Today in 1914, US Patent 1094469 A was issued, an invention of Thomas P. Pick, for his “Beer-Stein.” There’s no Abstract, but the description states that the “invention relates to improvements in beer steins and the like and has for its object to provide a device of this character with a hinged cover which may be detached therefrom at will.”
Patent No. D9211S: Design For Beer-Mug
Today in 1876, US Patent D9211 S was issued, an invention of John Oesterling and Julius Palme, for their “Design for Beer-Mug.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s claimed that they have “invented a new and useful Improvement in Design for Beer-Mugs or Ale-Glasses, with or without foot or stein; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being made to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, and illustrating our design as applied to a beer-mug. Our design is intended for beer-mugs or ale glasses, with or without foot or stems, and consists in forming the exterior of an ale or beerglass of a series of planes upon one or more of which star-shaped figures are formed.”
Patent No. 4322008A: Drinking Container
Today in 1982, US Patent 4322008 A was issued, an invention of Ira Schneider, for his “Drinking Container,” or mug. Here’s the Abstract:
The present invention relates to a drinking container for increasing the number of and ostensibly decreasing the size of bubbles in a drinking liquid having dissolved gases contained therein. The container is provided with a roughened region on its normally smooth interior surface. The roughened region is preferably located at the bottom of the container and may be produced by grinding, sand blasting, acid etching, and the like. It is a feature of the disclosure that the roughened region may be formed of a separate element mechanically locked to the container.
Patent No. D6506S: Design For A Beer-Mug
Today in 1873, US Patent D6506 S was issued, an invention of J. Ernest Miller, for his “Design For a Beer-Mug.” There’s no Abstract, and even less information aprt from the following, that the “nature of my design is fully represented in the accompanying drawing, to which reference is made,” which is the same as saying just look at the damn drawing, will you?
Patent No. 272261A: Beer-Mug
Today in 1883, US Patent 272261 A was issued, an invention of John E. Jeffords, for his “Beer-Mug.” There’s no Abstract, but Jeffords describes his invention as and its purpose “to provide a neat and a cheap form of mug, which is readily cleansed and not easily broken,” adding that it “consists of a beer-mug made of suitable porous material, glazed.”
Patent No. D6383S: Design For Beer-Mugs
Today in 1873, US Patent D6383 S was issued, an invention of John Oesteeling, for his “Design for Beer-Mugs.” There’s no Abstract, but the application describes it, stating that the “design consists in making the upper half of the body of the beer or ale glass barrel shaped, and the lower half of a reduced diameter, with straight or slightly-concave sides, so as to present the appearance of a stem.” Looks more like an ice cream float glass than a beer mug, though.
Patent No. D609053S1: Beer Glass
Today in 2010, US Patent D609053 S1 was issued, an invention of Ramses Dingenouts, assigned to Heineken Supply Chain B.V., for his “Beer Glass.” There’s no Abstract, and the entire application is just one sentence. “The ornamental design for beer glass, as shown and described.”
Obviously, this designed has been used by Heineken as a proprietary glass in recent years, over the five years since the patent was granted.
The Ultimate Beer Glass Guide
Okay, the title may be more hyperbole than actual fact, but it’s a decent starter of common beer glassware. Some of the information seems overly generalized, as well, but it provides a decent explanation of each beer glass type. It was created by a hangover cure marketed in Australia called Revivol to promote their product.
Click here to see the original infographic full size.
Patent No. 640860A: Combination Beer Bottle & Glass
Today in 1900, US Patent 640860 A was issued, an invention of William Baum Jr., for a “Combination Beer Bottle and Glass.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described in the application like this. “The invention consists of the combination, with a main body portion or bottle, of a top portion detachably mounted thereon and adapted to be used as a drinking cup or glass, and a base portion also detachable mounted on the body portion and adapted to act as a support for the detachable cup portion.” It seems like an interesting idea, perfect for travel since you wouldn’t have to pack a glass, but I don’t think it ever quite caught on.
Beer Glassware Catalog 1892
Here’s an interesting historical artifact. It’s a trade catalog for bars and restaurants from a company in New York, the L & M Goldsticker company, which published an “illustrated catalogue” of “bar room glassware and bottlers supplies” in 1892.
Here’s the cover of the 80-page catalog:
And the back cover shows the brick and mortar store on Fulton Street in New York City.
They carried a surprising array of beer glasses for the discerning bar, including some for specific types of beer, along with a number of other accessories and equipment. You can see the entire catalogue online at the Hagley Digital Archives. Below is a majority of the pages with beer glasses on them.
Pages 6 and 7:
Page 12:
Pages 14 and 15:
Pages 16 and 17:
Pages 22 and 23:
