Today in 2006, US Patent 7028505 B2 was issued, an invention of Clement Albert Maus, for his “Cooling Device For Beer Pitcher.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beverage chiller device for a serving pitcher has a lower stainless steel cylinder and an upper food-grade plastic sleeve. The upper end of the device is open to receive ice. A flexible strap attached onto the upper sleeve has a free end that can pass through a handle of the serving pitcher, with the lower end of the device immersed in the beverage and situated at a base of said pitcher. The flexible strap forms a closed loop that secures the chiller device to the serving pitcher. The flexible strap also permits the chiller device to pivot when the pitcher is tipped for pouring, so that the device remains more or less erect, and so meltwater does not pour out of the chiller device when the customer is pouring a drink from the pitcher. The flexible strap allows the stainless steel cylinder to drop down to the base of the pitcher, so the cylinder remains immersed in the beverage at the bottom of the pitcher.

Today in 1962, US Patent D 192604 S was issued, an invention of Frank W. Evans, for his “Combination Beer Glass and Cocktail Shaker.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

The ornamental design for a combination beer glass and cocktail shaker, as shown.

Today in 1979, German Patent DE 202014002381 U1 was issued, an invention of Vetreria Di Borgonovo S.P.A., for his “New Type of Beer-Tasting Glass.” Here’s the Abstract, translated from German:

Glass (10), namely thought to try out of beer (B) comprising:
– A receiving body (11) for receiving the consumer to cast into the glass beer (B), and
– A lower handle (18) for supporting and for manual handling of the glass,
wherein the receiving body (11) in turn comprises:
– An upper edge (12) having a rounded shape;
– An upper part (13), adjacent to the upper edge (12) and having an outwardly divergent flared shape;
– A central part (14), adjacent to the upper part (13) and having a bottom up to inwardly converging flared shape, and
– A circular lower part (16), which adjoins the central part (14) and with this at the bottom of the receiving body (11) of the glass (10) has a bulge (17);
wherein the glass (10) is adapted to allow a consumer who used to drink beer (B) the glass (10) both fully perceive the flavor characteristics and flavors of the drink and its visual characteristics, namely foam, to improve.

I think this is the Italian-designed glass that’s called a TeKu, and it certainly resembles the commemerative glass that the BA gave out at the Craft Brewers Conference in Portland last year.

Today in 1895, US Patent 534840 A was issued, an invention of Michael J. Owens, for his “Apparatus For Blowing Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

My invention relates to an apparatus for blowing glass, and has for its object to perform mechanically, what has heretofore been done manually.

The invention consists in providing an apparatus which shall receive a blow pipe and mechanically blow the glass thereon into the desired form.

Heretofore in the art of blowing glass, there has been a blower necessary, who manually blows the article into the desired form, there being a gathering boy to secure the gathering upon the pipe previous to blowing, and remove the moil after the article is formed and removed from the pipe.

This invention has for its object to mechanically blow the glass and dispense with the blower, it only being necessary for the gathering boy to secure the gathering upon the pipe and place it upon the apparatus and remove the same when the article has assumed the desired shape.

Today in 1871, US Patent D4641 S was issued, an invention of John P. Pears, for his “Design For Molds For Lager-Beer Glasses.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

I have invented a new and useful Design for Mold for Lager-beer Glass; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being/had to the accompanying drawing making a part of this specification, which represents a sectional view of a dropmold, and illustrates my improved design.

Today in 2014, US Patent D698201 S1 was issued, an invention of Brian Rice Bradford and Klas Fredrik Perman, for their “Beer Glass.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

We claim the ornamental design for beer glass, as shown and described. The claim to the beer glass is directed to the collective appearance of the articles shown, including a transparent body, transparent interior portion, and lid.

Today in 1980, US Patent 4183226 A was issued, an invention of Stanley R. Moore, assigned to Freeze Sleeves Of America, Inc., for his “Refrigerated Beverage Holder.” Here’s the Abstract:

Means for chilling and insulating a canned or bottled beverage such as beer including a cylindrical sleeve of reusable refrigerant disposed within an insulative beverage can holder and displacing the annular “dead air” cavity between a beverage can situated therein and the side walls of the holder. The reusable refrigerant is a substance which may be frozen in conventional refrigerator freezers whereby the refrigerant in a frozen state will chill and keep chilled beer or the like disposed there within. In this manner, a beverage may be quickly chilled whether initially refrigerated or not and while being consumed out of doors. Moreover, the chilled temperature is normally unachievable in conventional refrigerators and is especially not maintainable for any length of time in conventional “dead-air” insulative holders.

Today in 1902, US Patent 715828 A was issued, an invention of Albert Markmann, for his “Tray For Beer Glasses.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

This invention relates to supports or saucers for beer-glasses and the like; and my improvements in the same consist in certain arrangements and combinations of parts, as are fully described hereinafter.