Today in 1953, US Patent 2626200 A was issued, an invention of Arthur Herbert Patch, for his “Dispensing-Type Barrel Enclosure.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:
This invention relates to apparatus for storing and cooling beer or other brews, and more relates to dispensing-type enclosures or boxes for refrigerated barrels, e. g. structures for receiving a barrel or keg which is ‘which are mounted inside .the keg itself, and through which the cold water or other coolant is circulated. In such installations the barrels are conveniently placed behind the bar or otherwise near the locality where the beverage is dispensed, and are screened only by the bar or in some cases are covered by simple metal shells that can be lifted away when an exhausted barrel is to be replaced with a filled one. The heavy wooden walls of the barrel ordinarily afford good thermal insulation, preventing undue transfer of heat to the contained liquid and affording efficient cooling action without untoward effects.
