Today in 1885, US Patent 322853 A was issued, an invention of Robert Reilly and Francis King, for their “Combined Bung and Faucet for Ale and Beer Barrels.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
Our invention relates to a combined bung faucet for beer, ale, and other casks.
The object of the device is to provide a bung normally closed by a spring-valve and the gaspressure of the contained liquid, and only opened by the introduction of the faucet.
Today in 1896, US Patent 564528 A was issued, an invention of Ernest Lyle Miller, for his “Bottling Machine.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The object of this invention is to provide a bottling machine which can be readily adapted to various sizes of bottles, and which, moreover, can be made simple and compact in construction and reliable in its operation; and the invention resides in the novel features of construction set forth in the following specification and claims, and illustrated in the annexed drawings
Today in 2010, US Patent 7757908 B1 was issued, an invention of Thomas R. Buhl, Jr., for his “Portable Container and Dispenser For Kegged Beer.” Here’s the Abstract:
A combination beer container and dispenser includes an outer container having a top section provided with an opening centrally formed therein. The top section includes a removable lid selectively positional in the opening. The outer container further has front and rear sections and includes a plurality of flange portions extending inwardly and orthogonally from the front and rear sections. An inner container having a cylindrical shape defines a cavity therein. A mechanism for dispensing beer from the keg and a mechanism for securing the keg within the inner container are also included. An axle having opposed end portions is positioned in a bore. A drain cock is directly conjoined to the rear and is manually adaptable between open and closed positions. A plurality of wheels are conjoined to the end portions of the axle. Such wheels include coextensive and juxtaposed ridges for providing traction.
So I’m not sure what to make of these. For nearly two years, I’ve been searching through Google’s patent search and blogging beer-related patents as I find them. And there are a lot of them: some historic, some by people I know (or knew), some surprising and some truly weird ones. Today, I found two separate patents, from two different years — 1948 and 1965 — but both issued on the same day — July 20 — and both of them assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co. even though each one of them is beer-related — kegs, really — and as far as I know, they had nothing to do with beer during those time periods. So let’s go through each of them.
Today in 1948, US Patent 2445730 A was issued, an invention of Max O. Kuhn, assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., for his “Reinforced Sectional Barrel.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
This application relates to containers, and more especially to single walled metallic containers.
An object of the invention is to provide an improved container comprising corrosive and noncorrosive metal, said corrosive metal being protected not only from liquid contents within the barrel, but also from direct contact with the atmosphere.
Today in 1965, US Patent 3195760 A was issued, an invention of William Bulgrin Walter, assigned to the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., for his ” Single Walled Double Compartment Container.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The present invention relates to containers and in particular to single walled metal beer containers with double compartments.
When beer is initially placed in containers for subsequent dispensing it contains a certain amount of natural carbon dioxide gas which serves to maintain the condition of the beer and keep the flavor lively so long as the container remains sealed. When the container is tapped and as the beer is withdrawn the evacuated space must be filled with a pressure balancing medium of some kind.
If the evacuated space is permitted to be filled with impure air any microorganisms carried in this air will tend to contaminate and impair the flavor of the beer and shorten considerably the useful life of the beer. Also unless the replacement medium enters the container quickly, enough of the natural carbon dioxide gas will be thrown off by the beer itself to fill this evacuated space thus causing a loss of condition of the beer and resulting in a flat taste.
In order to dispense the beer from the container it is necessary to use certain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, valves and possibly long or involved piping, which equipment often may be a common source of contamination.
To avoid permitting impure air from entering and filling the evacuated space as the beer is Withdrawn, it is often considered preferable to use a separate source of carbon dioxide which involves a certain amount of additional equipment such as the gas cylinders themselves in order to dispense the beer under pressure. The use of carbon dioxide gas would be preferable to pump systems requiring facilities for sterilizing the air which is permitted to enter the evacuated space. A further reason for the use of carbon dioxide is that it serves to prevent the natural carbon dioxide in the beer itself from being thrown off inside the container, thereby ensuring that the flavor is kept lively for a longer period of time.
Accordingly, one of the objects of the invention is to provide a single walled metal container having a separate compartment for the storage of carbon dioxide gas.
Another object of the invention is to provide a single walled metal container having double compartments, one for the storage of a suitable gas and the other for the storage of a beverage, the container being readily adaptable for establishing communication between the two compartments when tapped through a conventional and simple equipment.
It is still another object of the invention to provide a method of fabricating single walled double compartment metal containers of various dual volume capacities from a single standard size container type.
I know that Japan’s Bridgestone Tires bought Firestone Tires in 1988, but I’m unclear as to when the Firestone family was no longer in control, or had sold the business. This is at least 32 years before Adam Firestone and David Walker started the Firestone Walker Brewing Co., and even for the more recent patent, Adam would have been just a kid. So why would Firestone Tires be patenting kegs, or improvements to kegs? Rubber seals, perhaps? Or just some weird quirk of business, who knows?
Today in 1965, US Patent 3195779 A was issued, an invention of William J. Ruff, for his “Beverage Dispenser.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
This invention relates to a beverage dispenser which is particularly useful for dispensing beer and other carbonated beverages.
One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved device for dispensing carbonated beverages from cans or similar containers of relatively small capacity, such as one gallon, for example.
Another object is to provide a new and improved beverage dispenser in which the beverage is supplied in cans having openings which are sealed initially with closure plugs made of rubber or rubberlike material.
A further object is to provide a beverage dispenser in which the beverage to be dispensed is withdrawn from the cans by means of tapping pipes which are adapted to penetrate the rubber plugs mounted in the openings in the cans.
A further object is to provide a beverage dispenser in which each can is provided with two openings closed with rubber plugs, one plug being adapted to receive a tapping pipe for withdrawing the beverage while the other plug is adapted to receive a tapping pipe through which carbon dioxide (CO) under pressure is introduced into the can to provide pressure for dispensing the beverage.
Another object is to provide new and improved beverage cans having rubber closure plugs, each of which is formed with an imperforate diaphragm, together with means forming a recess for receiving the remnant of the diaphragm after the diaphragm has been punctured by a tapping pipe. It is a further object to provide a new and improved rubber or rubberlike closure plug of the foregoing character which is constructed and arranged to prevent any leakage between the tapping pipe and the plug, and also to prevent the tapping pipe from being pushed outwardly through the plug by the force produced by the CO pressure in the can.
A further object is to provide such a new and improved rubber plug which is formed with a lower sleeve portion having a bore therein which is initially of a substantially smaller diameter than the tapping pipe, so that the sleeve portion will be stretched substantially by the insertion of the tapping pipe, the sleeve portion being adapted to grip the tapping pipe tightly, due to the stretching of the sleeve and also due to the pressure of the CO on the sleeve.
Another object is to provide a new and improved beverage dispenser adapted to dispense carbonated beverages from sealed can of small size so that the dispensed beverage will always be fresh and will be prevented from going hat or stale.
Today in 1938, US Patent 2124308 A was issued, an invention of Stephen Mezzapesa, for his “Device For Instantaneously Cooling Beer and Dispensing Same.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
It is a defect of present systems and methods off dispensing, that when the faucet is first opened there is often a squirt of gas and foam-spattering the beer and wasting it; The excess foam filling the glass’ held under the faucet must be removed and displaced by beer; causing a Waste of the been forming the-foam, Also the gas lost this way tends to leave the remaining beer flat. Some of the present systems have relief valves for the gas, to obviate the above noted defect. This also tends to leave the dispensed beer flat.
invention-consists in a device for forcing the beer from the storage receptacle or barrel into a thin sheet by passing it between closely spaced walls and then causing the beer after it has-passed between the walls to pass through an exceedingly fine orifice from whence it passes through’a length of the standard size beer tubing’ to its place of discharge at the “faucet. Experiment has shown that this causes the undissolved’ gas or air in the system to be evenly distributed throughout the discharged liquid in small bubbles. It breaks up the large bubbles into small ones, and reduces the foam to liquid. It permits the use of greatly increased pressure with the-resultant solution of more gas-in the beer, giving; rise tok a more zestful and tangy beer; The” closeness of the walls is such that the-force-of–capillarity is brought into play to help reduce the foam. There is also a straining action obtained by the closeness of the walls, 40 and smallness of the orifice largely preventing the foam which leaves the storage receptacle or” barrel with the beer from passing through the space between; the walls to the place of discharge; At the place Where the beer is formed into a thin sheet” it is preferably passed through a refrigerating medium; the thinness of the sheet effecting a rapid and thorough cooling of the beer.- The cooling at” this location further helps the reduction of foam and the elimination of large bubbles by the increased solubility of the gas in the colder beer.
Today in 1898, US Patent 607770 A was issued, an invention of William J. Ruff, for his “Apparatus For Pasteurizing Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
My invention has for its object an improved apparatus to be utilized in pasteurizing beer, whereby the operation is more perfectly carried out and the beer more effectually and uniformly treated and its chemical properties preserved.
Today in 1944, US Patent 2354092 A was issued, an invention of Berthold Stein, for his “Art Of Brewing Beer, Ale, Or Near-Beer.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
The present invention includes both the process of brewing as hereinafter described, and the beverage or resulting product thereof, and when referring to beer it is intended to include ale and near-beer, and analogous beverages of the same class Beer as well as ale is generally described as a fermented malt liquor with an average percentage of alcohol of from three to four per cent. by weight, or sometimes less, as in near beer, which may have about one-half per cent. It has a mildly bitter and aromatic flavor and odor. The brewers have. always attempted to give the beer an aromatic hop flavor and odor. Up to date, they have not succeeded in doing so. The bitter and so-called aromatic flavor is to be derived from. the hops. which are used in the brewing process. While all kinds of beer and` ales taste more or less bitter, there are no beers brewed which really have an aromatic hop flavor and odor. This is due to the processes and apparatuses which are employed in the brewing of beer and ale. All beers and ales have a more or less pronounced bitter taste, and they often have a disagreeable taste and odor as well. The latter is derived principally from the cellulose matter of the husks of the grain, and the fatty oils contained in the grain, such as barley, corn or rice. These bitter tastes and disagreeable odors are the principal reasons why so many people do not drink beer. It is generally understood that beer and ale is made from malt, and hops. In this country, however, beer and ale is brewed mostly from a mixture of barley malt (about 70%), and cereals unmalted (about 30%), namely, corn, rice, corn. Syrups or sugars, and hops. The hops in the brewing of beer and ales are used as a spice or condiment with a view to overcoming the above-mentioned bad taste and odor.
Today in 1972, US Patent 3677458 A was issued, an invention of Dickinson Gosling, assigned to John Labatt Ltd, for his “End Loading Twin Beverage Carton,” which is fancy way of saying a 12-pack carton. Here’s the Abstract:
An end loading, twin carton separable into two cartons, embodying folded handles usable in the twin and also the separated mode. A blank for the carton is also disclosed.
Today in 1905, US Patent 795237 A was issued, an invention of Henry Schmidt, for his “Bung.” There’s no Abstract, although in the description it includes these claims:
This invention relates to new and useful improvements in bungs especially designed for use in connection with beer-kegs, beer-barrels, and similar vessels or packages; and it consists in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully set forth, and point ed out particularly in the claims.
The object of the invention is to provide simple and efficient means for closing the bung-hole or the aperture through the bung bushing in a manner to prevent the escape of the contents, to protect the rubber or other compressible washer from the deleterious action of the beer or similar liquid, and to enable the bung to be quickly and easily removed and readily replaced, the same bung being adaptable for use many times.
