History of Draft Beer

[bornearly]

I am interested in learning about the history of draft beer. Knowing that beer was and still is simply poured out of barrels through a faucet in some cases (as in "real ales"). What's the history of commercial draft service? When did compressed air systems and CO2 systems come into practice? How was beer served in tap rooms and saloons in the late 19th and early 20th century?

Anyone have knowledge or information on some of this? I'm researching for a book.

[cubby_swans]

cask beer is often served using a hand pump called a beer engine, which was invented in the late 1700's. Forced carbonation appeared around the early to middle of the 20th century. So 100 years ago, beer was served on cask just as it is today - using either a hand pump - or gravity fed without the pump. I went to a place last night that had cask beer. The cask was located in their basement/cellar, and they used a hand pump to serve it. It was a vanilla coffee stout. Creamy goodness I tell ya!

here's a link to about every beer history book available. Maybe you could find some of these at a library to check out....

BeerBooks.com: History of Beer, Brewing and Breweries - Page 1