Device and method of heating/bending/forming and heating/toasting barrels, casks, vats and the like for refining, conditioning and ageing alcoholic beverages and other foods

Method of heating/bending/forming and heating/toasting barrels, casks, vats or the like comprising the steps of:

• providing a wooden container for the refining, conditioning and ageing of food substances, such as a barrel, cask, vat or the like, said container comprising a plurality of staves arranged side by side along the perimeter with each other to form a polyline closed at a first longitudinal end thereof,
• providing heating/toasting means suitable to generate a source of heat to produce a heating and/or toasting of an inner side wall of said staves,
• placing the container above the heating/toasting means so as to have the closed polyline on the opposite side to the heating/toasting means and free ends of the staves in the vicinity of the heating toasting means,
• providing bending/forming means of said staves, which interface with the free ends of said staves opposite said first longitudinal ends, said bending/forming means pulling the staves towards) a central axis of symmetry of the barrel, cask, vat or the like,
• providing centering means operatively connected to the heating/toasting means and to the staves of the barrel, cask, vat or the like, on the side of the free ends of the staves opposite, along a longitudinal extension axis, the first longitudinal ends,
• said centering means comprising spacers that guarantee the same distance between an inner side wall of the staves and the heating/toasting means,
• arranging said spacers so as to follow the deformations of the staves during the bending thereof, continually bringing the heating/toasting means to said central axis of symmetry of the barrel, cask, vat and the like.