They say not to judge a book by its cover, but we think it`s okay to judge a beer by its tap. In honor of International Beer Day, August 7, we`re celebrating the unsung hero of draft beer - the humble tap. But first, a quick history lesson on the device that`s been serving up our favorite brews for hundreds of years. For centuries, beer was traditionally served directly from a cask or wooden barrel, but that all changed in 1785, when Joseph Bramah patented the first modern tap, `the beer engine,` a hand pump that carried beer from the keg to the glass. This system was used to until the early twentieth century, when pressurized ales began to make their appearance, replacing cask ales and...
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