Small-scale beer brewing equipment

Abstract

The objectives are to provide a small beer brewing apparatus that can be miniaturized and take up less space, to shorten working time, and to improve work efficiency. [Solution] To solve the above problem, the following means are employed in the small beer brewing apparatus 1. Firstly, the small beer brewing apparatus 1 has one main container 2 capable of performing multiple processes and one movable lifting basket 3. Secondly, the main container 2 is equipped with an internal tank 20 used in multiple processes and a pump 4 for circulating the wort 23 in the internal tank 20 and generating a swirling flow within the internal tank 20. The internal tank 20 is provided with a heat source 21 for heating and a wort extraction port 22. Thirdly, the basket 30 of the movable lifting basket 3 is designed to be submerged in the internal tank 20 and has small holes 33 of a size that can prevent the added malt and other materials from leaking out.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a small beer brewing device having one main container and one mobile lifting cage configured to be able to perform a plurality of processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and brewing processes of a whirlpool.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for beer brewing, a hot liquor tank for preparing heated hot water in advance, a mash tun for performing a mashing (saccharification) process, a rotor tank for performing a rotary (filtration) process, a boil kettle (boiling tank) for performing a boiling (boiling) process, and a tank for performing a whirlpool process (a process of separating coagulated matter by swirling flow) were required. That is, in the beer brewing process, a plurality of tanks were required. Thus, brewing equipment with a plurality of tanks became large-sized.

[0003] However, with the advent of craft beer brewing, etc., the development of a more compact beer brewing device has been desired. Therefore, a two-container type small brewing system having a container configured to perform brewing processes of mashing, wort filtration, and boiling applicable to small-scale commercial craft beer brewing and pub brewing as shown in Patent Document 1 has been developed.

[0004] However, this two-container type beer brewing system is composed of two containers, a bottom container having an inner tank and an upper container disposed on the bottom container and communicating with the inner tank and wort. In the bottom container, it is configured to perform mashing and boiling processes, and in the upper container, it is configured to perform a wort filtration process. That is, the container for performing mashing and boiling processes and the container for performing the wort filtration process were separate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] The first problem that the present invention aims to solve is to provide a small beer brewing apparatus that can perform multiple processes, such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, using only one main container with an internal tank, in order to make the miniaturization aimed for in Patent Document 1 more reliable and to reduce the space required, as multiple tanks that were required for multiple beer brewing processes have been reduced to just one main container with an internal tank.

[0007] Secondly, the objective is to provide a small-scale beer brewing apparatus that can shorten working time by performing the mashing and rotating (filtration) processes simultaneously. Thirdly, the objective is to provide a small beer brewing apparatus that improves work efficiency by providing a movable lifting basket submerged in an internal tank within the main container for adding malt during the mashing and rotating (filtration) processes, and for adding auxiliary ingredients during the boiling process. This facilitates the separation of malt from wort, as well as auxiliary ingredients from hot wort, and also facilitates the removal of malt from filtered wort and auxiliary ingredients from hot wort. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the first invention employs the following means in a small beer brewing apparatus. Firstly, it is a small beer brewing apparatus having one main container and one movable lifting basket configured to perform multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing. Secondly, the main vessel is equipped with an internal tank used in multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and a pump that circulates the wort by drawing it from the internal tank and returning it, and also generates a swirling flow within the internal tank. The internal tank is provided with a heat source for heating and a wort extraction port. Thirdly, the cage of the movable lifting cage is designed to be able to be submerged in a position where it floats in the liquid inside the internal tank after materials such as malt have been added to it, and small holes of a size that can prevent the materials such as malt from leaking out.

[0009] The second invention is a small beer brewing apparatus in which the cage of the movable lifting cage in the first invention is attached to a movable caster and a lifting mechanism, the small holes of the cage are formed on the bottom and sides of the cage, and a shutter for closing any of the small holes is provided on the side of the cage.

[0010] The third invention is a small beer brewing apparatus in which a malt mill is installed in the preceding steps of multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and the grinding rollers of the malt grinding section of the malt mill are detachably mounted on a roller shaft, and the knurled drum is divided into multiple parts.

[0011] The fourth invention is a small beer brewing apparatus in which, in the brewing process of a small beer brewing apparatus according to the first, second, or third invention, a counter chiller is installed in the subsequent processes of multiple steps such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing. The counter chiller is made up of multiple counterflow heat exchangers connected together, and each counterflow heat exchanger has an inlet and outlet for the cooling heat transfer medium, and the pipe through which the wort to be cooled flows is connected to each counterflow heat exchanger and connected into a single pipe. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] The first invention has the following effects: Firstly, by performing multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing in a single main container, we were able to create a compact beer brewing system that requires less space. Secondly, the main container is equipped with an internal tank used in multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, as well as a pump for circulating the wort by drawing it from the internal tank and returning it. The internal tank is also provided with a heat source for heating and a wort outlet, so that the mashing and rotating (filtration) processes can be performed simultaneously, thereby providing a small beer brewing apparatus that can shorten working time. Thirdly, the movable lifting cage is designed to be submerged in a position where it floats in the liquid inside the internal tank after the malt and other materials are added. Furthermore, small holes of a size sufficient to prevent the malt and other materials from leaking out are formed, making it easier to separate and remove the malt and other materials from the wort, thus providing a small beer brewing apparatus that can improve work efficiency. Fourthly, since the main container has a heat source inside, we were able to provide a small beer brewing apparatus that does not require a hot liquor tank, which is a tank for preheating and storing water used for beer brewing. Fifth, although there is a heat source inside the main container's internal tank, the malt and other ingredients are contained in a basket that floats inside the main container's internal tank. Therefore, the malt and other ingredients do not come into contact with the heat source, resulting in a small beer brewing device that circulates only the wort without burning. Sixth, since the main container has a heat source inside its internal tank, it is possible to secure sufficient heat source capacity. Therefore, the malt and other materials contained in the mobile lifting basket can be moved out of the internal tank and replaced with materials to be used in the boiling process. The mobile lifting basket containing these materials can then be immersed again in the internal tank of the main container, and the boiling process after mashing and rotating (filtration) can be performed in the main container. Furthermore, since the internal tank is equipped with a pump to generate a vortex flow, the subsequent whirlpooling can be easily performed in the main container. Seventh, in brewing that uses multiple tanks for mashing and rotating, when moving wort from tank to tank, malt contained in the wort can clog the piping in the transfer path, or the wort and spent grain lose heat to the piping and rotator tann as they move between tanks, causing a decrease in temperature. The starch contained in the wort and spent grain increases viscosity, leading to a phenomenon called stack mash, where the spent grain used as a filter tank in rotating becomes clogged. However, in the apparatus according to the present invention, the materials such as malt are kept in a basket, and mashing and rotating are performed in a single tank. Therefore, there is no clogging of the piping due to movement, and the wort is kept at an appropriate temperature by a heating source, so the viscosity of the wort remains low, and as a result, it is possible to provide an apparatus that is less prone to stack mash.

[0013] As an effect of the second invention, since the basket of the movable lifting basket is attached to a caster for movement and a lifting mechanism, the immersion height can be changed by stopping the basket containing the auxiliary raw materials used during boiling at any desired position. Furthermore, since small holes are formed in the bottom and sides of the basket, and shutters are provided on the sides of the basket to close any of the small holes, the surface area in contact between the malt and hot water during the mashing process can be changed by using the shutters to arbitrarily close and adjust the small holes on the sides of the basket that have been opened in advance, thereby changing the saccharification efficiency.

[0014] The third effect of the invention is that the small beer brewing apparatus has a malt mill installed in the pre-processing steps of multiple processes, such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing. The grinding rollers in the malt grinding section of the malt mill have a knurled drum with knurling formed on the roller shaft that is removablely attached, and since the knurled drum is divided into multiple sections, the malt mill becomes such that only the worn-out knurling can be replaced.

[0015] Although it is the effect of the fourth invention, in the small beer brewing device, a counter chiller is installed in the subsequent processes of a plurality of processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and the brewing process of the whirlpool. The counter chiller is formed by connecting a plurality of countercurrent heat exchangers. In the countercurrent heat exchanger, the inlet and outlet of the cooling heat medium are provided for each countercurrent heat exchanger, and the pipe through which the wort to be cooled flows is connected by each countercurrent heat exchanger and is integrally connected. Since it is a small beer brewing device, by connecting a plurality of countercurrent heat exchangers, it can be configured to match the temperature of the heat medium (tap water, well water, spring water, antifreeze, etc.) used for cooling. Thereby, when the temperature of the heat medium is high, it can be configured with a large number of units, and when the temperature of the heat medium is low, it can be configured with a small number of units.

[0016] Also, even when a plurality of countercurrent heat exchangers are connected, the pipeline through which the high-temperature wort flows is integrally connected, but the number of inlets and outlets of the heat medium is the same as the number of connected ones. As a result, the time of contact with the low-temperature refrigerant becomes longer, and the cooling efficiency is improved. In addition, the cooling efficiency can be changed by the number of inlets and outlets of the cooling heat medium used. For example, the temperature of tap water changes with the season. In summer, since the temperature of the heat medium is high, it can be lowered to about the same temperature as the tap water temperature by increasing the number of inlets and outlets used. Also, in winter, even if the number of inlets and outlets used is reduced, the temperature of the heat medium is low, so the temperature can be sufficiently lowered.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0017] [Figure 1] Overall front view showing an embodiment of the small beer brewing device [Figure 2] Same top view [Figure 3] Explanatory drawing showing an overview of the main container [Figure 4] Explanatory drawing showing a mobile lifting cage [Figure 5] Schematic explanatory drawing showing the brewing process of the small beer brewing device [Figure 6] Schematic explanatory drawing of the cage [Figure 7] Explanatory drawing of the longitudinal section of the internal tank [Figure 8] Explanatory drawing of the cross section of the internal tank along the A-A line [Figure 9] Explanation diagram of the right side of the main container [Figure 10] Perpendicular view of a malt mill [Figure 11] Cross-sectional diagram illustrating the grinding section of a malt mill. [Figure 12] Explanation of the crushing roller (perspective view) [Figure 13] Counter chiller explanatory perspective view [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, along with examples. Figure 1 is an overall front view showing one embodiment of the first invention, and Figure 2 is a top view as seen from above. The small beer brewing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment consists of a main container 2 configured to perform multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and a movable lifting cage 3. Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the main container 2, and Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the movable lifting cage 3.

[0019] The mobile lifting cage 3 consists of a cage 30 equipped with a lifting mechanism 32 and casters 31 for movement. The cage 30 is capable of moving up and down by the lifting mechanism 32. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the brewing process of a small beer brewing apparatus. In the mashing and filtration processes, malt crushed in the malt mill 6 and necessary auxiliary ingredients are added. In the boiling process, hops and necessary auxiliary ingredients are added. In the mashing, wort filtration, and boiling processes, the cage is submerged in an internal tank 20 provided in the main container 2 by the lifting mechanism 32, allowing it to float. By enlarging the cage 30 and attaching it to the lifting mechanism 32 with casters 31 for movement, a small beer brewing apparatus 1 was created that can use malt that is too heavy for a person to lift, without the need to install a winch or the like.

[0020] As shown in Figure 6, the basket 30 has small holes 33 of a size that prevents malt and other materials from leaking out. These small holes 33 are formed on the bottom and sides of the basket 30. The bottom of the basket 30 can also be removed. In an embodiment according to the second invention, shutters 34 and 35 are provided on the inside of the sides of the basket 30 to close any of the small holes 33. The shutters 34 and 35 can be adjusted to arbitrarily close the small holes 33 on the sides that have been opened in advance, so the conditions under which the malt comes into contact with hot water can be changed, thereby changing the saccharification efficiency.

[0021] The main container 2 is equipped with an internal tank 20 and a pump 4, as shown in Figure 7. The internal tank 20 is used in the mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing processes. The internal tank 20 has, firstly, a heating source 21 mounted in a position that does not come into contact with the submerged basket 30; secondly, an outlet 22, as shown in Figure 8, is provided on the bottom surface 24 of the internal tank; and thirdly, a tangential inlet 43 is formed on the lower side of the internal tank 20, as shown in Figure 8.

[0022] The heating source 21 is necessary for the mashing and boiling processes. During mashing, it is necessary to maintain a constant temperature inside the internal tank 20 in order to saccharify the malt, and sufficient heat source capacity is required for the boiling process.

[0023] The extraction port 22 serves as the extraction port when the wort 23 is drawn from the internal tank 20 by the pump 4 during the mashing and whirlpooling processes. The tangential inlet 43 is for generating a swirling flow in the wort during the whirlpool process. It is connected to the tip of the tangential inlet pipe 45, and generates a swirling flow with the wort discharged from the pump 4.

[0024] The primary purpose of pump 4 is to circulate the wort 23 by drawing it from the internal tank 20 and returning it to the internal tank 20, thereby performing the mashing and wort filtration processes. It also serves to perform the whirlpool process by generating a swirling flow within the internal tank 20 using the wort 23 drawn from the internal tank 20. Pump 4 also functions as a pump for transferring wort to other containers or devices. For example, pump 4 is used to transfer wort from the internal tank 20 of the main container 2 to the counter chiller 8 for the wort cooling process, which is a subsequent process after the whirlpool process.

[0025] Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram of the right side of the main container 2, showing the piping route for forming the flow path of the wort 23. The pump 4 is connected to a suction pipe 40 and a discharge pipe 50. The suction pipe 40 is located between the pump 4 and the internal tank 20 of the main container 2, and is the pipe for drawing the wort 23 from the internal tank 20 to the pump 4. The discharge pipe 50 is the pipe for discharging the drawn-out wort 23 from the pump 4.

[0026] The discharge pipe 50 branches into three piping routes. The three piping routes are described below. The first piping route is the route through which the wort 23 flows for the mashing process and the wort filtration process. This piping route is equipped with a pipe 41 and a valve 42. The second piping route is the piping route through which the wort 23 flows in order to perform the whirlpool process. This piping route is equipped with a tangential inlet valve 44 and a tangential inlet pipe 45. The third piping route is for draining the wort 23 remaining in the above two piping routes after the mashing process, the wort filtration process, and the whirlpool process. This piping route is equipped with piping that has a drain valve 46. These three pathways are generally opened and closed according to the process, but they can also be opened and closed at the discretion of the worker.

[0027] The main container 2 is equipped with several other pipes in addition to those mentioned above. The pump drain valve 47, located at the lower end of the pump 4, is for draining the wort 23 remaining inside the pump 4. The main container drain valve 48 and the main container drain pipe 49 are installed at the center of the bottom of the main container 2 to drain any unwanted materials (coagulated proteins, hop residue, etc.) remaining in the wort 23 after the wort 23 has been transferred from the internal tank 20 to the outside. The main container drain pipe 49 can be optionally extended or fitted with a flexible hose. It is also used during cleaning.

[0028] The brewing process in one embodiment of the first invention will be described below. After malt and adjuncts such as rice are loaded into the mobile lifting cage 3, the process moves on to mashing and wort filtration. In this process, the cage 30 is submerged in the internal tank 20, and the wort 23 is circulated through it. The flow of wort 23 in the mashing and wort filtration processes will be explained with reference to Figures 7, 8, and 9. First, the wort 23 is drawn in by the pump 4 through the suction port 22 of the internal tank 20 of the main container 2 via the suction pipe 40. Next, the wort 23 discharged from the pump 4 after suction passes through the discharge pipe 50 and transfer pipe 41, flows through the valve 42, and is returned to the top of the internal tank 20 via a flexible hose (not shown) connected to the valve. This process is repeated several times. In this way, the wort 23 passes through the malt layer in the basket 30 multiple times, mashing occurs, and at the same time, the wort is filtered, resulting in the saccharification of the malt and clarification of the wort 23.

[0029] The boiling process, which follows the mashing and wort filtration process, involves removing the movable lifting basket 3 from the internal tank 20, removing the wort and adjuncts, adding hops and necessary adjuncts to the basket 3, submerging it in the internal tank 20, and boiling it with a heating source 21 to produce hot wort. The basket 30 can be stopped at any position by the lifting mechanism 32, allowing the height to which the hops and necessary adjuncts are immersed to be freely determined.

[0030] In the whirlpool process, which follows the boiling process, a mobile lifting basket 3 containing hops and necessary adjuncts is removed from the internal tank 20, and then the solidified material is separated by a swirling flow. The flow of wort 23 in this process will be explained with reference to Figures 8 and 9. The wort 23, drawn in by the pump 4 from the internal tank 20 of the main container 2 through the suction pipe 40, is discharged from the pump 4, flows through the discharge pipe 50 and the tangential inlet valve 44, and then flows into the tangential inlet pipe 45. It returns to the internal tank 20 through the tangential inlet 43 of the cylindrical interior of the internal tank 20, generating a vortex flow, which separates the solidified material.

[0031] As shown in Figure 1, the small beer brewing apparatus 1 incorporates a control device (including a display and operation panel) 6 and multiple sensors. This allows the small beer brewing apparatus 1 to be expandable to a range of operations controllable by the control device by replacing elements that are normally operated manually, such as the switching of valves 42, tangential inlet valve 44, and main container drain valve 48, the operation of the pump 4 and heating heat source 21, and the vertical movement of the basket 30, with electronically controllable elements.

[0032] Next, an embodiment of the third invention will be described. In this small beer brewing apparatus 1, a malt mill 7 is installed in the pre-processing steps of several processes, such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the malt mill 7 consists of a malt receiving section 70 and a malt crushing section 71, and a crushing roller 72 is attached to the malt crushing section 71.

[0033] As shown in Figure 12, the grinding roller 72 has a knurled drum 74 with knurling formed on it that is detachably mounted on the roller shaft 73. The knurled drum 74 is divided into multiple parts, and in this embodiment it is divided into three parts. By dividing the knurled drum 74 into multiple parts and mounting it detachably, the malt mill 7 becomes one in which only the worn parts of the knurling can be replaced. The connection between the knurled drum 74 and the roller shaft 73 is made by using a parallel key or by creating male and female threads on each.

[0034] Next, an embodiment of the fourth invention will be described. The small beer brewing apparatus 1 is equipped with a counter chiller 8 after several processes, including mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing. The counter chiller 8 is for cooling the boiled wort 23. For this purpose, the wort 23 is transferred from the internal tank 20 of the main container 2 to the counter chiller 8. The valve 42, which was described in the mashing process, is switched to transfer the wort to the counter chiller 8. In other words, the valve 42 is a valve that switches between returning the wort 23 to the internal tank 20 in the mashing process and transferring it to the counter chiller 8.

[0035] As shown in Figure 13, the counter chiller 8 is made up of multiple counterflow heat exchangers 80 connected together, with four connected in this embodiment. Each counterflow heat exchanger 80 has an inlet / outlet 81 for the cooling heat medium, and the pipe through which the wort 23 to be cooled flows is connected to each counterflow heat exchanger 80 and forms a single pipe. Therefore, although the pipeline through which the high-temperature wort flows is a single pipe, the number of cooling heat medium inlets / outlets 81 is equal to the number of connected units. In this embodiment, there are four such locations. This increases the time the coolant is in contact with the low-temperature coolant, improving the cooling efficiency. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Small-scale beer brewing equipment 2·······Main container 20······Internal Tank 21... Heat source for heating 22······Removal opening 23...wort 24······Internal tank bottom 3. Mobile lifting cage 30...basket 31······Movement casters 32······Lifting mechanism 33...Small hole 34,35...Shutter 4·······pump 40....Suction piping 41······Transfer piping 42...valve 43...Tangential entrance 44······Tangential inlet valve 45...Tangential inlet piping 46....Piping drain valve 47. Pump drain valve 48.. Main container drain valve 49. Main container drain piping 50······Discharge piping 6. Control device 7...... Malt Mill 70······Malt receiving section 71······Malt grinding section 72..... Crushing roller 73....Roller shaft 74······Knurled drum 8...Counter chiller 80... Countercurrent heat exchanger 81...Heat medium inlet / outlet for cooling

Claims

1. A small beer brewing apparatus having one main container and one movable lifting basket, configured to perform multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, The main vessel is equipped with an internal tank used in multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and a pump that circulates the wort by drawing it from the internal tank and returning it, and also generates a vortex flow within the internal tank. The internal tank is provided with a heat source for heating and a wort outlet. A small beer brewing apparatus characterized by the fact that the cage of the movable lifting cage is designed to be submerged in a position where it floats in the liquid inside the internal tank when materials such as malt are put into it, and that it has small holes of a size that can prevent materials such as malt from leaking out.

2. The small beer brewing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the cage of the mobile lifting cage is attached to a caster for movement and a lifting mechanism, the small holes of the cage are formed on the bottom and sides of the cage, and a shutter for closing any of the small holes is provided on the side of the cage.

3. The small beer brewing apparatus described above is characterized in that a malt mill is installed in the preceding steps of multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and the grinding rollers of the malt grinding section of the malt mill have a knurled drum with knurling formed on a roller shaft that is removablely attached, and the knurled drum is divided into multiple parts.

4. The above-described small beer brewing apparatus is characterized in that a counter chiller is installed after multiple processes such as mashing, wort filtration, boiling, and whirlpool brewing, and the counter chiller is made up of multiple counterflow heat exchangers connected together, with each counterflow heat exchanger having an inlet and outlet for the cooling heat transfer medium, and the pipe through which the wort to be cooled flows is connected to each counterflow heat exchanger and connected into a single pipe, as described in claim 1, 2, or 3.

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