Liquid Beverage Container and Method of Making

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/643,069 filed May 6, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Exemplary embodiments pertain to the art of beverage containers, and in particular to barrels, casks or vats formed at least in part from wood.

A typical barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. While this is typical, other configurations are known that, for example, have a width greater than or equal to their length, and still others may be open at one end as opposed to closed at both ends. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, usually alcoholic beverages; a small barrel or cask is often referred to as a keg.

Barrels have a variety of uses, including storage of liquids such as water, oil, and alcohol. They are also employed to hold maturing beverages such as wine, cognac, armagnac, sherry, port, whiskey, beer, arrack, and sake. Other commodities once stored in wooden casks include gunpowder, meat, fish, paint, honey, nails, and tallow.

Modern wooden barrels for wine-making are made of French common oak (), white oak (), American white oak (), more exotic is mizunara oak (), and recently Oregon oak () has been used. Someone who makes traditional wooden barrels is called a cooper. Traits of the wood may be transferred to the wine or other beverage inside the wooden barrel for aging, influencing characteristics of the beverage such as taste or flavor, aroma and color or clarity of the beverage.

Today, barrels and casks can also be made of aluminum, stainless steel, and different types of plastic, such as HDPE. Early barrels and casks were bound with wooden hoops and in the 19th century these were gradually replaced by metal hoops that were stronger, more durable and took up less space.

In one embodiment, 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. At least one of 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 plurality of staves, the first end panel and/or the second end panel 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.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the wood material is white oak.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments one or more hoops are wrapped around an outer circumference of the side wall of the vessel.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the one or more hoops apply a compressive force on the side wall of the vessel.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the vessel includes a bung opening in the side wall of the vessel, and a plug installed into the bung opening.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the vessel is a barrel configured to age and/or store distilled spirits.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the distilled spirits are one of whiskey, bourbon, rum, tequila or mezcal.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a volume of chips or shavings are inserted into the vessel. The chips or shavings are formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

In another exemplary embodiment, a vessel configured for aging and/or storing of distilled spirits, the vessel having an internal volume including one or more elements formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year 1850.

In yet another exemplary embodiment, a method of forming a vessel for aging and/or storing distilled spirits includes 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. A first end panel is installed at the first vessel end, and a second end panel is installed at 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.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the wood material is repurposed from a structure.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the wood material is white oak.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments one or more hoops are installed around an outer circumference of the side wall of the vessel.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the one or more hoops apply a compressive force on the side wall of the vessel.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a bung opening is defined in the side wall of the vessel, and a plug is installed into the bung opening.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments the distilled spirits are one of whiskey, bourbon, rum, tequila or mezcal.

Additionally or alternatively, in this or other embodiments a volume of chips or shavings are inserted into the vessel. The chips or shavings are formed from a wood material harvested prior to the year.

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.

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.

An embodiment of a barrelis illustrated in. One skilled in the art will readily appreciate that while a barrelis 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.

The barrelis generally formed from wood material and includes a first end panel, or bottom panel, and a second end panel, or top panel. While embodiments are described herein as having both a first end paneland a second end panel, one skilled in the art will readily appreciate that in other embodiments the barrelmay be open at one end, thus having only one of the first end panelor the second end panel. The first end paneland second end panelare in some embodiments circular in shape and define a first barrel endand a second barrel end, respectively. In some embodiments, the end panelsandmay be formed from a single unitary wood component, or may be assembled from a plurality of panel segmentsjoined to each other.

A plurality of stavesextend between the first barrel endand the second barrel endto define a sidewallof the barrel. In some embodiments, such as shown in, each of the stavesinclude a stave grooveinto which an end panel bevelis received to retain the first end paneland the second end panelrelative to the plurality of staves. One or more of the stavesincludes a bung openinginto which a plugis fitted and secured. When the plugis removed, the bung openingallows for filling and emptying of the barrel. As with the first end paneland the second end panel, the plurality of stavesare formed from wood material.

To retain the plurality of stavesinto the generally circular shape to define the sidewall, the barrelfurther includes one or more hoopsinstalled to an outer sidewall surface. The hoopsapply a compressive load to the plurality of stavesto interlock adjacent stavesof the plurality of staves, and to draw the plurality of stavesinto a secured state to the first end paneland the second end panel. With this load applied by the hoops, leakage of liquid from the barrelis prevented. In some embodiments, the barrelincludes two hoops, substantially equally spaced from the first barrel endand the second barrel end, respectively. While two hoopsare utilized in the embodiment of, in other embodiments three, four or more hoopsmay be used to provide desired shape, strength or other characteristics of the barrel. Additionally, while the hoopsof the present embodiments are formed from a metal material such as iron, steel or copper. In other embodiments, the hoopsmay be formed from wood or other materials.

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

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.

The barrelof 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. 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 barrelthat has a different chemical profile, as compared to modern day grown white oak harvested after the above dates.

More particularly, the wood to be utilized in construction of the barrelis 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. Once assembled, in some embodiments an interior of the barrelmay be charred by applying a flame thereto. When the barrelis completed, the barrelmay be filled with a desired beverage for storage, flavoring and/or aging.

While in the embodiments described above the barrelis 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 barrelformed 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.

In some embodiments, the pre-industrial wood, either utilized in the barrelsor 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.

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.

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.

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.