Today in 1952, US Patent 2598751 A was issued, an invention of Joseph Berkowitz and William Lapin, for their “Art of Cooling and Dispensing Beverages.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

The apparatus of the invention in its essential details consists of a hermetically sealed tank, a liquid line from a compressor-condensing unit connected to said tank, an expansion valve near the juncture of said liquid line and tank, a hermetically sealed conduit also connected to said tank, a suction or return line from said conduit to said compressor-condensing unit, a beverage line encased by said conduit and extending into said tank, the free end of said beverage line extending through a wail of said tank, and being provided with a dispensing tap. The tank is preferably encased in a dispensing unit or cabinet of desired construction and design, and the source of beverage, e. g. barrels or kegs, may advantageously be housed in a storage chamber of the walk-in type, which is preferably cooled as by means of a diffuser or other refrigerating device.

Today in 1880, US Patent 228292 A was issued, an invention of Otto Zwietusch, for his “Vent for Beer-Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

My invention relates to Vents for beer-barrels; and it consists in the device hereinafter described.

The drawing is a vertical section through the center of my device.

The bottle or bulb A may be of ordinary Construction, screw-threaded at its top to receive a rim, B, having an annular flange, the purpose of which is to clamp the cover O in place. A Washer is generally interposed between the bottle and cover, which latter is provided with an outlet-tube, D upon which l place the flexible pipe Gr, that leads into the beer-keg,and an outlet tube E, which extends down into bulb or bottle A, partly filled with water, and is provided with a flexible valve E,

which, while it will permit air to pass through from Without will be collapsed by greater pressure from within. So, therefore, when beer is being draw from the keg, the air rushes in from the outside to take its place; but as soon as the outflow from the keg ceases the valve E closes and prevents the exit of any of the gases which give life to the beer.

Today in 2013, US Patent 20130133340 A1 was issued, an invention of Mark Sillince and David Cull, assigned to the Joseph Company International, Inc., for their “Keg Apparatus for Self Cooling and Self Dispensing Liquids.” Here’s the Abstract:

A self-cooling and self dispensing beverage container in the form of a keg which includes a heat exchange unit having a plurality of segments of compressed carbon disposed therein. A valve is secured to a tube attached to the REU housing for carbon dioxide to adsorbed and then desorbed by the carbon for cooling the beverage. A dispense gas canister is disposed within the container to automatically release carbon dioxide to maintain a pressure head within the container sufficient to assure dispensing of the beverage.

Today in 1893, US Patent 498657 A was issued, an invention of Harvey P. Jacoby, for his “Beer Tap.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

This invention relates to taps or fittings which are inserted in the heads of beer kegs to receive the faucets through which the beer is drawn. A beer tap usually comprises a tubular shank, which is driven into the head of the keg, and a socket in the outer portion of the shank for the reception of the ordinary faucet. The tap is provided with some means for preventing the escape of the beer before the faucet is inserted, the common means being a cork or plug driven into the tap and adapted to be forced inwardly into the barrel, to permit the beer to flow into the faucet when the latter is inserted. In some instances the tap has been provided with a valve at the inner end of the faucet socket, said valve being arranged to yield to the faucet when the latter is inserted, the valve being held closed until the insertion of the faucet.

Today in 1985, US Patent EP 19840307773 was issued, an invention of Roger John Hyde, for his “Valved Closure for Kegs or Casks.” Here’s the Abstract:

A valved closure for a pressure vessel, such as a cask or keg (18). having a neck (22), for rigid attachment as a mounting ring to the mouth (24) of a tap hole (2) in the vessel and a valve-containing tubular body (10) inserted co-axially in the neck: has a rigid ring (30) engaging the tubular body and the keg neck, the ring being of malleable metal and having an inner periphery (33) shaped to engage the tubular body and a relatively thin outer peripheral skirt (32) shaped to be deformed, by a power tool, into fitting engagement about the neck rim (34), to provide securing means for preventing unauthorised axial removal of the valved closure, the so formed securing collar being accessible by a tool to cut the collar off the neck to release the valved closure: the securing collar may be split into two or more parts (29 and 31) to enable it to be fitted about a large diameter flange (15) at the top of the tubular body.

Today in 1934, US Patent 1959501 A was issued, an invention of Elton F. Ross, for his “Beer Dispensing Device.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

This invention relates to a device for dispensing beer and other carbonated liquids discharged under pressure from a keg or other source of supply, and particularly to a dispensing device designed to supply measured quantities of the liquid and to control the discharge so as to prevent waste of the liquid and other objections due to wildness of the liquid.

Today in 1987, US Patent WO 1987002975 A1 was issued, an invention of Jacobus Dijkstra and Gijsbert Slootweg, assigned to Heineken Technisch Beheer B.V., for their “A Beer Tapping Installation.” Here’s the Abstract:

A beer tapping installation comprising a refrigerator having a cask cooling and installation space (2) including a revolving platform (8) on which casks (12, 13, 14) can be placed and with a space for accommodating a CO2 cylinder (15), as well as a tap (21), a beer line (20) from the cask installation space to the tap, a hollow support (17) for enveloping the beer line from the refrigerator to the tap, a cask coupling (22) on the beer line and a CO2 supply line from the CO2 container to the cask coupling. The hollow support is in open communication with the cask cooling and installation space and the beer line, together with the cask coupling and the tap, is movable longitudinally of the hollow support.