about 60%, or less than about 50%, or less than about 25%, or less than about 10%) of the organic acids present in their conjugate base form as salts upon neutralization can be separated and removed from the treated FB using any of the filtration, distillation and / or separation devices described above when forming the purified FB. According to the present invention, from about 80% up to about 99.9% of the salts can be removed from the treated FB after neutralization. According to the present invention, from about 90% up to about 99% of the salts can be removed from the treated FB after neutralization. According to the present invention, about 92% up to about 97% of the salts can be removed from the treated FB after neutralization. According to the present invention, about 95% of the salts can be removed from the treated FB after neutralization.

[0053] According to the present invention, any of the above methods or systems can be directed to neutralizing one or more selected organic acid congeners. According to the present invention, a method or process can be utilized to neutralize and / or remove acetic acid as an acid congener. Upon addition of an alkaline treating agent, the acetic acid is then neutralized to acetate, which is a salt with its conjugate base. The pH of the treated FB can be adjusted to the pK of acetic acid. aBy comparing the pH of the treated FB with the pH of the treated FB, the relative abundance of acetate compared to acetic acid in the treated FB can be calculated. According to the present invention, the relative abundance of acetate compared to acetic acid in the treated FB can be at least about 50:50, and at most about 99.9:0.1. According to the present invention, the relative abundance of acetate to acetic acid in the treated FB can be from about 90:10 to at most about 99:1. According to the present invention, all or substantially all of the acetic acid in the FB can be neutralized to acetate. According to the present invention, all or substantially all of the acetic acid can be neutralized when the pH of the FB is increased to at least 8.7.

[0054] According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treatment agent added to the FB can be sufficient to reduce the vinegar-like flavor and / or odor due to the presence of acetic acid in the FB. According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treatment agent added to the FB can be sufficient to substantially eliminate the vinegar-like flavor due to acetic acid. According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treatment agent added to the FB can be sufficient to substantially render the vinegar-like odor due to acetic acid imperceptible. According to the present invention, the amount of alkaline treatment agent added to the FB can be sufficient to render the resulting treated or neutralized FB sensorily pure.

[0055] According to the present invention, the purified FB produced by any of the above neutralization methods or systems without distillation has an alcohol content (ABV) of at least about 0.05% by volume and at most about 65% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the purified FB is from about 65% by volume or less to at least about 0.1% by volume or less. According to the present invention, trace amounts of alcohol can be retained in the purified FB having an ABV of less than 0.05% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the purified FB is from about 4% by volume to at most about 20% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the purified FB is from about 10% by volume to at most about 20% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the purified FB can be within a range including any two of the above listed ABV values ​​from 0.05% by volume to 65% by volume without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0056] According to the present invention, the ABV of the refined spirit produced by any of the neutralization methods or systems described above is at least about 5% by volume, and at most at least about 95% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the refined spirit is about 95% by volume or less, and up to about 8% by volume or less. According to the present invention, small amounts of alcohol can be retained in refined spirits having an ABV of less than 5% by volume. According to the present invention, the ABV of the refined spirit can be within a range of 5% by volume to 95% by volume, inclusive of any two of the ABV values ​​listed above, without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0057] In another aspect of the invention, a purified FB is provided having the following characteristics: (a) a pH in the range of 5.5-8.5, preferably 5.8-6.5, and / or (b) at least 10% by volume and up to 20% by volume of ethyl alcohol, and / or (c) a combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts less than 1000 ppm. According to the invention, the purified FB may have a titratable acidity for acetic acid of less than about 0.5 grams / liter, preferably less than about 0.25 grams / liter of the purified FB, and a protonated acetic acid concentration of less than about 100 ppm, preferably less than about 50 ppm, more preferably less than 25 ppm. According to the invention, the purified FB may have no measurable protonated acetic acid and / or no titratable acidity for acetic acid. According to the invention, the purified FB may be a naturally gluten-free, gluten-reduced, or gluten-removed FB having a gluten range of 0 ppm to 20 ppm, preferably 0 ppm gluten. According to the present invention, the gluten concentration in the refined FB may be about 0 ppm, or at least about 1 ppm, 2 ppm, 3 ppm, 4 ppm, 5 ppm, 10 ppm, or 15 ppm, up to at least about 20 ppm. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be beer. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be wine. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be spirits. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be liqueur. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be mead. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be cider. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be sake. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be fermented tea. According to the present invention, the fermented tea may be kombucha, as a non-limiting example. According to the present invention, the kombucha may have alcohol. According to the present invention, the refined FB may be NMB. According to the present invention, the refined FB may further be any of the FBs listed in the "Definitions" section below. According to the present invention, the refined FB may further be any of the distinct versions of the FBs listed in the "Definitions" section below. According to the present invention, any of the above purified FB may be produced according to any of the methods and / or systems described above.According to the present invention, any of the purified FBs described above may have any of the properties of any of the purified FBs produced according to any of the methods and / or systems described above.

[0058] These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0059] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a caustic dosage system and process for neutralizing organic acids in an FB solution using a batch neutralization system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a caustic dosage system and process for neutralizing organic acids in an FB solution using a sequential batch neutralization system. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a caustic dosage system and process for neutralizing organic acids in an FB solution using an in-line continuous neutralization system that uses a caustic solution metering pump. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a caustic input system and process similar to FIG. 3, using a caustic flow control valve pump. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 shows another schematic diagram of a caustic dosing system and process for neutralizing organic acids in the FB solution with a means to divert the bright beer stream to the pH monitoring and dosing system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0060] definition As used herein, the term "and / or," when used in the context of a list of entities, means that the entities are present either singly or in combination. Thus, for example, the phrase "A, B, C, and / or D" includes A, B, C, and D individually, but also any and all combinations and subcombinations of A, B, C, and D.

[0061] As used herein, the terms "bright beer" or "brite beer" refer to the crude, drinking-grade, ethyl alcohol-containing fermented liquid product after the yeast has been decanted, filtered, or otherwise removed, and the term "treated bright beer" refers to a solution of bright beer after treatment with a neutralizing or alkaline treating agent.

[0062] As used herein, the term "caustic" refers to compounds that completely dissociate to yield hydroxide ions when they interact with water to form a solution having a strongly basic pH. Such compounds may include, but are not limited to, Group I and Group II hydroxides, such as potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, cesium hydroxide, strontium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and rubidium hydroxide.

[0063] As used herein, the term "clarified" with respect to a "clarified fermented beverage" may refer to a general term within the brewing industry describing any process in which solids are removed from wort, beer, or other fermented beverage. According to the present invention, the clarification of the fermented beverage or purified fermented beverage may be achieved using any mechanical, chemical, or physical separation technique. Non-limiting examples include ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis filtration, nanofiltration, granular activated carbon separation, column distillation, vacuum distillation, multi-stage flash distillation, multiple effect distillation, vapor compression distillation, ion exchange chromatography, especially cation exchange chromatography, gravity, centrifugation, decantation, freeze-thaw systems, solar evaporation systems, and electrodialysis reversal.

[0064] As used herein, the term "congener" refers to a substance other than the desired type of alcohol, ethanol, produced during fermentation that may be present in small amounts in a fermented beverage. Examples of conventional congeners include chemicals such as methanol, acetone, acetaldehyde, esters, tannins, aldehydes, and other organic compounds.

[0065] As used herein, the phrase "acid congener" refers to an organic acid that can affect the taste or odor of a fermented beverage, examples of which can include acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, tartaric acid, and butyric acid. The phrase "acid congener" can refer to all acids or organic acids present in a fermented beverage, or it can refer to a subset of acids or organic acids present down to a single acid or organic acid.

[0066] As used herein, the term "fermented beverage" (FB) refers to a liquid beverage solution that is the product of fermentation from any fermentable sugar source, whether or not it contains ethyl alcohol, generally after the yeast has been removed. FB includes acidophilin, agkud, areberry, amasi, aleberry, amazake, apo, ara, bahalina, bais, basi, beer, bignay wine, bikkle, bionade, blaand, boj, boza, brottrunk, Calpis, cauim, chhaang, Chibuku Shake, chicha, cider, coyol wine, doogh, duhat wine, fassbrause, ginger beer, etc. beer, gouqi jiu, handia, hardaliye, huangjiu, ibwatu, intus, jabol, jun, kabarwaran, kasiri, kefir, kilju, kinutil, kombucha, kumis , kvass, kwete, lambanog, lassi, mageu, malt drink, malt beverage, matzoon, mauby, mbege, merisa, neera, nihamanchi, oshikundu, palek, palm wineExamples of fermented beverages include, but are not limited to, FB, pangasii, parakaria, perry, podpiwek, pruno, pulque, purl, rejvelac, sake, ryazhenka, salgam, sikye, tapuy, tejuino, tepache, tesguino, thwon, tibicos, tiswin, tongba, tono, tuba, umqombothi, wine, and zincica. The term "fermented beverage" also includes FB that has been distilled to form a spirit.

[0067] As used herein, the term "flavored malt beverage" (FMB) refers to the final malt beverage product that is formed when a neutral malt base is filtered, processed and treated to produce a consumable beverage product.

[0068] As used herein, the term "gluten-free" means that the FB or refined FB is substantially free of gluten. A gluten-free fermented beverage (GFB) can be prepared by fermenting sugars from any fermentable sugar source, including gluten-free cereals. Such gluten-free cereals include, but are not limited to, millet, rice, sorghum, buckwheat and / or corn. According to the present invention, a GFB is prepared in the absence of malt, particularly barley malt, or hops.

[0069] As used herein, the term "gluten-reduced" or "gluten-removed" means that the FB or refined FB contains less than 20 ppm gluten. Generally, gluten-reduced and gluten-removed FB are prepared from barley, rye, and other fermentable sugar sources that contain gluten but remove the gluten from the beverage after fermentation is complete. However, gluten-reduced and gluten-removed beverages can be prepared from fermentable sugar sources that contain minimal gluten, less than 20 ppm in total.

[0070] As used herein, the term "mash" or "mashing" refers to the process of converting the starch normally present in malt into lower sugar molecules, including mono-, di-, and trisaccharides, suitable for fermentation by yeast to produce ethyl alcohol.

[0071] As used herein, the terms "neutralize" or "neutralizing" refer to neutralizing at least a portion of the acids, including organic acids, in the fermented beverage with an alkaline treatment agent to form organic salts therefrom.

[0072] As used herein, the term "neutral malt base" (NMB) or "malt beverage base" refers to an ethyl alcohol-containing liquid formed as a result of filtering, processing, and / or decolorizing bright beer or other fermented beverage. In accordance with the present invention, the NMB produced by the methods and systems of the present invention is colorless, tasteless, and / or odorless.

[0073] As used herein, the term "organoleptically pure" refers to a neutralized or purified FB that is substantially free of perceptible tastes or odors from the organic acid congeners that were originally present in the FB prior to neutralization, even if some of the organic acid congeners may still be present in their acidic form after neutralization and / or separation.

[0074] As used herein, the term "purified" with respect to a "purified fermented beverage" may refer to a fermented beverage produced by the method and system of the present invention, in which some or all of one or more acid congeners in the fermented beverage are neutralized by an alkaline treatment agent to form salts, and then some or all of the salts are removed from the neutralized fermented beverage to produce a purified fermented beverage. In accordance with the present invention, a purified fermented beverage may be prepared from a clarified fermented beverage that has been clarified with respect to solids in the wort, beer, or other fermented beverage, but has not been clarified with respect to some or all of the acid congeners that naturally form during fermentation. In accordance with the present invention, a purified fermented beverage may be prepared from a fermented beverage from which only solids are removed, or from a fermented product that has not been previously clarified. In accordance with the present invention, a fermented beverage may be simultaneously clarified and purified, so long as the separation technique or device removes, in addition to salts, solids that would normally be removed during clarification. In accordance with the present invention, a neutralized fermented beverage may be purified to form a purified FB without forming a clarified FB, and the purified FB may later be purified to form a clarified FB.

[0075] As used herein, the term "titratable acidity" is a measure of the total mass of titratable acids in a solution, typically expressed as grams per liter. The total mass of titratable acids includes both hydronium ions and weak acids that are still protonated, such as acetic acid (CH3COOH). In the brewing industry, titratable acidity is often used to quantify the organic acids present in a given FB, GFB, gluten-reduced or gluten-removed FB, NMB, FMB, beverage spirits, or other neutralized products to assess the perceptible acidity in a beverage.

[0076] As used herein, the term "wort" or "malt extract" refers to a sugar-rich solution or mixture resulting from the mashing and / or cooking process suitable for fermentation by yeast to produce ethyl alcohol.

[0077] Preparation of neutral malt base The present invention provides methods and systems for preparing neutralized or purified FB from raw or untreated FB and other fermentation products that contain measurable levels of acid congeners, particularly organic acid congeners. The methods presented herein generally include the steps of adding an alkaline treatment agent to the fermentation product, FB or bright beer to react or neutralize at least a portion of the acid congeners in the fermentation product, FB or bright beer to form salts. At least a portion of the salts can then be separated from the treated bright beer or FB to produce the purified FB.

[0078] To generally describe the inventive system and process for FB, an example of a system or process for producing purified NMB from bright beer solution or stream is described below. In some embodiments, the purified NMB is colorless, tasteless and / or odorless, and contains reduced or negligible levels or amounts of organic acid congeners compared to the levels or amounts of organic acid congeners in the untreated fermentation product and FB. Without being limited by a particular theory, FMB produced from purified NMB may have a more pleasant taste profile as a result of removing the organic acids naturally present after the brewing and fermentation process. Similarly, removing the organic acids from NMB produces a more versatile NMB to which a variety of flavoring agents can be added, especially those that combine with organic acids naturally present in conventional NMB to produce an unpleasant tasting FMB. Furthermore, it is believed that fewer flavoring agents, especially sugars, are required to be combined with the NMB produced by the inventive method compared to NMB that has not been neutralized by the addition of an alkaline processing agent to ultimately produce FMB of the same or comparable organoleptic quality.

[0079] Conventional methods of brewing NMB are widely known in the art and are described in detail in, among others, U.S. Patent Nos. 4,440,795, 5,294,450, 5,618,572, and 7,008,652, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014 / 0127354, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In general, to produce conventional NMB, one must first obtain a supply of malt. The malt may be of any conventional type known in the art suitable for producing beer and other brewed beverages. One non-limiting example of a suitable malt is "Brewers Malt" available from Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. The malt is then combined with deionized water and heated at high temperature to produce a mash. At this stage, the mash contains a variety of malt-derived fermentable sugars (e.g., including but not limited to, maltose and maltotriose) that can be fermented by yeast to ethyl alcohol, as well as some malt-derived non-fermentable sugars (e.g., including but not limited to, maltotetraose and maltopentaose) that cannot be broken down into ethyl alcohol by yeast.

[0080] However, precipitation of phosphates and proteins from the malt during the mashing process can result in the formation of insoluble calcium salts, which are strongly correlated with a decrease in the pH of the mash product. Additionally, some malt varieties contain high levels of lactate (see South, JB "Variation in pH and Lactate Levels in Malts" (1996) J. Inst. Brew. 102: 155-159, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety), acetate, butyrate, and propionate that ultimately migrate into the mash. For example, South determined that lactate concentrations in several varieties of malt ranged from 17.6 to 126.3 milligrams per 100 grams of malt (dry weight). Lactate concentration is inversely proportional to the pH of the wort, ranging from 5.59 for the highest lactate concentration to 6.02 for the lowest lactate concentration.

[0081] After producing the mash product, several methods known in the art can be utilized to produce a sugar-rich wort suitable for fermentation, including, but not limited to, adding enzymes capable of degrading starch and / or sequentially heating the mash to add enzymes capable of catalyzing the chemical conversion of starch to sugars.

[0082] The mash is then physically treated using any device known in the brewing art to filter the mash and remove solids therefrom. The liquid filtrate, colloquially known as wort or malt extract, can then be collected and transferred to a brew kettle in the presence of additional fermentable sugars (e.g., dextrose, sucrose and / or corn syrup) and optionally "hop materials," which can encompass a wide variety of different products, including but not limited to hop cones, pre-isomerized pelleted hops, and / or solvent-extracted concentrated hop extracts. Yeast can then be added to the wort to initiate fermentation, which is continued until no fermentable sugars remain. Generally, the fermentation process can last 7-11 days, although the fermentation time ultimately depends on many factors, including but not limited to temperature. Increased temperature generally speeds up fermentation, but excess heat can cause some problems and is often avoided.

[0083] After fermentation is complete, yeast from the alcohol-containing fermentation product is allowed to settle from the product and removed by conventional decantation or filtration techniques to form bright beer. Bright beer generally has a pH of about 4.0+ / -0.25, based on the identity and total concentration of organic acids present, and is usually colored, aromatic, and unsuitable for use in making FMB. However, the acids, including organic acids, in the mash product are retained throughout the brewing process and are not suitable for either filtration or purification techniques, where the organic acid congeners contribute undesirable tastes or odors when mixed with certain flavor additives to form FMB. In contrast, NMB produced by any of the methods of the present invention described below can be colorless, tasteless, and / or odorless. More generally, removing acid congeners from any type of FB to produce a purified FB using any of the methods and systems described below can create a more pleasant organoleptic experience for the person consuming the beverage.

[0084] Aspects of the invention In one embodiment, the present invention provides a method of producing a purified FB from an FB solution having one or more organic acid congeners, the method comprising: (a) neutralizing one or more organic acid congeners contained in the FB solution by titrating or adding an alkaline treatment agent to the FB in an amount sufficient to convert at least a portion of the one or more organic acid congeners to their conjugate bases to form organic salts; and (b) producing a purified FB by removing the organic salts. In one embodiment of the present invention, the sufficient amount of alkaline treatment agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to at least about 5.0, including at least about 5.5, 5.8, 5.9, 6.0, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.8, 7.0, 7.5, 7.8, 8.0, 8.2, or 8.5, including at least about 8.7. In some embodiments, a sufficient amount of the alkaline treating agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to less than about 5.0, including less than about 8.7, 8.5, 8.2, 8.0, 7.8, 7.5, 7.0, 6.8, 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, 6.2, 6.1, 6.0, 5.9, 5.8, or 5.5. In some embodiments, a sufficient amount of the alkaline treating agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to a pH range of about 5.5 up to about 5.8, or 5.9, or 6.0, or 6.1, or 6.2, or 6.3, or 6.5, or 6.8, or 7.0, or 7.5, or 7.8, or 8.0, or 8.2, or 8.5. In some embodiments, a sufficient amount of alkaline treating agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to a pH range of about 5.8 up to about 5.9, or 6.0, or 6.1, or 6.2, or 6.3, or 6.5, or 6.8, or 7.0, or 7.5, or 7.8, or 8.0, or 8.2, or 8.5. In some embodiments, a sufficient amount of alkaline treating agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to a pH range of about 6.0 up to about 6.1, or 6.2, or 6.3, or 6.5, or 6.8, or 7.0, or 7.5, or 7.8, or 8.0, or 8.2, or 8.5. In some embodiments, the target pH of the treated or neutralized FB is about 6.5 up to about 6.8, or 7.0, or 7.5, or 7.8, or 8.0, or 8.2, or 8.5.In some embodiments, a sufficient amount of alkaline treatment agent is sufficient to raise the pH of the FB solution to a pH range of 5.0 or more and 8.5 or less, including any two of the pH values ​​listed above, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Organic acid congeners can include, but are not limited to, organic carboxylic acids such as acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, tartaric acid, and butyric acid.

[0085] After removal or separation of the salt forms of the organic acid homologues from the pH-treated FB solution, the pH of the resulting purified FB is determined by the pK a Depending on the pH of the unfiltered and neutralized bright beer, the purified FB may have a slightly different pH, partially lower, or partially higher. In some embodiments, the purified FB has a lower pH than the pH-treated FB in which the organic acid congeners have been neutralized but not removed. In some embodiments, the neutralized organic acid congeners can be retained in the pH-treated FB without a subsequent removal step.

[0086] The alkaline treatment agent may include one or more basic compounds, including both strong and weak bases, that can react with and neutralize organic acids. Suitable strong bases may include, but are not limited to, caustic solutions having at least one Arrhenius base that increases the concentration of hydroxide ions in a solution containing water, such as alkali (Group I) and alkaline earth (Group II) metal hydroxides, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, barium hydroxide, cesium hydroxide, strontium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and rubidium hydroxide. The stock solution of caustic solution may be of any concentration, but in some embodiments, the concentration is high enough to safely add a minimal amount of caustic solution to neutralize the acidic congeners in bright beer without substantially affecting its volume. In some embodiments, the caustic solution has a solution of up to 50% (v / v) of sodium hydroxide. In some embodiments, the caustic material has a solution of up to 50% (v / v) of potassium hydroxide.

[0087] Upon reaction with any one of the metal hydroxides listed above, at least one organic acid homologue is converted to a salt and water according to the net ionic equation of Equation 1 below.

[0088] [ka]

[0089] In a non-limiting example, when the organic acid analog is acetic acid, the neutralization reaction proceeds according to Equation 2 shown below.

[0090] [ka]

[0091] In other embodiments, the alkaline treatment agent can have a weak base. Generally, a weak base does not completely dissociate in water and can exist in equilibrium with its conjugate acid. As with a strong base, sufficient weak base can be added to neutralize a portion of the acidic congeners in the FB. In some embodiments, sufficient weak base is added to completely neutralize all the acidic congeners present. Suitable weak bases can include, but are not limited to, sodium acetate, sodium bicarbonate, and ammonium hydroxide. In some embodiments, the alkaline treatment agent has ammonium hydroxide. As a non-limiting example, the formula for the neutralization reaction between acetic acid and ammonium hydroxide is shown below in Equation 3.

[0092] [ka]

[0093] However, in any reaction between a weak acid and a weak base, the resulting net ionic equation results in the production of water according to Equation 4 below.

[0094] [ka]

[0095] In other embodiments, neutralization of at least one acidic congener can be accomplished by titrating an alkaline treating agent into bright beer in an amount sufficient to convert at least a portion of the organic acid congeners in the FB into organic salts or their filterable forms. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the organic acid congeners in the FB are neutralized into organic salts or their filterable forms, which can be accomplished by raising the pH sufficient to reach or exceed the equivalence points of the organic acid congeners in the FB and convert the organic acid congeners to their respective conjugate bases. Titrating a weak acid with a strong base, such as NaOH, results in an equivalence point above pH 7. As a non-limiting example, the pK of acetic acid is a is 4.75, and the pH at the equivalence point where all or substantially all of the acetic acid has been converted to acetate is typically about 8.7 to 8.8. Raising the pH of the FB above the equivalence point with a strong base simply adds more hydroxide ions to the solution without measurably affecting the concentration of acetic acid.

[0096] In some embodiments, purified NMB that is substantially free of measurable organic acids can be produced, for example, when a completely flavorless, odorless, and colorless beverage is desired. Such purified NMB can be used universally as the base for the widest variety of flavored beverages without clashing with any of the flavors introduced in the production of flavored beverages. However, in some embodiments, purified FB or NMB that retains some of the organic acids after neutralization may be desired. In some embodiments, the flavor provided by some organic acids can complement or enhance the odor and / or taste of compounds added during the flavoring process to produce flavored beverages, and complete neutralization of these acids may adversely affect a person's organoleptic experience.

[0097] Thus, in some embodiments, neutralization of at least one acidic congener can be accomplished by titrating an alkaline treating agent into the FB or bright beer in an amount sufficient to convert at least a portion of the organic acids in the FB or bright beer into organic salts or filterable forms thereof. In some embodiments, the amount of alkaline treating agent added to the FB is an amount sufficient to neutralize at least about 10% by weight of the organic acid congeners in the FB, which can be at least about 25 weight percent (%), or at least 50% by weight, or at least 60% by weight, or at least 70% by weight, or at least 75% by weight, or at least 80% by weight, or at least 85% by weight, or at least 90% by weight, or at least 95% by weight, or at least 96% by weight, or at least 97% by weight, or at least 98% by weight, or at least 99% by weight, or at least 99.5% by weight, or at least about 99.9% by weight of the organic acid congeners in the FB. In some embodiments, less than about 99.9% by weight of the organic acid congeners in the FB are neutralized, including less than about 99.5%, 99%, 98%, 97%, 96%, 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 60%, 50%, or 25% to less than 10% by weight.

[0098] One method to determine the degree of neutralization of organic acids in a FB is to measure the titratable acidity (often expressed as grams per liter or parts per million) of the untreated FB with the treated or purified FB, which is the ratio of hydronium ions (HO) in a volume of solution. + ) and calculate the total mass of the protonated weak acid. pH is the amount of H3O in the solution. + Titratable acidity is commonly used in the brewing and winemaking industries because it represents only the amount of ions. In contrast, humans measure H3O +Acidity can be perceived from both ions and protonated weak acids. Titratable acidity is determined by calculating how much base, usually NaOH, must be added to a beverage to raise its pH to a given value, typically near the equivalence point of the titration. In the brewing industry, the given pH value is typically around 8.0 to 8.5, based on the identity and relative amounts of the organic acids present.

[0099] Additionally, the perceived acidity of the FB itself can be assessed using titratable acidity. As titratable acidity decreases, the perceived acidity also decreases, eventually reaching a point where a person cannot perceive the taste and / or smell of acid in the FB. In some embodiments, the titratable acidity of the purified FB is less than about 1 gram / liter (g / L) to less than about 0.01 g / L, including less than about 0.75, 0.5, 0.4, 0.3, 0.2, 0.1, or 0.05 g / L.

[0100] In some embodiments, the neutralization of a single organic acid homologue can be quantified, including the acetic, lactic, propionic, tartaric and butyric acid homologues listed above. In some embodiments, the single organic acid homologue quantified is acetic acid. The addition of an alkaline treatment agent to the FB subsequently converts the acetic acid to acetate. The pK of acetic acid, which is about 4.75, a In solution, the ratio of acetate to acetic acid is 50:50. As the pH of a solution increases, the relative abundance of acetate compared to acetic acid also increases, so the pK a At 5.75, one pH unit above the pH of 10, the ratio of acetate to acetic acid is 90:10, and the pK aAt 2 pH units above the pH of the treated FB, the ratio of acetate to acetic acid is 99:1, etc. Thus, in some embodiments, the amount of alkaline treatment agent added to the FB may be sufficient to increase the relative abundance of acetate compared to acetic acid to at least about 50:50, including at least about 60:40, 70:30, 75:25, 80:10, 85:15, 90:10, 95:5, 96:4, 97:3, 98:2, 99:1, or 99.5:0.5, up to at least about 99.9:0.1. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of acetate to acetic acid in the treated FB is about 90:10 to about 99:1, or about 92:8 to about 98:2, or about 95:5. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the acetic acid in the FB is neutralized to acetate. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the acetic acid is neutralized when the pH of the FB is increased to at least 8.7.

[0101] Similarly, the concentration of acetate in the FB can be analytically determined. Non-limiting examples of analytical methods for determining the acetate concentration in the FB include high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and enzymatic assays. One such enzymatic assay kit for determining the concentration of acetate is the K-ACETRM Acetate Test Kit available from Megazyme®. Under assay conditions, all or substantially all of the acetate present in the FB sample is converted to acetate salts. However, if the pH of the FB sample is known, the pK a For example, if the pH of the FB is 6.35 and the concentration of acetate in the sample is determined to be 300 ppm, then about 4% of the acetic acid in the treated FB, or about 12 ppm, is present in the protonated form.

[0102] Thus, in some embodiments, the combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts in the purified FB after separation and removal of salts of organic acid analogs formed during neutralization can be less than about 1000 ppm by weight, which can be less than about 900 ppm, or less than about 800 ppm, or less than about 700 ppm, or less than about 600 ppm, or less than about 500 ppm, or less than about 400 ppm, or less than about 300 ppm, or less than about 200 ppm, or less than about 100 ppm, or less than about 50 ppm. In some embodiments, the combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts in the purified FB ranges from about 200 ppm to about 500 ppm. In some embodiments, the combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts in the purified FB ranges from about 300 ppm to about 400 ppm.

[0103] In another embodiment, the concentration of the protonated form of acetic acid in the purified FB is less than about 500 ppm, including less than about 400, 300, 200, 100, 75, 50, 25, 10, or 5, to less than about 1 ppm, based on the pH. In some embodiments, the concentration of protonated acetic acid in the purified FB ranges from about 10 ppm to about 100 ppm, or from about 25 ppm to about 75 ppm. In some embodiments, substantially no protonated acetic acid is present in the purified FB.

[0104] Within an industrial brewing process, bright beer and other unprocessed FB may be neutralized in a single batch where a specific pH must be achieved before being pumped to the next station / processing step, or over the course of a continuous process where the FB is constantly pumped from one location to another. Several instruments and electrode systems for monitoring and adjusting the pH of liquids are known in the art. Non-limiting examples of such include batch, in-line, and continuous stirred tank pH monitoring and dosing systems, such as those available from Omega® Engineering, Stamford, Connecticut.

[0105] In one embodiment of the present invention, the caustic dosing system and method can include a mixing vessel holding a FB containing a determined amount of organic acid congeners, as shown in Figure 1. The determined amount of FB can be based on mass, such as by a scale 35 for the contents of vessel 33, a volume indicator within vessel 33, or delivery of a volumetric amount of FB or bright beer into vessel 33. After the determined amount of FB is treated to neutralize the organic acids, the treated FB or determined amount of FB can be discharged from vessel 33 to a post-filtration or separation device 4 to remove salt forms of the organic acids.

[0106] To determine the amount of alkaline treating agent to add to the mixing vessel to neutralize the organic acid homologues in the FB, a known concentration of alkaline treating agent can be titrated into a known amount of FB dispensed into a separate vessel until a target pH is reached. The target pH can include any of the pH values ​​listed above. Once the target pH is reached, the molar ratio of alkaline treating agent to the organic acid homologues in the FB can be determined using well-known calculations, using the known concentration and volume of alkaline treating agent titrated into the FB. Once the molar ratio between the alkaline treating agent and the organic acid homologues is known, it can be determined how much alkaline treating agent to add to a known volume of FB in the mixing vessel while mixing to reach the same pH. The alkaline treating agent used to treat the predetermined content of FB can be the same alkaline treating agent used to titrate the sample, or a different alkaline treating agent in a stoichiometric equivalent amount. The treated FB can then be discharged from the vessel into a post-filtration or separation device to remove the salt form of the organic acid.

[0107] In another embodiment, the post-filtration or separation device 4 can have one or more filters that remove solids, including but not limited to neutralized organic acid salts, other congeners originally present in the untreated FB, and small molecules and metal chelates, macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, microorganisms such as bacteria and / or viruses, and particulates. The pore size of the filter can be selected based on the desired properties of the purified FB and can range from less than 1000 microns to less than 1 micron, including less than 0.1 micron. Additionally, one or more filtration mechanisms can be utilized, including but not limited to coarse, micro, nano, and ultrafiltration membranes, reverse osmosis filtration, diatomaceous earth filtration, and charcoal filtration. In some embodiments, the post-filtration or separation device 4 can have a reverse osmosis filtration device. Other separation devices can include ion exchange chromatography, particularly cation exchange chromatography, gravity, centrifugation, and / or decantation.

[0108] In another embodiment, the post-filtration or separation unit 4 can have one or more distillation units that can be utilized in the process of producing refined spirits, where the fraction containing ethanol is separated from the aqueous fraction containing neutralized organic acid salts and other trace chemical components generated or present during the grinding process. The distillation units can include, but are not limited to, column distillation, vacuum distillation, multi-stage flash distillation, multiple effect distillation, and vapor compression distillation units.

[0109] In alternative embodiments, filtration and distillation equipment can be utilized in combination or completely separate from one another. For example, in some embodiments, purified FB can be produced by filtering out the organic acid homologs without distillation. In some embodiments, purified spirits can be produced by distilling off alcohol from a neutralized FB solution containing the organic acid homologs in salt form without filtration. In some embodiments, purified spirits can be produced by first filtering out the salt form of the organic acid homologs from the treated FB and then distilling the filtrate to produce the purified spirits.

[0110] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a method for producing a purified FB having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners, the method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a FB having at least one acid congener; (b) titrating a sufficient amount of an alkaline treatment agent into the FB to neutralize the FB and convert all or substantially all of the at least one acid congener from the FB to an organic salt, thereby producing a treated FB; and (c) separating the salt form of the organic acid from the neutral FB to produce the FB.

[0111] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a method for producing refined spirits having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners, which may include the steps of: (a) providing a FB having ethanol and at least one organic acid congener; (b) neutralizing at least a portion of the at least one organic acid congener by titrating or adding a sufficient amount of an alkaline treating agent to the FB to convert the at least one acid congener to an organic salt to form a neutralized FB; and (c) producing a refined spirit by distilling ethanol from the neutralized FB containing the organic salt of the acid congener. In some embodiments, the method for producing a refined spirit further includes filtering at least a portion of the organic salt from the neutralized FB prior to the distillation step.

[0112] In some embodiments, a refined spirit can be produced from a previously distilled beverage, although it still contains measurable levels of acid congeners, particularly organic acids. In some embodiments, a method for producing a refined spirit with reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners can include the steps of: (a) providing a distilled beverage having ethanol and at least one organic acid congener; (b) neutralizing at least a portion of the at least one organic acid congener by titrating or adding a sufficient amount of an alkaline processing agent to the distilled beverage to convert the at least one acid congener to an organic salt to form a neutralized distilled beverage; and (c) separating the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage to produce a refined spirit. In some embodiments, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage comprises filtering. In some embodiments, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage comprises only filtering. In some embodiments, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage comprises a second distillation. In some embodiments, the separation of the organic salt from the neutralized distilled beverage comprises filtering and a second distillation. In some embodiments, all or substantially all of the organic acid congeners are separated from the neutralized distilled beverage to form a refined spirit.

[0113] In another embodiment, as shown in Figure 2, the caustic dosing system 10 can have a mixing means including a continuous batch or batch mixing vessel 33 holding a predetermined amount of treated FB solution with a mixing device 34 to homogenize the solution; a pH meter detecting the pH of the treated FB solution held in the vessel 33; and a pH meter in communication with the controller 26 detects the pH of the treated FB solution held in the tank, and the controller 26 adjusts the sufficient amount of caustic solution metered into the vessel 33 based on the rate or amount of the FB stream 20 and the pH of the treated FB solution as measured by the pH meter 32 or by the pH of the FB stream 20 or both. In this embodiment, the outflow of treated FB solution 24 can be substantially continuous.

[0114] In an embodiment where vessel 33 is a batch mixing tank, a predetermined amount of FB solution 1 is loaded into tank 33 and a controlled amount of caustic solution is passed or metered into the batch amount of FB solution until a pH within the target pH range is achieved. The batch of pH treated FB is then discharged from tank 33 to post-filtration 4.

[0115] In another embodiment, the pH monitoring and dosing system is an in-line caustic dosing system, as shown in Figure 3. The in-line caustic dosing system 110 processes FB Stream 1 into a refined FB or NMB 6 output. FB Stream 1 proceeds to the in-line caustic dosing system 110, and after pH treatment of FB Stream 1 in the in-line caustic dosing system 110, the resulting neutralized FB 24 is treated by post-filtration 4 to remove or filter out salt forms of organic acids to produce refined FB 6.

[0116] The in-line caustic dosing system 110 includes a metering means shown as a metering pump 12 that meters the amount of caustic solution from the vessel 14 to a junction of the piping system 16 located between two pH meters, including a first pH meter 18 that detects the pH of the FB stream 20 entering the in-line caustic dosing system 110, and a second pH meter 22 that detects the pH of the treated FB stream 24 after the addition of the caustic solution. The two pH meters 18 and 22 and the metering pump 12 are in data signal transfer and control communication with a programmable logic controller (PLC) 26 forming a communication and control loop 28 that detects the pH of the FB stream, determines the amount of caustic solution sufficient to neutralize the organic acid congeners in the FB, and controls the amount and / or rate of caustic solution added to the FB stream sufficient to neutralize the FB stream to a target pH range sufficient to neutralize the organic acid congeners in the FB stream 20. In some embodiments, the concentrated caustic stock composition can be a 50% (w / v) sodium hydroxide solution.

[0117] The flow rate of FB stream 20 is determined by the upstream process conditions that create FB1. The volumetric flow rate is typically constant, but some variation can be expected. In one embodiment of the invention, the upstream flow of FB1 can be captured in a holding vessel and pumped from the vessel to the in-line caustic dosage system 110 at a more constant volumetric rate. The holding vessel has sufficient volume to allow for variation in the incoming FB while maintaining or adjusting the flow rate of FB stream 20 to the in-line caustic dosage system 110.

[0118] Typically, the pH of the FB entering the caustic dosing system is less than about 6.0. In some embodiments, the pH of the FB is less than about 5.0, or less than about 4.0, or less than about 3.0. However, the pH can vary according to the identity and concentration of acidic congeners in the FB. For example, the pK of acetic acid, lactic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid are a The values ​​are 4.75, 3.86, 4.87 and 4.82, respectively. As reported by Smith (see "Variation in pH and Lactate Levels in Malts," supra), lactate concentrations in various malt varieties ranged from 17.6 to 126.3 milligrams per 100 grams of malt. Based on the pH of the FB entering the caustic dosing system, as determined by pH meter 18, PLC 26 determines the amount of caustic solution to add to the FB stream by metering pump 12 to raise the pH to within the target pH range and neutralize the organic acid congeners.

[0119] A second pH meter 22, located on the outlet side of the mixing means described below, provides feedback control by communicating the pH of the pH-treated FB stream after the caustic solution is injected or added to the PLC 26. In one embodiment of the invention, after the FB stream passes through the in-line caustic injection system 110, the neutralized or treated FB has a sufficient pH to neutralize the organic acid congeners. The PLC 26 can be configured to increase or decrease the amount or rate of caustic solution injected by the in-line caustic injection system 110 until the pH of the neutralized (treated) FB is within the target pH range.

[0120] The in-line caustic injection system 110 can also include a mixing means for mixing the FB stream and the caustic solution into a homogenous pH treatment solution with a pH adjusted to the target pH range. The mixing means ensures homogeneity of the pH treatment solution and improves neutralization control and results. One embodiment of the mixing means is an in-line mixer 30, such as a static in-line mixer, as shown in FIG. 3. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 5, the mixing means can have a holding line to increase the time the caustic solution is in contact with the FB stream. The holding line can have a length of flow-through piping 31, which can include one or more elbows or turns in the piping, where the length of the flow-through piping and / or the elbow or elbows is sufficient to homogenize the pH treatment solution.

[0121] In an alternative embodiment of the in-line caustic injection system 110, the amount of caustic solution is controlled using a flow control valve (FCV) 38 that regulates the solution under pressure from a pressure pump 36, as shown in FIG.

[0122] In another alternative embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the in-line caustic dosing system 210 can have a means for diverting the flow of FB1 from a filtration system, shown as a post-filtration system 4 described herein above, to a pH monitoring and dosing system, shown as an in-line caustic dosing system. The diverting means includes a three-way selection valve 40 having an inlet for the flow of FB1, a first outlet 41 in fluid communication with the filtration system, and a second outlet 42 in fluid communication with the in-line caustic dosing system. The three-way selection valve 40 can be manually or mechanically actuated, and the mechanical actuation can be controlled by a control system. The three-way selection valve 40 also includes a sensor or switch for detecting its position, which can include a switch for detecting a first position when FB1 is diverted to the filtration system, and a switch for detecting a second position when FB1 is diverted to the in-line caustic dosing system. Optional other positions can also be detected, which can include a shut-off position that shuts off flow through the selection valve 40.

[0123] While FB flow 20 is started up and in conventional operation, the three-way selection valve 40 is placed in its first position to bypass FB1 to the filtration system. Once the in-line caustic dosing system is ready for operation, the diverting means embodied by the three-way selection valve 40 is actuated to its second position to divert FB1 to the in-line caustic dosing system and a switch is actuated to inform the PLC 26 that FB flow 20 has been diverted to the in-line caustic dosing system. Once a steady flow is achieved, the PLC 26 begins starting the metering pump 12 and sensing with the pH meter 118 (and 122) to bring the pH of the treated solution into the target pH range.

[0124] Metering pump 12 dispenses caustic solution into FB1 at junction 16 upstream of a pair of adjacent pH meters, shown as 118 and 122, as shown and described in Figure 3. The caustic solution is thoroughly mixed into the FB flow in holding line 31. As previously described, PLC 26 controls the operation of metering pump 12 and the caustic flow rate to maintain the resulting pH of the pH treated solution within its target pH range.

[0125] The holding tubing 31 has a length of flow-through tubing 31 that may include one or more elbows or turns in the tubing, where the length of the flow-through tubing and / or the one or more elbows is sufficient to homogenize the pH-treated solution and ensure repeatable and consistent measurements of the pH of the flowing stream. In the illustrated embodiment, the holding tubing includes multiple lengths of tubing and multiple 90 degree elbows to provide a predetermined amount of turbulence in the stream for uniform mixing of the pH-treated solution.

[0126] In some embodiments using two pH meters, there is a first pH meter 118 and a second pH meter 122 adjacent to and downstream of the first pH meter 118. The PLC 26 can receive and compare pH readings from the two pH meters 118 and 122 to assess the homogeneity of the pH treated FB. If the pH of the pH treated FB at pH meters 18 and 22 is the same or nearly the same, the pH treated FB is presumed to be homogeneous, whereas if the pH readings at pH meters 18 and 22 are different, the pH treated FB is presumed not to be homogeneous, indicating that more mixing is needed within the holding tube 40. In such embodiments, the holding tubing can have an auxiliary tubing through which the mixed flow can be directed for additional mixing.

[0127] Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the in-line caustic dosing system 210 can further include a conductivity meter 42 that can be utilized to determine if the organic acid congeners in the pH treated FB or beer stream are neutralized. Generally, a conductivity meter measures the conductivity in a solution by measuring the amount of ionized species in the solution. Measuring conductivity is often useful for in-line acid-base titrations at constant temperature because the conductivity can be measured quickly and the conductivity is often comparable from production run to production run.

[0128] For example, in an acid-base titration, where a strong base is titrated into a solution of one or more weak acids, the addition of the strong base changes the conductivity of the weak acid solution. First, the addition of NaOH increases the conductivity of the H + This creates a buffer solution where the concentration decreases only slowly and the conductivity decreases slightly. The decrease in conductivity occurs as more base is introduced into the solution, causing more Na + is produced with the conjugate base of the weak acid and is countered as the conductivity of the solution increases. After all the acid has been neutralized and the equivalence point has been reached, adding more NaOH generally results in the formation of OH - The conductivity of the system increases rapidly as ions begin to accumulate and dominate the ionic species in solution.

[0129] The metering pump 12 and conductivity meter 42 are in data signal transfer and control communication with the PLC 26 and are in communication and control loop 28. The PLC 26 can be configured to increase or decrease the amount or rate of caustic solution injected by the in-line caustic injection system 110 until the conductivity of the treated FB is within the target conductivity range. In another aspect, the flow rate and / or volume of caustic solution metered into the raw FB stream from one production run can be used to set the initial flow rate and / or volume of caustic solution metered into the raw FB stream in a successive production run.

[0130] As will be apparent and self-evident to one of ordinary skill in the art, there are other apparatus, devices, and systems that can be used to control the sufficient amount and / or rate of caustic solution. Similarly, while Figures 1-5 above utilize caustic solution as the alkaline treating agent, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that an alkaline treating agent having a weak base can be substituted in part or in whole for the caustic solution in any of the above systems to neutralize the organic acid congeners in the FB.

[0131] In another embodiment, the purified FB produced by the above system is purified NMB. In some embodiments, the alcohol content (ABV) of the purified NMB is at least about 0.05% by volume, including at least about 0.1%, at least about 0.5%, at least about 1%, at least about 2%, at least about 3%, at least about 4%, at least about 5%, at least about 6%, at least about 7%, at least about 8%, at least about 9%, at least about 10%, at least about 12%, at least about 15%, at least about 17%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, at least about 35%, at least about 40%, at least about 45%, at least about 50%, at least about 55%, at least about 60%, and at least about 65% by volume of NMB. In other embodiments, the ABV of purified NMB is about 65% by volume or less, including about 60% by volume or less, about 55% by volume or less, about 50% by volume or less, about 45% by volume or less, about 40% by volume or less, about 35% by volume or less, about 30% by volume or less, about 25% by volume or less, about 20% by volume or less, about 15% by volume or less, about 10% by volume or less, about 9% by volume or less, about 8% by volume or less, about 7% by volume or less, about 6% by volume or less, about 5% by volume or less, about 4% by volume or less, about 3% by volume or less, about 2% by volume or less, about 1% by volume or less, about 0.5% by volume or less, about 0.1% by volume or less, and about 0.05% by volume or less of NMB. Useful ranges can be selected from any of the above ABV values ​​of about 0.05% to about 65% by volume of NMB, including about 5% to about 20%, about 10% to 20%, about 12% to 20%, about 15% to about 20%, about 17% to about 20%, about 10% to about 17%, or about 12% to about 15% by volume. In some embodiments, the purified NMB further comprises hops. In some embodiments, the NMB is substantially free of hops. In some embodiments, the NMB is a gluten-free base (GFB). In some embodiments, the NMB is a gluten-reduced or gluten-removed base.

[0132] In some embodiments, the ABV of the refined spirits produced by any of the above neutralization methods or systems is at least about 5% by volume, including at least about 8%, at least about 10%, at least about 15%, at least about 20%, at least about 25%, at least about 30%, at least about 35%, at least about 40%, at least about 45%, at least about 50%, at least about 55%, at least about 60%, at least about 65%, at least about 70%, at least about 75%, at least about 80%, at least about 85%, at least about 90%, and at least about 95% by volume of the refined spirits. In some embodiments, the ABV of the refined spirits produced by any of the above neutralization methods or systems is about 95% or less, about 90% or less, about 85% or less, about 80% or less, about 75% or less, about 70% or less, about 65% or less by volume, including about 60% or less, about 55% or less, about 50% or less, about 45% or less, about 40% or less, about 35% or less, about 30% or less, about 25% or less, about 20% or less, about 15% or less, about 10% or less, about 8% or less, and about 5% or less by volume of NMB. Useful ranges can be selected from any of the above ABV values, from about 1% to 95% by volume, from 20% to 30% by volume, from 20% to 40% by volume, from 20% to 50% by volume, from 20% to 60% by volume, from 20% to 70% by volume, from 20% to 80% by volume, from 20% to 90% by volume, from 40% to 45% by volume, from 40% to 50% by volume, from 40% to 60% by volume, from 40% to 70% by volume, or from 40% to 80% by volume.

[0133] In some embodiments, the present invention provides a neutralization system for neutralizing bright beer to produce purified NMB having an organic acid form at a substantially neutral pH, the system comprising a beer stream, an in-line caustic dosing system, and at least one filtration or separation device configured to filter the salt form of the acid congeners from the beer stream. The in-line caustic dosing system can comprise at least one pH meter for monitoring the pH of the beer stream, a container for the alkaline treating agent, a metering pump, and a central programmable logic controller (PLC) configured to monitor the pH of the beer stream collected by the at least one pH meter and to control the amount of alkaline treating agent dispensed from the container by the metering pump.

[0134] While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention can be further modified within the spirit and scope of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, numerous equivalents to the specific procedures, embodiments, claims, and examples described herein. Such equivalents are therefore considered to be within the scope of the present invention, and for this reason, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention using its general principles. Further, the present invention is intended to cover such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the present invention pertains and which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

[0135] It will be appreciated that certain features of the invention that are, for clarity, described in the context of separate embodiments, may also be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features of the invention that are, for brevity, described in the context of a single embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitable subcombination or other described embodiments of the invention, as appropriate. Certain features described in the context of various embodiments are not to be construed as essential features of those embodiments, unless the embodiments cannot function without those elements.

[0136] The contents of all references, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are incorporated herein by reference and should not be construed as an admission that such references are available as prior art to the present invention. All publications and patent applications incorporated in this specification are indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art to which this invention pertains and are incorporated to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated by reference. EXAMPLES

[0137] The following examples illustrate the presently most well known aspects of the present invention. However, it should be understood that the following are merely exemplary or illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative compositions, methods, and systems can be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, having described the present invention in detail, the following examples provide further details in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred aspects of the present invention.

[0138] Example 1: Generation of NMB using a caustic dosing system Any of the caustic dosing systems described above are used to produce NMB according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Bright beer containing acidic congeners is introduced into the caustic dosing system, and an amount of sodium hydroxide is added to the bright beer with mixing until the treated FB reaches a predetermined target pH of about 6.0. The treated FB is then filtered through a reverse osmosis membrane to remove the neutralized organic acids from the treated FB and form NMB. Additional NMB is produced using the same procedure, except that the target pH is 7.0 and 8.0, respectively.

[0139] Example 2: Physicochemical analysis of the acidity of NMB A study is conducted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to determine the acidity of the NMB produced by the caustic dosing system of Example 1, and the extent of neutralization and removal of organic acids, particularly acetic acid. Each of the three NMBs produced in Example 1, and a sample of untreated bright beer, are evaluated for pH, titratable acidity, and acetic acid content. The pH of each FB sample is determined using a pH meter, either as a stand-alone instrument or located within the caustic dosing system. The titratable acidity of each FB sample is approximated by titrating a known concentration of sodium hydroxide to reach a predetermined pH, such as 8.2, 8.5, or 8.7, based on the original pH of the FB sample. The concentration of acetic acid in each FB sample, either in protonated (acetic acid) or deprotonated (sodium acetate) form, is determined by reacting a small amount of the FB sample with the reagents included with the Megazyme® K-ACETRM Acetic Acid Test Kit, according to the instructions included with the kit.

[0140] The pH of bright beer is expected to be about 4.0, and the pH of the NMB samples to be within 0.25 pH units of each pH target (6.0, 7.0, and 8.0, respectively). Additionally, the titratable acidity of bright beer is expected to be greater than 1.00 g / L, and particularly greater than 2.00 g / L, while the titratable activity of each NMB sample will show at least an 80% reduction compared to the titratable activity of bright beer. The degree of neutralization indicated by the titratable acidity of each NMB sample is expected to increase with the pH of the sample, with NMB neutralized to pH 8.0 having the least titratable activity compared to the other samples. Finally, the total concentration of acetic acid in protonated and deprotonated forms is expected to be reduced by at least 75% in each NMB FB sample compared to the bright beer samples, with the greatest effect again seen in the pH 8.0 FB sample. However, based on the actual pH of the NMB samples, the concentration of protonated acetic acid in each NMB sample is expected to be reduced by at least 95% compared to the Bright Beer sample.

[0141] Example 3: Determination of the taste profile of NMB A study is conducted according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to determine the sensory effects caused by the neutralization and removal of acetic acid from bright beer. Participants of a sensory panel trained to distinguish the taste of vinegar notes due to the presence of protonated acetic acid are asked to sample each of the NMBs produced in Example 1 and score them according to a Likert-type scale. The Likert-like scale used to evaluate taste and smell can ask participants to assign a score from 0 to 5, where each score is specifically defined and often half scores are not allowed. With respect to vinegar notes specifically, the Likert-type scale can have the following definitions: 0 = no perceptible vinegar notes; 1 = perceptible hint of vinegar notes; 2 = slightly perceptible vinegar notes; 3 = slightly moderately perceptible vinegar notes; 4 = moderately perceptible vinegar notes; and 5 = moderately strong perceptible vinegar notes.

[0142] Untreated bright beer, which has a relatively high concentration of protonated acetic acid, is expected to exhibit a mean taste score that indicates a slight to moderate perception of vinegar note. Upon treatment with sodium hydroxide, the mean taste score of each treated sample is expected to decrease compared to bright beer and to show the same relationship with pH as titratable acidity and acetic acid concentration determined in Example 2, with the pH 8.0 NMB having the greatest decrease in perception of vinegar note compared to the other NMB samples. It is also expected that at least one of the treated NMBs, particularly the NMB treated to pH 8.0, will have no perceptible vinegar note.

Claims

1. a) providing a fermented beverage solution having an acid analogue, preferably an organic acid, more preferably acetic acid; b) treating the fermented beverage solution by adding an alkaline treatment agent to the fermented beverage solution to neutralize at least a portion of the acidic congeners to salts, preferably organic salts, more preferably acetate salts; and c) removing at least a portion or all of the neutralized acid congeners from the treated fermented beverage solution to produce a purified fermented beverage having reduced or negligible concentrations of the acid congeners, preferably acetic acid, compared to the fermented beverage solution; The method for producing a purified fermented beverage comprising the steps of:

2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of removing at least a portion of the neutralized acid congeners comprises, and preferably consists only of, filtering the neutralized acid congeners from the treated fermented beverage.

3. 3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pH of the fermented beverage solution is increased to at least 5.5 and up to 8.5 by adding the alkaline treatment agent.

4. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the alkaline treatment agent comprises an alkali metal hydroxide or an alkaline earth metal hydroxide, preferably sodium hydroxide, or wherein the alkaline treatment agent comprises a weak base, preferably sodium acetate.

5. The step of treating the fermented beverage solution comprises: (i) providing a batch of said fermented beverage solution having said acid congeners; (ii) extracting a sample of the fermented beverage solution from the batch; (iii) titrating the sample with an alkaline treating agent to neutralize at least a portion of the acidic congeners in the sample and form salts; (iv) calculating the amount of said salt formed upon said titration of alkaline treating agent into said sample; (v) determining an amount of alkaline treating agent to add to the batch based on said titration of alkaline treating agent into said sample; and (vi) adding said determined amount of an alkaline treating agent to said batch to neutralize at least a portion of said acidic homologues in said batch to form salts; and wherein the alkaline treatment agent used to treat the fermented beverage solution is either the same alkaline treatment agent used to titrate the sample or a stoichiometric equivalent of a different alkaline treatment agent.

6. The acid congeners in the fermented beverage solution have two or more acids, preferably two or more organic acids; (i) the step of treating the fermented beverage solution with the alkaline treatment agent neutralizes at least a portion of the acid in the fermented beverage solution or all of the acid; and (ii) The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the step of removing the neutralized acid congeners removes at least a portion of the neutralized acids or all of the neutralized acids from the treated fermented beverage solution.

7. 7. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least 50% and up to at least 99.9% of the acidic congeners, preferably with acetic acid, are neutralised when adding the alkaline treatment agent to the fermented beverage solution.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the purified fermented beverage has the following characteristics: (i) a pH in the range of 5.5 to 8.5, preferably 5.8 to 6.5; (ii) at least 10% by volume and at most 20% by volume of ethyl alcohol; (iii) a combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts of less than 1000 ppm, preferably in the range of 300 ppm to 400 ppm; (iv) an acetic acid concentration of less than 500 ppm, preferably in the range of 10 ppm to 100 ppm, more preferably in the range of 25 ppm to 75 ppm;

9. 1. A purified fermented beverage having reduced or negligible levels of organic acid congeners, preferably acetic acid, compared to an untreated fermented beverage, the purified fermented beverage having the following characteristics: (i) a pH in the range of 5.5 to 8.5, preferably 5.8 to 6.5; (ii) at least 10% by volume and at most 20% by volume of ethyl alcohol; (iii) a combined concentration of acetic acid and acetate salts less than 1000 ppm.

10. The purified fermented beverage according to claim 9, which has the following characteristics: (i) a titratable acidity to acetic acid of less than about 0.5 grams per liter, preferably less than about 0.25 grams per liter, of the purified fermented beverage; (ii) a protonated acetic acid concentration of less than about 100 ppm, preferably less than about 50 ppm, and more preferably less than 25 ppm.

11. The refined fermented beverage according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the refined fermented beverage is a gluten-free, gluten-reduced or gluten-removed fermented beverage having a gluten content in the range of 0 ppm to 20 ppm, preferably 0 ppm.

12. The refined, fermented beverage according to any one of claims 9 to 11, which is a neutral malt beverage.

13. A purified fermented beverage according to any one of claims 9 to 12, produced according to the method of any one of claims 1 to 8.

14. 1. A neutralization system for reducing and removing acidic congeners in a fermented beverage to produce a refined fermented beverage, comprising: a) an in-line caustic dosing system configured to treat the fermented beverage by titrating or adding an alkaline treatment agent to the fermented beverage to neutralize organic acid congeners; and b) at least one separation device configured to separate the neutralized organic acid congeners from the treated fermented beverage; thereby producing the purified fermented beverage.

15. The in-line caustic injection system comprises: a) one or more pH meters configured to monitor the pH of the fermented beverage, the treated fermented beverage, or both, preferably a pH meter upstream of a metering means and a pH meter downstream of the metering means; b) a container for the alkaline treatment agent; c) metering means for said alkaline processing agent; and d) a central programmable logic controller configured to monitor the pH output of said one or more pH meters and to control the amount of said alkaline treatment agent dispensed from said alkaline treatment agent container by said metering means; 15. The neutralization system of claim 14, comprising:

16. 16. A neutralisation system according to claim 14 or claim 15, wherein the at least one separation device comprises one or more filtration membranes, preferably reverse osmosis filtration membranes.

17. 17. The neutralization system according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the at least one separation device comprises one or more distillation systems, in particular a distillation system selected from the group consisting of column distillation, vacuum distillation, multi-stage flash distillation, multi-effect distillation, and vapor compression distillation systems.

18. 18. The neutralization system according to any one of claims 14 to 17, further comprising a mixing means, preferably a holding pipe or an in-line mixer, configured to homogenize the alkaline treatment agent into the fermented beverage stream.

19. 19. The neutralization system according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the metering means is a pressure pump, and the neutralization system further comprises a flow control valve configured to regulate the addition under pressure of the alkaline treatment agent from the pressure pump.

20. The neutralization system of any one of claims 14 to 19, further comprising a redirecting means upstream of the in-line caustic dosing system, the redirecting means configured to selectively direct the fermented beverage into the in-line caustic dosing system or redirect the fermented beverage so that it does not enter the in-line caustic dosing system.

21. The neutralization system of any one of claims 14 to 20, further comprising a conductivity meter downstream of the metering means, and the central programmable logic controller is configured to monitor the conductivity of the treated fermented beverage as measured by the conductivity meter.

22. A neutralization system according to any one of claims 14 to 21, configured to carry out the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8 and / or to produce a purified fermented beverage according to any one of claims 9 to 13.

Images