| 摘要 |
A rectangular or cylindrical container made of stainless steel or another liquid-impervious material has a plurality of openings formed in the side wall(s). Wooden boards, made of white oak or other wood for aging and flavoring beverages, are fitted over the openings and sealed so that their inside surfaces contact the liquid in the container. The inside surfaces have cross-grain cuts such as saw cuts or holes, which are used to enhance the infusion of beverage liquid into the wood to age the beverage rapidly and flavorfully. When one batch is finished, the used boards are removed and new ones are fitted into the openings and used to treat another batch. Instead of, or in addition to the boards over the side-wall openings, hollow wooden air boxes having external cross-grain cuts are positioned in the container. |
| 主权项 |
1. A container for storing and aging beverages, said container comprising, in combination:
(a) at least one liquid-impervious side wall, and a bottom wall and a top wall, said top wall and said bottom wall being secured to said side wall to form a liquid-tight container, (b) said side wall having a plurality of spaced-apart openings, (c) a plurality of wooden boards, each having a size and shape to cover one of said openings and being positioned to cover one of said openings and forming a liquid-tight seal with said side wall, (d) a securing structure releasably holding said boards in liquid-tight-sealing relationship to said side wall, (e) each of said boards having an inside surface and an outside surface when positioned to cover one of said openings, (f) said inside surface having a plurality of cross-grain cuts exposed to a liquid in said container, and said outside surface being exposed to the atmosphere around said side wall. |
