Method and system for the filtration and stabilization of ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverages
Methods and systems are described that filter and stabilize ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverages produced by forward osmosis. A rough ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage may be received from a dewatering system and then passed on to a chiller as part of a post dewatering process. The ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage may be held at a predetermined temperature for a specific amount of time such that the temperature of the ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage is prevented from falling below a freezing point of the ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage. The chilled ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage is then passed through a number of filters of a filtration system. The filters may be arranged in an order progressing from coarse to fine filters, where haze compounds and their precursors are removed from the ultra-high gravity alcoholic beverage producing a clear and stable product.
1 . A method for filtering and stabilizing an ultra-high gravity (UHG) alcoholic beverage, comprising:
processing a high gravity (HG) alcoholic beverage having 5% to 14% ABV via reverse osmosis to form a very-high gravity (VHG) alcoholic beverage having a greater alcohol by volume percentage (ABV) than the HG alcoholic beverage;
processing the VHG alcoholic beverage and a draw solution via forward osmosis to form the UHG alcoholic beverage having a greater ABV and, via forward osmosis, output the UHG alcoholic beverage and spent draw solution;
receiving the UHG alcoholic beverage having 24% to 50% ABV;
introducing the UHG alcoholic beverage into a chilled holding tank set at a temperature within a range of −3° C. to −8° C.;
holding the UHG alcoholic beverage in the chilled holding tank for a predetermined amount of time such that the temperature of the UHG alcoholic beverage is within the range of −3° C. to −8° C., and wherein the temperature of the UHG alcoholic beverage is prevented from falling below a freezing point of the UHG alcoholic beverage;
pumping the UHG alcoholic beverage from the chilled holding tank through a prefilter of a filtration system, the prefilter including at least one coarse particle size filter;
pumping the UHG alcoholic beverage pre-filtered by the filtration system through a fine-filter of the filtration system; and
collecting the UHG alcoholic beverage filtered by the prefilter and fine-filter of the filtration system.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined amount of time is between 20 minutes and 24 hours.
3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage is between 41% and 50% alcohol by volume.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pre-filter comprises a cellulose membrane or a polypropylene membrane comprising an average particle filtration size between 1.0 and 1.5 microns.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the fine-filter comprises one or more of a ceramic filter membrane, a polysulfone membrane, a polypropylene filter, and/or a viscose, silica, or perlite diatomaceous earth depth filter having an average particle filtration size between 0.45 and 0.8 microns.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage is a beer, cider, or fermented malt beverage.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage includes haze compounds prior to entering the filtration system, and wherein filtration system removes the haze compounds and haze precursors from the UHG alcoholic beverage.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the VHG alcoholic beverage has 14.1% to 23.9% ABV.
9 . A method for filtering and stabilizing ultra-high gravity (UHG) alcoholic beverages produced by a forward osmosis (FO) system, the method comprising:
processing, via reverse osmosis (RO), a high gravity (HG) alcoholic beverage to produce a very-high gravity (VHG) alcoholic beverage, wherein the VHG alcoholic beverage comprises a greater alcohol by volume percentage than the HG alcoholic beverage;
processing, via FO, the VHG alcoholic beverage processed via RO, to produce the UHG alcoholic beverage, wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage comprises a greater ABV percentage than the very-high gravity alcoholic beverage;
conveying the UHG alcoholic beverage into a chilled holding tank set at a temperature within a range of −3° C. to −8° C., wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage having 24% to 50% ABV;
maintaining the UHG alcoholic beverage in the chilled holding tank for a holding time set between 20 minutes and 24 hours such that the temperature of the UHG alcoholic beverage is within the range of −3° C. to −8° C., and wherein the temperature of the UHG alcoholic beverage is prevented from falling below a freezing point of the beverage;
pumping, after expiration of the holding time, the UHG alcoholic beverage from the chilled holding tank through a multi-stage filtration system comprising filters arranged in an order progressing from coarse particle size filtration elements to fine particle size filtration elements, wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage contains haze compounds prior to entering the filtration system, and wherein filtration system removes the haze compounds from the UHG alcoholic beverage; and
collecting, via a storage tank, the UHG alcoholic beverage pumped through the multi-stage filtration system.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the multi-stage filtration system comprises at least one of:
a pre-filter comprising one or more of a cellulose membrane and/or a polypropylene membrane having an average particle size filtration between 1.0 and 1.5 microns; and/or
a fine-filter comprising one or more of a ceramic filter membrane, a polysulfone membrane, a polypropylene filter, and/or a diatomaceous earth depth filter having an average particle filtration size between 0.45 and 0.8 microns.
11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the UHG alcoholic beverage is between 41% and 50% alcohol by volume.