THE ACCELERATION OF THE AGING PROCESS OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES BY $gamma$- IRRADIATION

Using gamma irradiation, the aging of alcoholic beverages can be accelerated. Plain Japanese sake can be aged within l hr with a Co/sup 60/ source of 270 c (total dose l0,000 r). The taste and flavor of fresh sake can be improved with a few thousand r irr-adiation. The unpleasant flavor of poor grade sake and the yeast taste of new sake can be eliminated by irradiation. For natur-ally aged sake and compound sake, the change was very little for a dosage of l0,000 r, and beyond this limit the irradiated sakes were over-aged. For both aged sake and new sake, undesirable tastes were detected for an irradiation dosage greater than 20,000 r. When the dosage approached l00,000 r, the typical irradiation odor'' was detected. Therefore, the ideal dosage range is from several thousand r to l04 r. At an irradiation dosage of l0,000 r, whisky and brandy were aged r-apidly. However, the color was somewhat faded. Distilled Japanese sakes were improved by ir-radiation, but excess irradiation caused undesirable aldehyde odors. (OID)