An Improved Process and Apparatus for Accelerating the Ageing of Alcoholic Liquors.
Year: 1897

page_text: Date of Application, 28th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 5th Mar., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Process and Apparatus for Accelerating the Ageing of
Alcoholic Liquors.
I, RAOUL MOREL DE TANGRY, of 92, Avenue du Sud, Antwerp, in the Kingdom
of Belgium, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement:-
This invention has for its object a process of treatment for all kinds of alcoholic
liquors by which the ageing of the said liquors obtained according to the elementary
process, which cousists in allowing them to remain in the cask for a long period,
may be obtained in a few hours without any injury to their "bouquet" or flavour
and freshness of taste.
Experience having shown that wine and all alcoholic liquors generally become
more mellow by ageing and acquire a more developed "bouquet," rendering them
more agreeable for consumption, I have endeavoured to ascertain the actual causes
of these transformations which are due evidently to the elimination of deleterious
substances in solution in the liquors, and which substances are released
in consequence of an internal action operating in course of time. These
deleterious substances which impart the primitive bad taste to new
liquors, are ethers, aldehydes and empyreumatic oils of special composition
which, during long storage in the cask, are decomposed partly into useful and
soluble substances remaining in the liquors which are favourable to the flavour
and bouquet," and partly into solid particles which are deposited, and further
partly into volatile and deleterious substances which are eliminated by exosmose.
But it is the realisation of this work of decomposition, and simultaneously the
elimination of deleterious substances of which spirits cannot be freed by repeated
distillation or other liquors by fermentation, which is obtained by my process of
accelerated ageing, which consists in subjecting the liquors in a thin layer to a
slow circulation, the external atmosphere being excluded, during which they are
varied gradually in temperature during two periods, the first rising progressively
from the ordinary temperature to 55° C maximum, and the second during which
they are progressively cooled descending from 55° C to the ordinary temperature.
The duration of the circulation more particularly the period of rising temperature
is of course proportionate to the nature or quality of the liquor to be treated, but
in any case the ageing is operated radically in very little time by the action of
the gradual temperatures herein before indicated, which produce rapidly the perfect
and regular decomposition of the empyreumatic substances in the order herein-
before shown, and the volatile discharges of which are separated or insulated from
the purified liquors, the liquors being aged as if by long keeping of the ordinary

page_text: kind in a cask and without undergoing the least alteration as regards taste and
freshness.
This concourse of favourable circumstances cannot be brought about except on
condition that the liquid in circulation at a graduated temperature shall never
exceed the maximum temperature indicated, because as soon as bubbles of
evaporation are formed, not only is the liquor (more particularly wine) deteriora-
ted, but it is no longer a question of separating or decomposing the empyreumatic
substances as they are simply carried away along with the steam or vapour,
reducing the process to a simple distillation not merely impotent and deleterious
but also removing from the liquor the parts of empyreumatic substances which
are favourable to the taste and to the bouquet" of the said liquors, which is
the reason that no process of rectification can produce the same results as ageing.
This accelerated process may be put into practice by means of any suitable
apparatus fulfilling the conditions hereinbefore enumerated but a continuously
working apparatus being preferable from all points of view. I will now describe
as an example the apparatus I preferably employ, making reference to the accom-
panying drawings, in which,
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the arrangement for the period of circula-
tion at a gradually increasing temperature;
Figure 2, a longitudinal section of the arrangement for the period of decreasing
temperature;
Figure 3, a plan view of the whole;
Figure 4, a view in perspective of a part of the condenser for the volatilised
portions of the empyreumatic substances.
In the drawings, in order to allow of the explanation being better understood,
a series of apparatuses for cooling liquors in treatment is shown as placed beneath
the series serving for the first period, whilst in practice the two series or sets of
apparatus are placed one beside the other in the desired gradation of the various
parts which compose them.
A tun F containing the new liquor which is to be subjected to treatment is con-
nected with a series of vats or vessels of any suitable material, 10 in number in
the present example, C1 C2 C³ Co placed in stepped gradation and con-
nected with one another at their base and each provided with a series of vertical
zigzags or baffle plates c. Taps R between the tun and the vats and if necessary
between the various vats serve for regulating the speed of flow of the liquor which
is intended to pass through them.
The first five vats C
C³ are reserved for the period of. circulation during
which the temperature of the liquid must be gradually raised and for this object
they are placed on a pipe G in which a circulation of hot gas, hot water or steam
is maintained, which in the present example is obtained by a worm boiler S, the
upper arm of which is connected to one end of the pipe G and the lower arm with
the return pipe T connected to the other end of the steam pipe G, which dis-
charges therein, in addition, water of condensation by means of short tubes t,
these various pipes being also assumed to be provided with suitable taps or
valves R for regulating the temperature.
Each of these five first vata are covered with a metallic dome D of thin sheet
metal forming a tight joint at the flanges b, and in the hollow chamber formed
by this dome a tubular condenser of special construction such as is shown in
Figure 4 is arranged.
The section of the tubes P is pear shaped, and they have arranged below them a
gutter which is fixed to the tubes in any suitable manner. In this condenser
a circulation of cold water from a reservoir B is maintained, the current of which
may feed successively all the series of the parts of the condenser or each of them
may be fed or supplied separately according to requirements.
The last vat 05 of the series is in contact with the end of the pipe G which
receives the hottest steam from the heating apparatus in such a way as to bring
the liquor during its sojourn in the said vat to a constant temperature of 55° C,

page_text: whilst the liquor in the vat C at the other extremity of the pipe where the steam
is not so hot is brought to a proportionately lower temperature which increases
progressively in the succeeding vats C2 C3 C4 up to the limit indicated at C5 where
the liquor then flows or is discharged into the second series of five vats C-Co
in which the progressive cooling is effected. The last series of vats is not provided
with a tubular condenser in this example, but such may be arranged there if
deemed necessary.
The last vat C10 discharges its contents into a decanting
vessel W which has the peculiarity of being divided in the centre by a separating
partition E which extends almost to the concave bottom of the vessel, which latter
is provided at the centre with a discharge tap R3, whilst near the edge of the
vessel W a decanting tap R2 is provided, the taps R2 and R3 opening into or being
arranged over the bunghole of casks H H respectively placed beneath them.
The working will be readily understood from the foregoing explanation. The
liquor coming from the tun F circulates through the tanks or vats C-C10 passing
above and below the zigzag e and is heated progressively by the steam pipe G,
thus successfully effecting the separation or decomposition of the empyreumatic
substances in such a way as to leave the soluble useful parts mixed with the liquor
whilst the solid particles remain in suspension and the volatilized substances rise
into the dome D in order to become condensed on the tubular faces which allow
the products of condensation to flow into the gutters or channels V which convey
them to the outside of the vats, thus separating them from the liquor. The latter
continues then its circulation in order to be cooled down in the second series of
vats and in the decanting vessel W which is much deeper and in which it circu-
lates in such a way as to pass beneath the partition E in order to rise at the other
side of the latter and finally be discharged into the cask H in order to be returned
to the cellar. During the slow circulation in the vessel W the solid particles are
precipitated into the concave bottom in the form of a lye which is drawn out into
the cask H by the discharge tap R³.
The liquor collected in the cask H is then free from all bad tastes, it has become
mellow and has obtained a very pronounced "bouquet" and in a word without
losing anything of its freshness, it has acquired in a few hours the superior
qualities which an ageing of many years duration does not always succeed in
imparting to it, more particularly in the case of liquors of doubtful quality.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is
or declen-
1. A process for accelerating the ageing of alcoholic liquors, characterized by a
slow and gradual elevation of their temperature up to a limit excluding the for-
mation of bubbles in the liquid, and by a subsequent gradual lowering
sion to the ordinary temperature, with the object of effecting by this operation
the decomposition of their empyreumatic substances into solid particles, soluble
parts and volatile parts and of separating the former by decantation and the latter
by condensation, substantially as hereinbefore described.
2. A method of carrying out the herein described process of accelerating the
ageing of liquors which consists in the liquor to be aged being caused to circulate
in the vicinity of a current of hot gas, hot water or steam in such a way as to be
gradually heated in a series of vats provided with zigzags or baffle plates and pro-
vided with condensers for collecting volatile substances, the said liquid after a
period of gradual cooling being received into a decanting vessel having a separating
partition which precipitates the solid particles and discharges the clear and aged
liquor into the storage casks, substantially as described.
3. A form of arrangement of circulation vats for carrying out the herein described
process of accelerating the ageing of liquors, characterized by the vats being covered
at their upper part by a dome and by the arrangement in the latter of a condenser
having tubes of pear shaped section facilitating the discharge of the products of
condensation, a gutter or channel being arranged beneath the condenser tube to

page_text: receive and convey to the outside of the vats, the products of condensation, sub-
stantially as described and shown in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this 24th day of December 1897.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6 Lord Street, Liverpool, Agents for the Applicant.