Today in 1935, US Patent 2001040 A was issued, an invention of David Sweeney, for his “Beer Dispensing Equipment.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described as an “invention relat[ing] to beer dispensing equipment, and more particularly to equipment for handling, cooling, and dispensing, beer or other liquids.” And this appears to be the main feature.

One feature of my invention is that it is adapted for easy handling of quantities of liquid up to ten gallons or more. Another feature of my invention is the provision of means for expelling liquid, for example, beer, from a container without exposing the liquid remaining in the container to air. This is especially useful in dispensing beer where one container may be more or less infrequently used. In the ordinary case, for example, if a beer container is partially emptied, and air allowed to enter the container to fill up the space previously occupied by the liquid drawn off, the liquid remaining in the container is likely to become spoiled by contact with the air, especially if not used rather promptly. All these objections are overcome by my inventions I apply an inert gas, for example, carbon dioxide gas, (or some gas which will not spoil the beer or other liquid in the container) to the top of the container under suitable pressure. This gas then serves not only to expel the liquid from the container as it is used, but also fills up the space in the container occupied by the liquid drawn off, so that no spoilage results to the liquid remaining in the container. Still another feature of my invention is the elimination of cooling coils with their tendency to spoil beer standing in them.

Today in 1889, US Patent 403130 A was issued, an invention of Otto Neuman, for his “Beer Chest or Refrigerator.” There’s no Abstract, but it’s described as an “invention relat[ing] to what are commonly termed beer chests or refrigerators, and more especially to certain new and useful attachments connected and combined therewith for increasing the efficiency and utility thereof.

Today in 1969, US Patent 3443397 A was issued, an invention of Thomas A. Donovan and William E. Miltenberger, assigned to Anheuser Busch, for their “Barrel Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, but the invention is described as a “barrel cooler which is inexpensive, pleasing in appearance, leakproof, and collapsible so that it may be stored in a small space or transported in collapsed condition.” They continue with more:

The present invention is embodied in a collapsible barrel cooler made from water impervious material, said cooler having inner and outer walls adapted to be positioned in spaced relation for receiving a coolant there between such as ice and water, said inner wall being adapted to be secured over the top of a barrel positioned therein to retain said inner wall in an upright position, said inner and outer walls having an opening therein near the bottom thereof for receiving a faucet for drawing off the contents from the barrel, said opening being leakproof so that no ice or water leaks out of the space between said walls.

Today in 1880, US Patent 227450 A was issued, an invention of William Schwartz, for his “Beer-Cooler.” There’s no Abstract, and all it says in the description is that Schwartz “invented certain Improvements in Beer-Keg Receptacles.” I guess you have to read through the rest of it to figure it out.

Today in 2012, US Patent 20120111874 A1 was issued, an invention of William P. Apps, for his “Plastic Beer Keg.” Here’s the Abstract:

A plastic keg includes a liner including a neck portion and a body portion. A lid having an opening is disposed at least partially over the liner. The liner is disposed in an outer container having a wall with at least one locking rib projecting therefrom. The locking rib angles downward and the lid secured to the outer container by the at least one locking rib. Optionally, a locking ring securing the neck portion of the liner to the lid may be configured to release the liner when the filled keg is dropped.