A flavour composition comprising a compound according to the formula (I) or edible salts thereof, ##STR00001##
wherein
R.sub.1 is an alkyl residue containing 6 to 20 carbon atoms, or an alkene residue containing from 9 to 25 carbon atoms with 1 to 6 double bonds, R.sub.1 together with the carbonyl group to which it is attached is a residue of a carboxylic acid, and NR.sub.2R.sub.3, in which R.sub.3 is H or together with R.sub.2 and the N-atom to which they are attached, a 5-membered ring, is a residue of an amino acid, in particular a proteinogenic amino acid, ornithine, gamma-aminobutyric acid or beta alanine, or a 1-amino cycloalkyl carboxylic acid.

The present invention discloses a process for preparing a sparkling alcoholic beverage resulting from the maceration of hops and/or its derivatives in wine with the addition of wine concentrate, vegetable water and/or water, fruit or vegetable concentrate and/or sugar, in order to reduce the alcohol content of wine, and which is gasified by a second alcoholic fermentation and/or addition of carbon dioxide. Through this process a sparkling alcoholic beverage having between 5 and 15% alcohol, a sugar content between 0.1 and 200 g/L, with a total acidity between 4 and 8 g/L is obtained having hops aroma, flavor and bitterness combined with aromas inherent to wine.

The present invention discloses a process for preparing a sparkling alcoholic beverage resulting from the maceration of hops and/or its derivatives in wine with the addition of wine concentrate, vegetable water and/or water, fruit or vegetable concentrate and/or sugar, in order to reduce the alcohol content of wine, and which is gasified by a second alcoholic fermentation and/or addition of carbon dioxide. Through this process a sparkling alcoholic beverage having between 5 and 15% alcohol, a sugar content between 0.1 and 200 g/L, with a total acidity between 4 and 8 g/L is obtained having hops aroma, flavor and bitterness combined with aromas inherent to wine.

Alcoholic beverage-substitutes such as a beer-substitute, a wine-substitute, a cider-substitute, an alcopop-substitute or a spirit-substitute beverage, comprising a base liquid (e.g., a base beverage) and a 2-aminoindan derivative such as defined by Formula I in the specification are disclosed.

Alcoholic beverage-substitutes such as a beer-substitute, a wine-substitute, a cider-substitute, an alcopop-substitute or a spirit-substitute beverage, comprising a base liquid (e.g., a base beverage) and a 2-aminoindan derivative such as defined by Formula I in the specification are disclosed.

An object is to improve a sensation of piquant pungency of an alcoholic beverage without a significant effect on the aroma of the beverage. By adding from 0.1 to 5 ppm of chitosan to an alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of from 1 to 10 v/v %, a sensation of alcohol pungency in a packaged alcoholic beverage can be reduced.

An object is to improve a sensation of piquant pungency of an alcoholic beverage without a significant effect on the aroma of the beverage. By adding from 0.1 to 5 ppm of chitosan to an alcoholic beverage with an alcohol content of from 1 to 10 v/v %, a sensation of alcohol pungency in a packaged alcoholic beverage can be reduced.

The present invention relates to a device for preparing and dispensing reconstituted beer, said device comprising: a first vessel containing a liquid concentrate for preparing a beer; a second vessel containing an alcoholic liquid; a source of water; a source of pressurized carbon dioxide; a reconstitution unit; a dispensing unit for dispensing the alcoholic beer; wherein the device is operable (i) to form a reconstituted beer comprising water from the source of water, carbon dioxide from the source of pressurized carbon dioxide, liquid concentrate from the first vessel and alcoholic liquid from the second vessel, in the reconstitution unit and (ii) to dispense the reconstituted beer from the dispensing unit; wherein the liquid concentrate in the first vessel an ethanol content of 0-1% ABV; and wherein the alcoholic liquid in the second vessel contains 12-100 wt. % ethanol and 0-88 wt. % water, ethanol and water together constituting 80-100 wt. % of the alcoholic liquid.

An alternative aspect of the invention relates to a device wherein the source of water and the source of pressurised carbon dioxide are replaced by a source of carbonated water and the device is operable to form a reconstituted beer comprising water from the source of carbonated water, liquid concentrate from the first vessel and alcoholic liquid from the second vessel in the reconstitution unit.

The aforementioned devices can be used to prepare a reconstituted beer of superior quality. The use of an essentially alcohol-free concentrate offers the advantage that the stability of the concentrate is substantially improved.

The invention relates to a single-serve capsule comprising at least two compartments, including a first compartment and a second compartment; wherein the first compartment comprises a liquid concentrate of an alcohol-free beer, said liquid beer concentrate having an ethanol content of 0-1% ABV, wherein the second compartment comprises an alcoholic liquid containing 12-100 wt. % ethanol and 0-88 wt. % water, and wherein ethanol and water together constitute 80-100 wt. % of the alcoholic liquid

The capsule of the present invention can suitably be used to prepare a good quality alcoholic beer by mixing the contents of the capsule with carbonated water.

The liquid beer concentrate in the first compartment can suitably be produced by reducing the water content of alcohol-free beer by means of membrane separation and/or by means of freeze concentration. The physicochemical stability of the liquid beer concentrate so obtained is very high due to the very low (or zero) ethanol content.

The present invention relates to a process of manufacturing a packaged liquid beer concentrate, said process comprising: providing an alcoholic beer comprising 3-12% ABV ethanol; removing at least a part of the ethanol from the alcoholic beer by means of distillation, thereby producing (i) a low alcohol beer having an ethanol content of 0-1.5% ABV alcohol and (ii) an alcoholic liquid containing at least 10% ABV ethanol; removing at least 70 wt. % of the water present in the low alcohol beer by means of membrane separation and/or freeze concentration to produce a liquid beer concentrate; if the alcoholic liquid contains less than 20% ABV ethanol, concentrating the alcoholic liquid to an ethanol content of at least 30% ABV by means of distillation, reverse osmosis or forwards osmosis; separately packaging the liquid beer concentrate and the alcoholic liquid within a single container or within separate containers that together form a kit of parts.

The present process offers the advantage that it can utilise de-alcoholisation units that are commonly used in the production of low alcohol beer, thus minimising capital investment. The low alcohol beer that is obtained by the dealcoholisation step can be concentrated in a single step to produce the liquid beer concentrate.