Today in 1887, US Patent 362809 A was issued, an invention of W.J. Woodley of San Francisco, California, for his “Faucet Hole And Stopper Combined.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to a device for preventing the flow and waste of fluid while stoppering or breaching vessels containing beer, wine, or other liquids.

Today in 1916, US Patent 1182675 A was issued, an invention of August Goetz, for his “Beer Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Among the principal objects which the present invention has in view are: to provide a tap of the character mentioned with means for closing the movable member preliminary to separating it from the stationary member of said tap; to provide a drawoff pipe with a closable key valve adapted to open the draw-off valve of a tap, said key valve being arranged for closure as a preliminary to the closing of the draw-off valve; to provide a handle-like pipe-connecting extension for the movable member of said key valve; and to provide a pressure supply pipe and a liquid-delivering pipe with means for automatically opening and closing the same when connecting to or disconnecting from a liquid supply.

Today in 1906, US Patent 819768 A was issued, an invention of Alfred T. Kruse, assigned to the American Steel Package Company, for his “Sheet Metal Keg.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to improvements in sheet-metal kegs especially designed for the transportation and storage of liquids, such as whisky, beer, mineral .waters, &c. For this purpose wooden kegs are usually employed; but such vessels are objectionable from the fact that they soon become soaked with fluid, thereby becoming filthy, decayed, and heavy and liable to spring a leak, causing much damage and loss from the escape of contents.

Today in 1940, US Patent 2199503 A was issued, an invention of Michael A. Martin, for his “Beer Cooling System and Apparatus.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

Prior beverage cooling systems with which I am familiar have commonly cooled the beverage dispenser by an evaporator mounted therein and have maintained the beverage containers cool 10 by disposing them in a cold room which is independently cooled. The cold room or storage room is usually relatively large to accommodate the person handling the containers, resulting in considerable space to be maintained cool and which is relatively expensive. Also, the provision of two independent systems results not only in considerable operating expense but in high original cost of equipment and of installation.

The storage or cold room, although cool, is of a higher temperature than the proper consumption temperature of the beer since the cost of maintaining such a room at a desired temperature, such as 40″, would be excessive, the beer is thus required to be rapidly lowered in temperature upon reaching the dispenser, and before withdrawal and under peak conditions warm beer is frequently drawn. In transmitting the beer from the storage room to the dispenser, the been supply line usually passes through a relatively warm zone, such as the tap room, and although the line is usually heat insulated, the beer is usually raised somewhat in temperature. I have devised a system for cooling beverages wherein a relatively small, storage compartment may be provided and the evaporator unit is eliminated in the dispenser permitting a larger amount of cooling. liquid to be used in a given size dispenser. Both the dispenser and the storage unit are cooled by a single means and the pipes supplying beer or the like to the dispenser are immersed in cooling liquid from the storage cabinet to the dispenser. A reservoir of cooling liquid is maintained at a temperature normally substantially lower than the cooling liquid in the dispenser and this arrangement together with the low temperature of the beverage containers in the storage compartment and the additional pre cooling of the beer prior to reaching the dispenser, permits the capacity of a given size dispenser under peak conditions to be considerably increased while maintaining the beer within desired temperature limits.

It is an object of my invention therefore to provide an improved system and apparatus for .55 cooling beverages such as beer.

Another object of my invention is to provide a cooling system for stored beverage containers and for the beverage dispenser which is relatively compact and economical in operation.

Another object of my invention is to provide 5 an improved cooling system for beer containers in a storage room, a dispenser, and supply line from the container to the dispenser, wherein the capacity of a given size dispenser to cool beer under peak conditions is materially increased.