Entertaining beer patents
Since our two Key Account Managers Kim Pedersen and Lennart Troels-Smith will be visiting law firms and companies in Southern Germany from March 11 to March 13, 2019, we have taken a closer look into one of the things Germany is best known for: beer! It is estimated that the average German consumes around 140 liters of beer per year. Germans not only love to drink beer, they also love to brew it.
There are around 1300 German breweries and 5000 brew brands that produce around 115 hectoliters of beer per year. It is estimated that if you decided to taste a different type of beer in Germany, every day, you would need 15 years to taste them all.
The Germans’ undeniable passion towards beer can be dated back to 1777, when Frederick the Great of Prussia loved beer so much that he banned coffee that very year. Or to the time Kind Ludwig I of Bavaria attempted to impose a beer tax, which the people strongly opposed by going to the streets. The riots ended only, when the King ordered a reduction in the price of beer.
The serious declaration of love towards beer has opened up for a number of interesting patents issued in the name of protecting and enjoying beer. We have collected three patents we in particular find interesting.
1. Beerbrella
The first of our three entertaining beer patents was issued in 2001 to American Mason Schott McMullin form Missouri, Robert Platt Bell and Mark Andrew from Virginia. The present invention provides a small umbrella (“Beerbrella”), which may be attached to a beverage container in order to shade it from the direct rays of the sun. If you are worried about your beer getting sunburned, we highly recommend it!
2. Beer Brains
Our second interesting beer patent is a headgear that dispenses your favorite beverage. It was issued to American Randall D. Flann from Wisconsin in 1998, and its spigot can be opened to dispense the substance by gravity, suction, pressure or levity flow. In case it is too far to the tap when you have a quick drink on your mind, this might be the invention for you.
3. Beer Fountain
Finally, our third remarkable beer patent is an invention that involves a Jumping Bar Device. It was issued to American Robert Kuykendal and Ronald Deichmann in 1995, and it is essentially the same as the fountains that Disney have at Epcot – controlled streams of water designed to look like they are “jumping” (in this case, into a beer glass). We believe it must be an amusing sight, particularly when you are slightly drunk!
If you’d like to see if our two Key Account Managers can stop by your office, you can contact them directly by email, Kim at kpe@npi.int or Lennart at lts@npi.int.
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