Today in 1878, US Patent 200744 A was issued, an invention of Thomas Millee, for his “Improvement in Ale or Beer Measures.” There’s no Abstract, but in the description Millee explains that the “object of my invention is to provide a ready and convenient means of ascertaining the quantity of liquor in the measure, including that portion which is contained in the form of froth or foam; and in order to accomplish this object I cover or inclose the outlet from the interior of the measure to the measuring tube, by soldering strips of metal to the side and bottom of the measure at the point where the tube connects therewith, so as to form a separate compartment at the base of such tube on the inside of the measure above the bottom, which compartment has small apertures leading’ into it, arranged so that the foam or froth will not be driven against or through them into this compartment when the liquor is drawn or poured into the measure, all of which will more clearly appear by the drawings and description of the different parts.”
