An improved system and process for rapidly producing distilled spirits having characteristics associated with a much longer maturation process is provided. The method involves contacting wood with an unmatured distilled spirit under heated conditions and contacting the resulting heat-treated spirit with actinic light. The disclosure provides embodiments where a spirit is sequentially processed through heat and actinic light treatment. The disclosure also provides embodiments where a heat-treated spirit is mixed with a spirit that has been separately treated with light to give characteristics of a mature spirit. Air may also be percolated through a mature spirit in a container with a headspace at a gauge pressure between about −25 inHg and about −30 inHg, until the alcohol concentration of the mature spirit is reduced by between about 1% to about 2% by volume, and until the total volume of the mature spirit is reduced by about 10% or less.

Disclosed is a method for aging an alcohol product by using intelligent ultrasonic technology. A sealed stainless-steel aging cylinder is arranged on a bracket in advance, and the bracket is arranged above a stainless-steel tank provided with an ultrasonic generator at the bottom, so that indirect ultrasonic aging is performed on a new alcohol product in the stainless-steel aging cylinder. Firstly, a water-injecting sub-process is initiated; an alcohol product-feeding sub-process is initiated and a specific aging sub-process is initiated; a temperature control sub-process is synchronously performed during the aging process; and an alcohol product-discharging sub-process is initiated. After the alcohol product-discharging sub-process, determining whether the alcohol product is required to replace can be added. If yes, a gas-washing sub-process is initiated, and if not, the alcohol product-feeding sub-process is directly performed to continue aging. Such a cycle is repeated to automatically perform the alcohol product-aging process.

Disclosed is a method for aging an alcohol product by using intelligent ultrasonic technology. A sealed stainless-steel aging cylinder is arranged on a bracket in advance, and the bracket is arranged above a stainless-steel tank provided with an ultrasonic generator at the bottom, so that indirect ultrasonic aging is performed on a new alcohol product in the stainless-steel aging cylinder. Firstly, a water-injecting sub-process is initiated; an alcohol product-feeding sub-process is initiated and a specific aging sub-process is initiated; a temperature control sub-process is synchronously performed during the aging process; and an alcohol product-discharging sub-process is initiated. After the alcohol product-discharging sub-process, determining whether the alcohol product is required to replace can be added. If yes, a gas-washing sub-process is initiated, and if not, the alcohol product-feeding sub-process is directly performed to continue aging. Such a cycle is repeated to automatically perform the alcohol product-aging process.

An apparatus and method for modifying the organoleptic properties of a beverage, such as wine in a bottle, said apparatus having a least one light-source, said light-source applying peak wavelengths at intensities and time durations optimal for modifying said beverage's organoleptic properties with a highly reflective inner surface, a translucent air flow baffle, a translucent liquid barrier, and a controlled oxygen concentration in the bottle headspace.

Methods and systems in a process for disinfecting or sterilizing a fermented beverage and/or a composition utilized in a fermentation process to produce a fermented beverage, using ultraviolet light. Such methods and systems can be coupled with processes for neutralizing unwanted acidic congeners and separating the resulting salts of the acidic congeners to produce a refined fermented beverage, including but not limited to a neutral malt base, gluten-free base, gluten-reduced base, grain-neutral spirit, wine base, and a sugar-brew base. Drinkable fermented beverages, including but not limited to flavored malt beverages and hard seltzer beverages, can also be disinfected or sterilized with ultraviolet light using any of the systems or methods described herein.

An extreme acceleration of the process of aging spirits to obtain aged liquors includes circulating the spirits through a cavitation zone within a controlled cavitation reactor and exposing the spirits therein to high energy cavitation induced shockwaves. Sources of flavor and color such as charred wood chips may be added to the spirits to provide the color and flavor of liquors aged for years in traditional charred oak barrels. The method and apparatus of the present invention obtains the same conversion of undesirable alcohols, flavor extraction, and color as years of aging in an oak barrel but does so in a matter of minutes or hours. The apparatus and method also can be used in conjunction with traditional aging techniques and methods and the total aging time is still reduced dramatically.

An extreme acceleration of the process of aging spirits to obtain aged liquors includes circulating the spirits through a cavitation zone within a controlled cavitation reactor and exposing the spirits therein to high energy cavitation induced shockwaves. Sources of flavor and color such as charred wood chips may be added to the spirits to provide the color and flavor of liquors aged for years in traditional charred oak barrels. The method and apparatus of the present invention obtains the same conversion of undesirable alcohols, flavor extraction, and color as years of aging in an oak barrel but does so in a matter of minutes or hours. The apparatus and method also can be used in conjunction with traditional aging techniques and methods and the total aging time is still reduced dramatically.

A food processing apparatus includes a reaction tank having an internal space for storing a reactant that is in a liquid state and that is used for food, a cooler that cools a reactant stored in the reaction tank, and a catalytic reactor disposed in the internal space. The catalytic reactor includes a reaction tube, a light source disposed in the interior of the reaction tube, and a heat insulator disposed between the reaction tube and the light source. The outer surface of the reaction tube is provided with a photocatalyst. The reaction tube allows light radiated from the light source to pass therethrough. The reaction tube has a first end, and the first end is closed so as to serve as a bottom surface of the reaction tube. The interior of the reaction tube is filled with a dry gas.

A method for preparing a filtered beverage includes filtering a raw beverage using a cross-flow ultrafiltration device to produce a solids fraction and a liquid fraction; heating the solids fraction to a temperature of 60° C. or greater to produce a pasteurized solids fraction; microfiltering the liquid fraction through a microfilter having a size cut-off of 1 μm or smaller to produce a microfiltered liquid fraction; and combining the pasteurized solids fraction and the microfiltered liquid fraction to result in the filtered beverage.

A method for preparing a filtered beverage includes filtering a raw beverage using a cross-flow ultrafiltration device to produce a solids fraction and a liquid fraction; heating the solids fraction to a temperature of 60° C. or greater to produce a pasteurized solids fraction; microfiltering the liquid fraction through a microfilter having a size cut-off of 1 μm or smaller to produce a microfiltered liquid fraction; and combining the pasteurized solids fraction and the microfiltered liquid fraction to result in the filtered beverage.