Today in 1893, US Patent 499537 A was issued, an invention of Christian Guenther, for his “Beer-Faucet.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes this summary:

As is well known in tapping a keg of beer orale, the cork or plug, which closes the opening in which the faucet is inserted, is forced into the keg by the act of inserting the faucet. In this mode of tapping the end of the faucet is placed against the cork or plug and then a number of blows is given to the faucet by means of a mallet or other instrument, and the cork is thus forced into the keg. This operation requires skill on the part of the person tapping the keg, as there is great liability of leakage taking place and if the faucet is not properly inserted there is great danger of its blowing out and the contents of the keg lost.

My invention is designed to obviate the above and other objections and provide a faucet which can be readily inserted in a keg by the most unskilled person, without any danger of leakage, and without hammering the faucet which has a tendency to injure the same.

Today in 1897, US Patent 584091 A was issued, an invention of Peter C. Leidich, for his “Automatic Valve For Beer-Taps.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it states that he’s ‘invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Valves for Beer and other Liquid Taps.”

Today in 1937, US Patent 2083340 A was issued, an invention of Herman Merker, assigned to the Pressed Steel Tank Company, for his “Metal Barrel.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it’s explained as follows:

This invention relates to a metal barrel particularly designed and adapted for use as a beer barrel or as a container for similar beverages although also well adapted for other uses. One object of the invention is to provide a barrel with a strong and durable bung structure, one which will stand up under the severe usage to which such a structure is subjected and yet preclude fatigue or distortion of the metal adjacent the bung structure. Another object of the invention is to provide a barrel having a bung structure of the character mentioned and one which does not interfere with easy rolling and handling of the barrel.

Today in 1969, US Patent 3447375A was issued, an invention of John H. Fox Jr., assigned to the Reynolds Metals Co., for his “Beverage Container Having Sight Gage Means.” There’s no Abstract, though the description in the application states that he’s invented an “improved beverage container having sight gage means made of a solid light transmitting material and extending through opaque outer wall means of such container wherein such sight gage means has outer easily visible viewing surface means and inner surface means arranged to be surrounded by a beverage within such container, such outer surface means having a normally bright appearance which becomes dark upon surrounding the inner surface means with beverage.”

Many carbonated beverages are currently sold in pressurized container means such as kegs, or the like, wherein it would be desirable to determine the amount of beverage within such keg in a simple and inexpensive manner. Although many types of liquid level gages are available most of such gages are complicated, expensive, and provide undesirable easily damaged protrusions from exterior wall means of an associated beverage keg. Accordingly, it is a feature of this invention to provide an improved beverage container having improved sight gage means of simple and economical construction.

Today in 1902, US Patent 701335 A was issued, an invention of Lucien H. Handy, assigned to the American Faucet Company, for his “Device For Drawing Liquids.” There’s no Abstract, though the description in the application states that he’s “invented certain new and useful Improvements in Devices for Drawing Liquids,” such as:

My invention relates to that class of devices for drawing liquids in which a faucet connection is made and broken with a permanent bung in the barrel or keg simultaneously with the operation of the bung-valve, due to said connection; and said invention is especially applicable to those devices of this type in which for the purpose of drawing lager-beer means are provided for passing a slip-pipe into the liquid in the receptacle and forcing air under pressure upon top of the liquid, whereby the latter is forced up through the slip-pipe.

My invention consists in the novel combinations of bung, controlling-valve, and faucet connection, with its locking and operating key, slip-pipe, and air-passage and in the novel details of construction and arrangement in connection therewith.

Today in 1933, US Patent 2043183 A was issued, an invention of Karl Wilhelm Mauser, for his “Double-Walled Vessel.” There’s no Abstract, though it’s described this way in the application:

This invention relates to a double-walled metal vessel for transport and storage of beverages, more particularly beer, in which the inner vessel for holding the beverage is removable. The removable inner vessel has the advantage over the fixed vessel that a separate cleansing or sterilization and a storage of the beverage can be effected without the outer vessel, so that the latter is used only for transporting the storage `vessels when ready for despatch. A further advantage is that the inner vessel can be kept under observation, which is of importance, for example, in case of the occurrence of corrosion.