United States Patent [19] [11] Patent Number: 4,708,938

Hickinbotham I [45] Date of Patent: Nov. 24, 1987

[54] ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION [56] References Cited

U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
[75] Inventor: Stephen J. Hickinbotham, Burwood,
Australia 1,280,280 10/1918 Nathan ................................ .. 426/16
2,564,163 8/1951 Leperre 222/95 X
3,946,780 3/ 1976 Sellers ..... .. 426/15 X
[73] Assignee: .Hickinbotham Winemakers Pty. Ltd., 4,027,427 _ 6/1977 Stoller et al .... .. 426/ 8 X
Burwood, Australia . 4,098,434 7/1978 Uhlig .............................. .. 222/95 X

[21] Appl. No.: 726,158 Primary Examiner-Robert Yoncoskie

Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Larson and Taylor
[22] Filed: Apr. 23, 1985 [57] ABSTRACT
Fermentation method and apparatus comprising an
[30] Foreign Application Priority Data outer container with a plastics bag hung from the neck
Apr. 30, 1984 [AU] Australia ............................ .. PG4757 of the container to de?ne a chamber between the bag
Jan. 10, 1985 [AU] Australia ............................ .. PG8843 and the container. Means to pressurize the chamber
with a temperature controlled medium to control fer
[51] Int. Cl.4 ....................... ., .................... .. 012M 1/12 mentation of material within the bag. Additional pres
[52] US. Cl. ........................ ....... .. 435/311; 435/316; surization of the chamber causing the fermented liquid
- 222/95; 426/11; 426/ 15 to be expelled from the mouth of the bag.
[58] Field of Search ....................... .. 426/8, 11, 15, 16;
222/95, 386.5; 435/311, 316, 317 7 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures

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I U. S. Patent _ , Nov. 24, 1987 _ 4,708,938

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 4,708,938
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such as water can be circulated into the chamber via the
ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION inlet and outlet means to cause the bag to assume the
volume of its contents and to control the temperature at .
FIELD OF THE INVENTION which fermentation takes place, and when fermentation
The present invention relates to alcoholic fermenta is complete, the chamber can be pressurized to force the
tion. In particular the present invention relates to a liquid within the bag to be expelled via the delivery
process and apparatus for the alcoholic fermentation of outlet.
wine, beer, cider or other alcoholic drink including low Another aspect of the present invention concerns a
alcoholic soft drinks under controlled temperature and process of alcoholic fermentation comprising placing
/or pressure conditions on a small scale. material to be fermented into a plastics liner within a
container, ?lling the space between the liner and the
SUMMARY OF PRIOR ART container with a temperature controlling liquid and,
The process of alcoholic fermentation is a process of completing the fermentation under controlled tempera
enzymatic transformation of a carbohydrate material ture by controlling the temperature of the liquid be
particularly grape material which yields alcohol and tween the liner and the container.
carbon dioxide. The alcoholic fermentation is desirably The process may also comprise placing the product
undertaken without the participation of oxygen. In to be fermented in a ?exible plastics liner within a con
prior art processes fermentation of grapes is usually tainer, sealing the liner to prevent entry of air but allow
undertaken in large scale wooden or stainless steel ing escape of gases, completing the fermentation, and
tanks. Such tanks would generally be of the size of further pressurizing the space between the liner and the
approximately 1000 gallons or more. There is therefore container to cause the contents of the liner to be ex
a difficulty in undertaking fermentation of grapes where pelled from the top of the liner.
the supply of grapes is either low, e.g. in the preparation A still further aspect of the invention embraces a
of specialist or experimental wine varieties; or where method of producing draught beer comprising placing
the supply of grapes varies depending on source and wort and yeast into a plastics bag within a container,
quantity required. Moreover, the cost of manufacturing sealing the plastics bag with a pressure release valve,
small-size one-off tanks in e. g. stainless steel is prohibi completing the fermentation, and drawing off the
tively expensive. The prior art processes are in?exible draught beer by pressurizing the space between the bag
in this area as a need for anaerobic conditions requires and the container to cause the beer to be expelled under
that the 1000 gallon tanks be full. 30
pressure via the release valve.
. The prior art processes also have the disadvantage
The process and apparatus described above is espe
that fermentation of grapes is optimally undertaken cially designed to allow alcoholic fermentation on a
under controlled temperature conditions. For example, small scale. The size and volume of the components of
in numerous applications temperatures of approxi
mately 28 C. have been found to be optimal and varia the apparatus will vary depending on the scale envis
tions of one or two degrees either way may result in loss aged.
of quality of the wine subsequently produced. It will be DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
understood that when dealing with large scale stainless
steel and wood tanks the cost and efficiency of tempera The present invention will now be described by way
ture control present substantial difficulties. of example only with reference to the accompanying
A further problem with prior art processes, especially drawings in which:
in small scale domestic production, is the problem of FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of fermentation appa
separating the wine from the sediment. Siphoning tech ratus; and
niques are most commonly used with varying degrees FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a type of
of success. 45 stopper for_use in the apparatus of FIG. 1.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
EMBODIMENTS
It is an object of this invention to provide a process
and apparatus that makes alcoholic fermentation on a Fermentation apparatus for use on a small or domes
small scale easier, more reliable and inexpensive. tic scale comprises as shown in FIG. 1 a rigid outer
According to a ?rst aspect of the present invention container 10. The container may be manufactured of
there is provided fermentation apparatus comprising an any suitable material such as wood, plastics or metal.
outer container with a scalable liner secured within the The walls of the container are impermeable and are
container to de?ne a pressurizable chamber between the preferably insulated. The container 10 has a free stand
exterior of the liner and the interior of the container, the ing base portion 11 and terminates at the other end in a
container having ?uid inlet and outlet means in commu neck portion 12 defining an aperture 13. The wall 14 of
nication with said chamber. the container is provided with a fluid inlet pipe 15 adja
According to a further aspect of the present invention cent the base of the container and a fluid outlet pipe 16
there is provided fermentation apparatus comprising a adjacent the top. Both pipes incorporate control valves
rigid container having an open top and fluid inlet and 17 and 18 in the form of taps. The ?uid inlet and outlet
outlet means, an air impervious plastics bag located pipes are connected to a source of mains water pressure.
within the container by a stopper arranged to secure The fermentation apparatus also comprises a bag 20
said plastics bag to hang from the open top and to seal made of suitable plastics that, in an ideal situation, is
the top and to de?ne a chamber between the exterior of oxygen and carbon dioxide impermeable. The plastics
the bag and the interior of the container, the stopper 65 bag 20 has an opening 21 at one end and is closed at the
. having a delivery outlet whereby, in use, a fermentation other end 22. The bag is draped within the container 10
mixture can be placed within the bag and the bag sealed with overlapping edges 23 extending over the neck 12
by the stopper, and a temperature controlling medium of the container. A suitable stopper 30 which may be
 4,708,938
3 4
made of any suitable material such as cork, rubber, displacing the sediment. Because the sediment is of
plastics or wood is then inserted into the aperture 13 to higher density than the liquid above it, pressurisation of
seal the aperture of the container and also to ?rmly hold the space outside the bag causes the bag above the sedi
the bag against the wall of the aperture so the bag is ment to collapse thereby forcing out the liquid. Eventu
hung from the neck of the container as shown in FIG. 1. ally the bag tends to collapse around the sediment
It is understood that the stopper may be in screw thereby reducing the opportunity for the sediment to
threaded engagement with the inside surface of the neck cloud the liquid. In this way the apparatus can be used
of the container or alternatively the neck 12 may be to ensure carefully controlled fermentation whilst at the
tapered as shown in FIG. 2 to accommodate a suitably same time providing a simple and effective means of
tapered stopper. The stopper has a one way valve 40 in collecting the fermented liquid without the use of means
the form of an air lock that is in ?uid communication such as siphons. The bag is disposable and a fresh bag
with the interior of the bag 20 via a pipe 41 that extends can be used for each fermentation process thereby re
through a hole 42 in the stopper 30. The stopper 30 is ducing the occurrence of harmful micro-organisms
also provided with a delivery hole 44 and has inserted emanating from dirty equipment.
therein a delivery pipe 45. The delivery pipe 45 is ar When the fermentation apparatus is used to manufac
ranged to be connected to a flexible coupling 46 that is ture red wine the must contains crushed skins and stems
in turn connected to a collapsed second plastics bag 50. of the berries together with the grape juice. When the
Suitable valving 51 is provided to control release of fermentation process commences the carbon-dioxide
?uid from the pipe 45. produced tends to collect on the grape skins and stems
The bag 20 is designed to be of such a size that when 20 causing them to ?oat at the top of the liquid. It is com
substantially full it assumes the pro?le as shown in FIG. mon practice to periodically cause the ?oating debris to
1. That is substantially ?lling the enclosure within the be immersed in the liquid to leach out the colour and
container 10 but leaving a space 60 between the bag and ?avouring from the skins and stems.
the interior wall of the container 10. This space 60 is The fermentation apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2 is
sealed from the exterior by the stopper 30 and can be 25 speci?cally designed for use with red wine production.
?lled with water from the ?uid inlet 15.
In this embodiment the stopper 31 is provided with a
To use the fermentation apparatus illustrated in FIG.
central recess 70 on its under surface. The recess 70 is in
1 to make wine or beer or other low alcoholic drinks
including soft drinks, the must in the case of wine or
communication with the delivery outlet 71 and is cov
wort in the case of beer is placed in the plastics bag 20 30 ered by a circular sieve 72. The recess is arranged to
together with any other additives and, if necessary, house a suitable ?ltering material such as diatomaceous
selected yeast. The bag is ?lled to the desired level and earth. The stopper is also provided with a central aper
then hung from the neck of the container by inserted the ture 74 through which a shaft 75 extends. The shaft 75
stopper 30 ?rmly into position into the neck of the con is coupled to a plunger member 76 and is arranged to be
tainer. The delivery pipe 45 is closed by means of the 35 depressed so that the plunger member can push ?oating
valve 51 which means that no air can enter the bag 20. matter into the liquid within the plastics bag. It is under
The fermentation or brewing process produces carbon stood that the shaft is in sealed engagement with the
dioxide which escapes from the bag via the air lock 40. stopper to prevent entry of air. Periodic use of the
Since the majority of fermentation or brewing pro plunger ensures that the ?oating matter is immersed
- cesses are very temperature dependent, water at a spe into the liquid as desired. When the fermentation pro
ci?cally controlled temperature is continuously passed cess is complete the liquid is expelled in the same man
" " into the container 10 via the inlet 15 and the outlet 16. ner as described earlier except that in this case the sieve
In this manner the space 60 surrounding the bag is, and diatomaceous earth act as a very ef?cient ?ltering
throughout the fermentation process, ?lled with water system to preclude escape of unwanted debris. By care
at a desired temperature so that the temperature of the 45 ful control of the pressure of the water within the space
fermentation process can be carefully controlled. It is 60 the rate of escape of the liquid within the bag can be
understood that suitable temperature control means controlled so that a very slow but effective ?ltering
may be incorporated within the water line to ensure takes place. It is further understood that other ?lters
recirculation of water at the desired temperature. Fur may be positioned downstream in the pipe from the
thermore the water pressure causes the bag to collapse container to a collapsed plastics bag of the kind shown
around its contents thereby ensuring there is no un in FIG. 1. In this way red wine can be produced with
wanted air within the bag. out the use of presses, de-stemers and sophisticated
In a normal brewing or fermentation process the ?lters.
primary fermentation ceases when no more carbon The pressurisation of the space between the plastics
dioxide is produced and sediment collects at the bottom 55 bag and the container ensures that the bag collapses
of the bag with clear liquid thereabove. Once the fer around its contents to ensure that there is no unwanted
mentation is complete the ?uid outlet valve 17 is closed air within the bag. Further pressurisation also causes
and the delivery valve 51 is opened to be in ?uid con ef?cient and controlled expulsion of the fermented liq
nection with the evacuated plastics bag 50. Mains water uid and not the sediment in the base of the bag. The
under pressure is then allowed to enter the space 60 via 60 water which is the pressure medium also supports the
the ?uid inlet 15 and the pressure of the water has the bag within the container and reduces the stress that
effect of causing inward motion of the wall of the bag would be placed on the bag should it hang freely from
thereby forcing the contents of the bag out through the the neck of the container. The fact that the bag is sup
delivery outlet 45 to be collected in the evacuated bag ported to hang from the top of the container makes the
50. In this manner all the liquid above the sediment is 65 contents much more accessible. Furthermore the use of
transferred to the evacuated bag anaerobically. Control external pressure to force the liquid out of the bag pro
of the mains water pressure can ensure that all the liquid vides a simple yet effective means of sparging air or
above the sediment is expelled from the bag without oxygen that might accidentally enter the bag.
 4,708,938
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By replacing the one way valve with a pressure con sealed and the space above the grapes evacuated by
trol valve, fermentation can, if necessary, take place ?ling the chamber 60 between the bag 20 and container
under pressure. The carbon dioxide produced by the 10 with water to cause the bag to collapse around the
fermentation process can be used to pressurise the grapes.
whole apparatus without damaging the bag. This is 5 A small amount of CO2 may be added in the form of
carried out by ensuring that there is a pressure balance dry ice to force out any air that might remain in the bag.
between the interior and exterior of the bag. During the process of intra-cellular fermentation the
Pressured fermentation is used in certain white wine CO2 produced escapes via the airlock 41. When the
manufacturing processes and is particularly useful in the fermentation is complete the chamber 60 may be further
production of draught beer. The apparatus can be used pressurised by increasing the water pressure within the
to make small quantities of pressurised beer which can chamber 60 to cause the bag to dry and force the grapes
be chilled by either chilling the pressurising medium out through the delivery outlet via the ?lter. The
(water) or byplacing the whole apparatus in a refrigera contact pressure of the grapes against the ?lter crushes
tor. To draw off the beer the water pressure outside the the grapes and allows the juice to be forced out of the
bag is increased to cause the pressurised beer to be 15 bag through the delivery outlet via the ?lter which
expelled via a suitable tap. There is no need to separate prevents the escape of the skins and stems. By this
the liquid from the sediment and induce secondary fer means wine can be produced by the process of carbonic
mentation in a bottle as in the case with most home beer maceration with simple equipment without the need for
brewing kits. destemers and crushers.
In our co-pending Australian Patent Application No. The fermentation apparatus described above can be
2021 l/ 84 there is disclosed a method of making wine by of any suitable size, shape or form and is not restricted
the process of full carbonic maceration. to the embodiments described. However it is speci?
Carbonic maceration is de?ned as a process in which cally designed for use on a small scale. The throw away
fermentation of the grapes occurs by intra-cellular fer plastics bags ensure a very clean and hygienic environ
mentation only, that is the fermenation is generated by 25 ment for the fermentation process. The use of an evacu
utilisation of the enzymes present within the grapes ated second plastics bag to collect the wine, beer or
themselves. The term relates to fermentation techniques other alcoholic drink produced again ensures that the
.which do not involve crushing the grapes. Uncrushed contents are not exposed to air which can cause harmful
p bunches of grapes are placed in a closed container that deterioration.
is ?lled with carbon dioxide gas. Under these condi It is envisaged that the fermentation apparatus de
tions, the entire berries undergo an intra-cellular or scribed above may be sold in kits for use both in the
auto-fermentation. After a period-of maceration and commercial production of specialized wines as well as
completion of fermentation the grapes are crushed and the do-it-yourself wine or beer production.
> pressed. Fermentation by carbonic maceration is con Although the preferred embodiment discloses the use
sidered highly desirable by winemakers because the 35 of mains water as the pressure medium it is understood
process produces natural aromatic qualities not usually that the ?uid inlet and outlet may be connected to a
produced by fermentation of crushed grapes. The fer variable pressure pump and temperature control means
mentation process produced by the enzymes of the to provide a system with a closed pressurization circuit.
. berries produces glycerine and certain other constitu Having now described my invention, what I claim is:
ents, breaks down the malic acid and alters the physical 40 1. Fermentation apparatus comprising a rigid con
. appearance of the berries. Consequently this process tainer having an open top, a liquid transfer inlet posi
1 softens the wine and produces a more complex ?avour. tioned adjacent the base of the container and a liquid
The expression -full carbonic maceration is de?ned transfer outlet positioned adjacent the top of the con
as a carbonic maceration process carried out in such a tainer, valve means to control ?ow of liquid in and out
way that more than 85% of the grapes remain whole 45 of the inlet and outlet, an air impervious plastic bag
and uncrushed up to the time that the carbonic macera located Within the container to hang from the open top,
tion is completed. and con?gured to de?ne a chamber between the exte
The essence of the process disclosed in co-pending rior of the bag and the interior of the container, and
application 2121 l/ 84 is that the uncrushed grapes com means for sealing the top, said sealing means including
plete intra-cellular fermentation in an anaerobic atmo a delivery outlet and ?lter means positioned across the
sphere. The anearobic atmosphere is created by forcing top of the container wherein in preparing an alcoholic
the air out of the container that holds the grapes by beverage a fermentation mixture is placed within the
?lling the air space above the grapes with carbon diox bag and the bag sealed, and by use of the valve means a
ide (CO2). This can be carried out by either forcing temperature controlling medium is circulated into the
CD; into the container or by placing a quantity of dry 55 chamber via the inlet and outlet to cause the bag to
ice into the container, the vapourisation of the dry ice assume the volume of its contents and to control the
forcing the air out of the container. After the intra-cel temperature at which fermentation takes place, and
lular fermenation is complete the grapes are crushed, when fermentation is complete, the chamber is pressur
destemed, subjected to ?nal fermentation and ?ltering ized to force the liquid within the bag to be expelled
treatments and bottled. The process has the major ad through the ?lter means and via the delivery outlet. '
vantage that excellent drinking red and white wine can 2. Fermentation apparatus according to claim 1
be produced within a period of two weeks from wine to wherein the liquid transfer inlet and outlet are each
bottle. ' provided with control valves and wherein the inlet is
The apparatus described above, with particular refer coupled to a mains water supply so that the chamber is
ence to FIG. 2 is considered very suitable for the pro 65 pressurized by the mains water.
duction of wine by carbonic maceration. _Whole grapes 3. Fermentation apparatus according to claim 1
may be positioned within the bag 20 to a depth that little wherein the liquid inlet and outlet are coupled to a
or no crushing of the grapes takes place. The bag can be pump to form a closed circuit with the chamber.
 4,708,938
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4. Fermentation apparatus according to claim 1 odically depress ?oating matter under the liquid in the
wherein the open top of the container comprises a neck bag.
de?ning an aperture and the bag is hung in a sealed 6. Fermenation apparatus according to claim 4
manner from the neck by being clamped against the wherein the stopper incorporates the ?lter means.
neck of the container by a stopper.
5. Fermentation apparatus according to claim 4 7. Fermentation apparatus according to claim 1 com
wherein the stopper incorporates a displaceable plunger prising means to control the temperature of the liquid
that is operated from the exterior of the container, the within the chamber.
III * * I t
plunger extending into the interior of the bag for peri
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