Today in 1936, US Patent 2065949 A was issued, an invention of Harry J. Sandell, for his “Beer Cooling and Dispensing System.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention relates to a beer cooling and dispensing system, and has for its object to simplify and improve the efficiency of drawing beer from a storage refrigerator at one point and a dispensing 5 outlet at another.

The chief object of the invention is to provide a combination of devices adapted to contain an enclosed circulating and cooling medium, for the purpose of maintaining a uniform low temperature along a dispensing pipe contained therein.

Explanation In beer cooling and dispensing, the beer storage refrigerator is usually placed in the basement or some other convenient place that requires considerable piping and a coil to carry the beer and cool it from the storage refrigerator to the counter dispensing coil box. When this system is used, the beer leaves the cold refrigerator and runs exposed, then enters the iced coil, but due to the different go and uneven temperatures along the line of draught the beer cannot be drawn or controlled at the faucet without considerable waste.

Today in 1959, US Patent 2917906 A was issued, an invention of George Craig Woolley, for his “Portable Cooler, Gasser, and Dispenser for Keg Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

This invention relates to a readily portable device for supporting and completely servicing a keg or small barrel of beer or other beverage which requires for proper draught and taste characteristics, cooling, gassing and controlled dispensing. My present invention is particularly designed and conceived for home rather than commercial use where it is desired to dispense a draught beverage such as beer to a group of people, from a keg.

At the present time the distributors of various malt beverages supply to their customers, cooling and gassing apparatus for small gatherings, usually employing a helical coil to be placed in a box of ice and an air pump or carbon dioxide cylinder of heavy construction. The apparatus is hooked up at the home and in many instances, the keg heats up (since only the discharge through the coil is cooled), the saturation level of the gas is consequently decreased in the beer and more gas is released, resulting in foam when the beverage is dispensed. The coil, if not thoroughly cleaned and sterilized after each use, is unsanitary and gives the next user an off taste beer; Cleaning time of such-coil requires from a half to a full hour and is often disregarded by the dissumption of the entire contents of the keg.

A further object is the provision of a device of the class described wherein a simple, compact wheeled chassis serves the multiple functions of a keg-support, a refrigerating chamber, a mounting for controlled gassing and dispensing mechanism and in addition, a valuable source of advertising for the distributor or manufacturer of the beverage.

Another object is to provide a compact, rugged device of the class described of simple and inexpensive construction affording a high degree of sanitation and provision for sterilizing of the few dispensing parts.

Today in 1989, US Patent EP 0244031 B1 was issued, an invention of Johannes Antoinetta Michael Ummels, for his “Device For The Storage And Cooling Of Beer Intended For Supply To A Tap.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

The invention relates to a device for the storage and cooling of beer and the supply thereof to a tap via a water cooled beer pipe (python), which device further comprises at least one storage container and a cooling element arranged parallel thereto, consisting of a jacket with a cooling water inlet and an outlet, which jacket accommodates a beer pipe in the shape of a brake coil and a heat exchanger containing a pipe for passing a cooling medium e.g. freon. The invention also relates to a tap installation provided with such a device.

Today in 1973, US Patent 3780198 A was issued, an invention of Leo F. Pahl and Norman H. Jones, assigned to the Crown Cork & Seal Co., for their “System For Carbonating Beverages.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:

It is one object of this invention to reduce the cost of carbonating beverages.

It is another object of this invention to improve sanitation. in the carbonation of beverages.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a carbonating system for beverages which is easily cleaned.

It is a still further object of this invention to achieve specified levels of carbonation in beverages with a high degree of accuracy.

It is also an object of this invention to achieve a specified level of carbonation without requiring numerous and continuous manual adjustments.

It is an additional object of this invention to permit filling of beverages at a low pressure.

Today in 1997, US Patent 5694787 A was issued, an invention of Robert K. Cleleand and James M. Cleleand, for their “Counter Top Beer Chilling Dispensing Tower.” Here’s the Abstract:

A counter top beer dispensing tower structure including a thermo insulating jacket structure with a top wall, a flat counter top engaging bottom wall, rear and side walls, a flat vertically and laterally extending front wall and a body insulating material at the inner surfaces of the walls, a metal cold plate within the body of insulating material, a plurality of laterally spaced dispensing valve mounting parts carried by and projecting forwardly from the plate and accessible at the front wall, a plurality of elongate tubular beer conducting coils in the plate, each beer conducting coil has a downstream end portion connected with a related valve mounting part and a vertical upstream end portion depending from the plate and bottom wall to extend through a primary opening in a related counter and to connect with the downstream end on of related beer conducting line, and elongate tubular glycol coil unit within the plate and having vertical upstream and downstream end portions depending from the plate and the jacket structure to extend through the primary opening in the related counter and to connect with downstream and upstream ends of related delivery and return sections of an elongate glycol conducting lines a glycol chiller and, plurality of spaced apart elongate vertically extending threaded mounting studs anchored to and depending from tower jacket structure to extend through secondary openings in the related counter; and, nuts on the studs and engaging the counter to draw the bottom wall in to tight engagement with the top of the counter.