Abstract:
A method of dispensing a draught beverage, for example a beer, having a water content and a dissolved gas content; the beverage issuing from a mixing nozzle  24  into a drinking glass  26 . The beverage is subjected to nucleation causing nucleation sites to occur in the beverage, at which sites ice is encouraged to form. Draught beverage from a beverage supply  12  is initially cooled by chiller  16  before reaching the mixing nozzle  24  in which the beverage mixes with coolant from a coolant supply  14  before going into the glass  26 . This mixing and cooling by the coolant in the mixing nozzle causes nucleation and ice to form in the beverage before it is delivered into the glass. The coolant may be cold liquified gas, for example liquid nitrogen, or may be solid carbon dioxide.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 700,512 which is the derived from international patent application No. PCT/GB99/01551 filed May 14, 1999 and a continuation-in-part of patent application Ser. No. 150,463 which is derived from international patent application No. PCT/GB99/03824) filed Nov. 17, 1999. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    This invention concerns a method of dispensing a draught beverage.  
           [0003]    The invention also concerns dispensed draught beverage, and apparatus for use in dispensing the beverage.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0004]    The present invention provides a method of dispensing a beverage comprising cooling the beverage, providing a nucleation substance, and adding the nucleation substance to the cooled beverage thereby to provide nucleation sites whereby ice forms in the beverage at the nucleation sites.  
           [0005]    Preferably the ice is formed as crystals. The crystals are preferably free-floating in the beverage.  
           [0006]    Preferably the nucleation substance is cooled before being added to the beverage. More preferably the nucleation substance has a phase change temperature and is cooled to below the phase change temperature so that it undergoes a phase change. Still more preferably the beverage is cooled to a temperature which is higher than the phase change temperature such that nucleation substance undergoes a phase change when it has been added to the beverage. Said phase change may be from a gas phase to a liquid phase, or from a liquid phase to a solid phase. The nucleation substance may be cooled from a gas to a liquid prior to undergoing said phase change. The nucleation substance may, for example, carbon dioxide or water.  
           [0007]    The nucleation substance may be added to the beverage in the vessel. For example the nucleation substance may be introduced into the vessel simultaneously with at least some of said beverage. The nucleation substance may be pre-mixed with the beverage prior to the beverage being dispensed into the vessel.  
           [0008]    Preferably the beverage is an alcoholic beverage and the nucleation substance is water and delivered in such quantity as to dilute the beverage to a pre-determined alcoholic strength. For example the pre-determined alcoholic strength may be between 2% and 8%, more preferably from between 4% and 6%, still more preferably substantially 6% alcohol by volume (ABV).  
           [0009]    The nucleation substance may be a fluid in which case it may be introduced in a form of a fine stream.  
           [0010]    The nucleation substance may be introduced into the vessel through a narrow nozzle, which may be in the form of a needle, entering the vessel through a wall of the vessel. Preferably said wall has at least a portion formed of self-sealing resilient material which is pierced by said nozzle.  
           [0011]    Preferably the nucleation sites in the beverage contributing to formation of a head on the beverage. Preferably the beverage is a draught beverage, which may comprises a water content and a dissolved gas content. More preferably the beverage is alcoholic. For example the alcoholic beverage may be a beer, such as lager, or cider.  
           [0012]    The nucleation substance can be added in the form of a solid. For example the nucleation substance may comprise yeast. Alternatively the nucleation substance may comprise at least one of proteins and polyphenolic substances.  
           [0013]    The present invention further provides apparatus for the delivery of a beverage to a vessel, said apparatus comprising a source of cooled beverage, a beverage nozzle for delivery of the beverage and a nucleation substance adding means arranged to add a nucleation substance to the beverage thereby to provide nucleation sites in the beverage whereat ice can form.  
           [0014]    The source of cooled beverage preferably includes a beverage cooler, and a beverage dispensing system arranged.to dispense beverage cooled by the cooler. Preferably the dispensing system includes a dispense tap, and more preferably it includes a font, for example at a drinks bar.  
           [0015]    Preferably the adding means comprises a nozzle, for example it may be within the beverage nozzle. Alternatively the adding means may comprise an orifice plate.  
           [0016]    Preferably the nucleation substance adding means includes a cooler arranged to cool the nucleation substance prior to its being added to the beverage.  
           [0017]    The present invention further provides beverage in a vessel having been dispensed into the vessel by the method of the invention.  
           [0018]    The present invention further provides beverage in a vessel having been dispensed into the vessel by an apparatus according the invention.  
           [0019]    The present invention further provides a method of dispensing a draught beverage comprising cooling the beverage, and adding a nucleation substance to the cooled beverage thereby to provide nucleation sites whereby ice forms in the beverage at the nucleation sites, wherein the nucleation substance is added in particulate form.  
           [0020]    The nucleation substance may have a melting temperature and is cooled to below the melting temperature to allow it to be provided in said particulate form. Alternatively the nucleation substance may be yeast, which preferably forms a suspension in the beverage. As a further alternative the nucleation substance may appear as a chill haze in the beverage.  
           [0021]    The present invention still further provides a method of dispensing a draught beverage comprising providing a beverage having particulate material therein, and cooling the beverage such that the particulate material provides nucleation sites whereby ice forms in the beverage at the nucleation sites. The draught beverage may be a cask beverage which has not been cask conditioned. Furthermore the beverage has preferably not been treated prior to dispense, to remove said yeast particles.  
           [0022]    The beverage is preferably a draught beverage.  
           [0023]    Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0024]    [0024]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of apparatus according a third embodiment of the invention;  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of an apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the invention;  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of an apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention; and  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 6 is a schematic view of an apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0030]    With reference to FIG. 1, a dispensing apparatus  10  for dispensing draught beverage comprises a draught beverage supply  12  in the form of a barrel of lager, a coolant supply  14 , a chiller  16 , valves  18 ,  20 , a control system  22  and a mixing head  24 . The beverage supply  12  is connected to the mixing head via one  18  of the valves and the coolant supply  14  is connected to the mixing head  24  via the other  20  of the valves.  
         [0031]    The control system  22  operates the valves  18 ,  20  to control the flow of beverage and coolant from their respective supplies  12 ,  14  into the mixing head  24 . The supplies  12 ,  14  will generally included a pump (not shown) so that the beverage and coolant are supplied under pressure, so that opening the valves  18 ,  20  will cause the beverage and coolant respectively to flow to the mixing head  24 .  
         [0032]    Independent operation of the valves  18 ,  20  allows either the beverage or coolant to pass freely through the mixing head  25  and be dispensed into a drinking vessel in the form of a glass  26 . Therefore in a first mode of operation, the valve  18  is opened to allow beverage, which has been supercooled in the chiller  16 , to flow into the glass  26 . Then the valve  18  is closed and the valve  20  opened to allow a volume of coolant to flow into the beverage in the glass  26 . The coolant forms nucleation sites which promote the crystallization of ice in the beverage resulting in free-floating ice crystals in the beverage.  
         [0033]    The simultaneous opening of the valves  18 ,  20  draws both the beverage and coolant into the mixing head  24 . Therefore in a second mode of operation the valves  18 ,  20  are opened simultaneously and the beverage and coolant mix in the mixing head  24  wherein ice formation occurs prior to the final dispensing of the mixture into the glass  26 .  
         [0034]    In a further mode of operation the beverage is not supplied in a supercooled state, and the cooling effect of the coolant on the beverage promotes the formation of ice in the beverage when the coolant and beverage are mixed.  
         [0035]    The coolant is typically a liquefied gas, in this example liquid nitrogen. The coolant may however be solid carbon dioxide in which case the coolant supply  14  will typically be mounted directly above the mixing head  24  and the valve  18  may take the form of a gate valve.  
         [0036]    Referring now to FIG. 2, a draught beverage dispensing system  30  according to a second embodiment of the invention includes a beverage supply  32 , a coolant supply  34 , a chiller  36 , a valve  38 , a temperature sensor  40 , a control unit  42 , and a dispense nozzle or head  44 . The beverage supply  32  is connected via the chiller  36  and the valve  38 , by means of a supply pipe  48  to the nozzle  44 . The chiller  36  is connected to the valve  38  by means of a coolant supply pipe  49 , so that the valve  38  can control the amount of beverage flowing to the nozzle  44 , and the amount of coolant entering the beverage pipe  49 .  
         [0037]    In use, the control unit  42  controls the valve  38  regulating the amount of coolant entering the beverage from the coolant supply  34 . This may be regulated manually by the use of, for example, a key pad or alternatively by a feedback loop incorporating the temperature sensor  40 .  
         [0038]    The manual operation of the control unit  42  and valve  38  allows either only coolant or only beverage or a mixture of the two to be dispensed via the head  44  into a glass  46 .  
         [0039]    The temperature sensor  40  acts via the feedback loop with the control unit to maintain the mixture of beverage and coolant at a constant predetermined temperature. This temperature can be set so as to allow the formation of a predetermined proportion of ice within the mixture prior to dispensing.  
         [0040]    It will be appreciated that the manual operation of the valve  38  could also be used to allow ice formation within a beverage/coolant mixture prior to its dispensing.  
         [0041]    [0041]FIG. 3 shows an apparatus  50  suitable for filling a drinking vessel or glass  52  with a draught beverage. The apparatus  50  possesses a beverage nozzle  53  which is connected to a beverage supply line  56 . Provided within the beverage nozzle  53  is a nucleation fluid nozzle  54  which is connected to a nucleation fluid supply line  55 . The nucleation fluid may be a liquid, for example water, especially cold water, or liquid nitrogen, or a gas, especially a cooled gas, for example nitrogen or carbon dioxide. In use, cooled beverage is supplied to the beverage nozzle  53  and forms a stream from the nozzle  53  into the vessel  52 , and the nucleation fluid is dispensed into the centre of the stream of beverage from the beverage nozzle  53 . If the fluid is a liquid it will become mixed with the beverage in the vessel wherein it will promote the formation of ice crystals. If the fluid is a gas it will become entrained in the beverage to form bubbles as the beverage enters the vessel, and the bubbles form nucleation sites which promote the formation of ice crystals in the beverage. The beverage may be supercooled to below its freezing point to encourage the formation of ice, or it may be cooled to close to its freezing point and the nucleation fluid may also be cooled and used to cool the beverage further to promote the formation of ice.  
         [0042]    In a modification to the embodiment of FIG. 3 the nucleation fluid nozzle  54  can be separate from or external to the beverage nozzle.  
         [0043]    [0043]FIG. 4 shows an apparatus  60  suitable for filling a drinking vessel  62  with a draught beverage. The vessel  62  is provided with a base  67  of resilient self-sealing material which may be pierced and the vessel  62  rests on support  68 . The base  67  is formed from rubber. The apparatus  60  possesses a beverage nozzle  63  which is connected to a beverage supply line  66 . The support  68  is provided with nucleation fluid nozzle  64  which is connected to nucleation fluid supply line  65 . The nucleation fluid nozzle  64  is in the form of a hypodermic needle which pierces the base  67  of the vessel  62 . The base  67  self-seals when removed from nozzle  64 . In use, the beverage is placed onto the support  68  so that the needle  64  pierces its base  67 , which forms a fluid-tight seal around the needle. The beverage is then dispensed into the vessel  62 . Nucleation fluid is then injected as a narrow jet into the beverage in the vessel through the needle  64 . The vessel  64  is then lifted off the needle  64  and its base  67  seals up to make the vessel water-tight. Again pre-cooling of the beverage and cooling of the nucleation fluid can each be used to provide sufficiently low temperature for ice formation.  
         [0044]    The addition of said nucleation fluid into the beverage in the vessel  52  or  62  promotes the formation of ice in the beverage, especially if the beverage is prior cooled immediately before dispense from the nozzle  53  or  63 . It is believed that the nucleation fluid provides or creates nucleation sites within the beverage, which sites promote the formation of ice.  
         [0045]    With reference to FIG. 5, a draught beverage dispensing apparatus  80  includes a font  82 , a draught beverage supply  84 , a beverage chiller  86 , a gas supply  88 , a gas chiller  90 , valves  92 ,  94  and a control unit  96 .  
         [0046]    The font  82  has hollow elongate body  98 , arm  100  and head  102  portions. Beverage and gas supply pipes  104 ,  106  enter the body  98  and pass through the arm  100  and terminate internally of, and adjacent an open free end of, the head  102 .  
         [0047]    In use, the valves  92 ,  94  regulate the flow of beverage and gas through their respective supply pipes  104 ,  106  to exit through the head  102  in response to the control unit  96 . A drinking vessel or glass  108  is placed under, or around, the head  102  and draught beverage  110  dispensed thereinto under pressure in response to the valve  92  being opened by the control unit  96 .  
         [0048]    The head  102  is at least partially submerged in the beverage  110  during and after dispensing, and the valve  94  is operated to allow gas to pass through the chiller  90  along the supply pipe  106  and enter the beverage  110 , but during and after dispense of the beverage.  
         [0049]    The gas bubbles introduced into the beverage  110  from gas supply  88  act as nucleation sites for ice formation where the beverage is chilled below the freezing point of water. Supply  88  can be a supply of carbon dioxide and/or nitrogen.  
         [0050]    The control unit  96  can be electrically operated and include a user input in the form of, for example, a keypad to allow control of the valves  92 ,  94 . Alternatively it can comprise a manual such as a valve lever. It will also be appreciated that various modifications can be made to the apparatus, for example the gas chiller  90  can be omitted. It will be further appreciated that the drinking vessel  102  may be illuminated and/or mounted on a rotatable platform during dispensing of the beverage.  
         [0051]    Referring to FIG. 6, in a sixth embodiment of the invention a particulate nucleation substance is added to the supercooled beverage  120  in the form of yeast  122 . The yeast provides a degree of clouding of the beverage, which can be desirable for example of the beverage is beer, and also promotes the formation of ice in the beverage.  
         [0052]    In a modification to this embodiment further particulate substances such as proteins or polyphenolic substances are added in place of yeast. These substances are naturally resent in cask conditioned beer and their presence can be considered desirable under certain circumstances.  
         [0053]    In a further modification to this embodiment, rather than adding yeast to the beverage, the beverage is in the form of cask beer which has not been conditioned, and therefore contains yeast and other particulate substances such as proteins or polyphenolic substances. These particulate substances which are already in the beverage when it is dispensed therefore form the nucleation substance, and no further substances have to be added to the beverage, provided it is sufficiently chilled, to promote the formation of ice.  
         [0054]    In the embodiments described above the draught beverage may be cooled prior to delivering into the vessel, for example using beverage cooling means in a beverage dispensing system which may convey beverage from a supply of beverage to a dispense tap or a font at, for example, a drinks bar. The beverage may be non-alcoholic or alcoholic. For example, an alcoholic beverage may be a beer, for example a lager or an ale, stout or porter or the alcoholic beverage may be cider.