LIQUID BEVERAGE CONTAINER AND METHOD OF MAKING

Abstract

A vessel includes a plurality of staves arranged around a vessel central axis and extending between a first vessel end and a second vessel end opposite the first vessel end to define a side wall of the vessel. A first end panel is located at and defines the first vessel end, and a second end panel is located at and defines the second vessel end. The first end panel, the second end panel and the plurality of staves define an enclosed volume of the vessel. At least one of the plurality of staves, the first end panel and the second end panel are formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

Claims

1. A vessel, comprising: a plurality of staves arranged around a vessel central axis and extending between a first vessel end and a second vessel end opposite the first vessel end to define a side wall of the vessel; and at least one of a first end panel disposed at and defining the first vessel end and a second end panel disposed at and defining the second vessel end; wherein the plurality of staves, the first end panel and/or the second end panel and the plurality of staves define an enclosed volume of the vessel; and wherein at least a portion of the vessel is formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

2. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the wood material is white oak.

3. The vessel of claim 1, further comprising one or more hoops wrapped around an outer circumference of the side wall of the vessel.

4. The vessel of claim 3, wherein the one or more hoops apply a compressive force on the side wall of the vessel.

5. The vessel of claim 1, further comprising: a bung opening in the side wall of the vessel; and a plug installed into the bung opening.

6. The vessel of claim 1, wherein the vessel is a barrel configured to age and/or store distilled spirits.

7. The vessel of claim 6, wherein the distilled spirits are one of whiskey, bourbon, rum, tequila or mezcal.

8. The vessel of claim 1, further comprising a volume of chips or shavings inserted into the vessel, wherein the chips or shavings are formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

9. A method of forming a vessel for aging and/or storing distilled spirits, comprising: arranging a plurality of staves around a vessel central axis, the plurality of staves extending between a first vessel end and a second vessel end opposite the first vessel end to define a side wall of the vessel; installing a first end panel at the first vessel end; and installing a second end panel at the second vessel end; wherein the first end panel, the second end panel and the plurality of staves define an enclosed volume of the vessel; and wherein at least a portion of the vessel is formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising repurposing the wood material from a structure.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the wood material is white oak.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising installing one or more hoops around an outer circumference of the side wall of the vessel.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more hoops apply a compressive force on the side wall of the vessel.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising: defining a bung opening in the side wall of the vessel; and installing a plug into the bung opening.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the distilled spirits are one of whiskey, bourbon, rum, tequila or mezcal.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising inserting a volume of chips or shavings into the vessel, wherein the chips or shavings are formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

17. A vessel system for aging or flavoring spirits, comprising: a vessel; a volume or spirits contained in the vessel; and wood deposited inside the vessel; wherein the wood is formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

18. The vessel system of claim 17, wherein the wood deposited inside the vessel is in the form of one or more of grounds, strips, shavings, chunks or chips.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike.

[0025] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a barrel;

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a stave for a barrel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures.

[0028] The present disclosure relates to vessels used for storage, flavoring and aging of beverages such as alcoholic beverages, for example, spirits including whiskey, bourbon, and the like, or wines, or beers, or non-alcoholic beverages. Such vessels may be classified as, for example, kegs, barrels, containers, vats, or the like.

[0029] An embodiment of a barrel 10 is illustrated in FIG. 1. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that while a barrel 10 is described herein, the teachings of the present disclosure may be similarly applied to other vessels, such as the aforementioned kegs, containers, vats, or the like.

[0030] The barrel 10 is generally formed from wood material and includes a first end panel 12, or bottom panel, and a second end panel 14, or top panel. While embodiments are described herein as having both a first end panel 12 and a second end panel 14, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that in other embodiments the barrel 10 may be open at one end, thus having only one of the first end panel 12 or the second end panel 14. The first end panel 12 and second end panel 14 are in some embodiments circular in shape and define a first barrel end 16 and a second barrel end 18, respectively. In some embodiments, the end panels 12 and 14 may be formed from a single unitary wood component, or may be assembled from a plurality of panel segments 20 joined to each other.

[0031] A plurality of staves 22 extend between the first barrel end 16 and the second barrel end 18 to define a sidewall 24 of the barrel 10. In some embodiments, such as shown in FIG. 2, each of the staves 22 include a stave groove 26 into which an end panel bevel 28 is received to retain the first end panel 12 and the second end panel 14 relative to the plurality of staves 22. One or more of the staves 22 includes a bung opening 30 into which a plug 32 is fitted and secured. When the plug 32 is removed, the bung opening 30 allows for filling and emptying of the barrel 10. As with the first end panel 12 and the second end panel 14, the plurality of staves 22 are formed from wood material.

[0032] To retain the plurality of staves 22 into the generally circular shape to define the sidewall 24, the barrel 10 further includes one or more hoops 34 installed to an outer sidewall surface 36. The hoops 34 apply a compressive load to the plurality of staves 22 to interlock adjacent staves 22 of the plurality of staves 22, and to draw the plurality of staves 22 into a secured state to the first end panel 12 and the second end panel 14. With this load applied by the hoops 36, leakage of liquid from the barrel 10 is prevented. In some embodiments, the barrel 10 includes two hoops 34, substantially equally spaced from the first barrel end 16 and the second barrel end 18, respectively. While two hoops 34 are utilized in the embodiment of FIG. 1, in other embodiments three, four or more hoops 34 may be used to provide desired shape, strength or other characteristics of the barrel 10. Additionally, while the hoops 34 of the present embodiments are formed from a metal material such as iron, steel or copper. In other embodiments, the hoops 34 may be formed from wood or other materials.

[0033] The characteristics and chemical makeup and deposits of the wood utilized to make the wood components of the barrel 10, such as the first end panel 12, the second end panel 14 and the plurality of staves 22, can leech into or otherwise influence the characteristics of the beverages stored or aged in the barrel 10. These characteristics may include taste or flavor, aroma and color or clarity of the beverage. The barrels 10 may be utilized for aging of spirits, such as whiskey, in which the spirits are retained in new or used, charred or uncharred barrels 10 for a first time period of, for example, 2 years, 4 years or longer. Barrels 10 may additionally or alternatively be utilized for finishing of spirits such as whiskey, in which the whiskey is transferred to barrel 10 after aging for a second time period, which may be of a shorter duration than the aging time period or first time period.

[0034] Modern day grown trees, such as white oak and other species, have been subjected to the effects of human industrial activity, such as petroleum products and byproducts due to combustion, air and water pollution and also chemicals such as pesticides, and industrial chemicals that were spread across the landscape and dumped into rivers, lakes and waterways, or were released into the atmosphere and brought back to the surface of the earth as particulates or within rain and entering the trees though there roots as they grew. This deposits the chemicals from the wood in the physical structure of the tree and may be eventually released from a barrel made from these trees into the contents of the barrel.

[0035] The barrel 10 of the present disclosure, on the other hand, is formed from wood harvested prior to such industrial activity having such effects on the wood utilized in construction of the barrel 10. Such wood is referred to herein as pre-industrial wood. In particular, the wood has been harvested from a pre-industrial era, defined herein as prior to 1850 in North America or prior to 1750 in Europe. Trees such as white oak trees grown and harvested prior to the industrial era will produce a product, such as the barrel 10 that has a different chemical profile, as compared to modern day grown white oak harvested after the above dates.

[0036] More particularly, the wood to be utilized in construction of the barrel 10 is obtained from structures, such as barns, dwellings or other structures built with wood harvested in the pre-industrial era. The wood material may, for example, also be so-called new-old stock from trees harvested prior to 1850 but never used, or so-called sinker logs cut or felled prior to 1850 and reclaimed from a waterway. Such wood is salvaged from the structures via reclamation, repurposing, reusing, or the like. The salvaged wood may then be processed by, for example, cleaning, stripping, planing, sawing to desired shapes and sizes before being assembled into the barrel 10. Once assembled, in some embodiments an interior of the barrel 10 may be charred by applying a flame thereto. When the barrel 10 is completed, the barrel 10 may be filled with a desired beverage for storage, flavoring and/or aging.

[0037] While in the embodiments described above the barrel 10 is formed from pre-industrial wood, in other embodiments, such pre-industrial wood may be deposited inside of the barrel, in particular into the spirits or other liquid in the barrel to enhance properties of the resultant spirit, such as flavor, color, mouth feel, aroma, or the like. Pre-industrial wood deposited in the barrel may be in the form of, for example, grounds, strips, shavings, chunks, or the like. While in some instances the wood may be deposited directly into the barrel, in other embodiments the wood may be contained in a porous container, such as a cloth bag or the like and placed in the barrel. Further, such deposits may be inserted into a barrel 10 formed from pre-industrial wood as disclosed herein, or may alternatively be placed in a so-called new barrel, or one formed from wood harvested after 1850 in North America or after 1750 in Europe.

[0038] In some embodiments, the pre-industrial wood, either utilized in the barrels 10 or in the deposits, is toasted or charred by application of heat and/or flame thereto to convert cellulose in the wood into dissolvable, simpler sugars that leach into spirits from the wood, which aids in developing different flavor profiles in the spirits.

[0039] The term about is intended to include the degree of error associated with measurement of the particular quantity based upon the equipment available at the time of filing the application.

[0040] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the present disclosure. As used herein, the singular forms a, an and the are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms comprises and/or comprising, when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components, and/or groups thereof.

[0041] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this present disclosure, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.