Beverage dispensing apparatus

A beverage dispensing apparatus for filling multiple containers in a high volume beverage dispensing operation, comprising:

• a walk-in beverage cooler having a refrigerated interior enclosed by upright walls, a floor and a ceiling;
• a housing mounted directly onto and flush with an upright wall of said walk-in cooler, said housing having top, bottom and interconnecting side walls, and said bottom wall being provided with beverage dispensing openings, said openings being selectively positioned for dispensing beverages into a plurality of containers located below said bottom wall one of said housing side walls provided with a wall duct which is aligned with an opening provided in said walk-in cooler upright wall;
• a plurality of beverage transfer lines, each of said lines being connected at one end to a source of pressurized beverage inside said cooler to be dispensed, the opposite ends of said lines passing through said wall duct directly into said housing and running to said beverage dispensing openings for dispensing beverage into said containers located below said bottom wall;
• valve means located within said housing for controlling the simultaneous flow of beverage through said beverage transfer lines to said dispensing openings;
• and
• blower means mounted on an interior upright wall of said cooler immediately behind said housing for circulating cool air from within said walk-in cooler through said wall duct into the interior of said housing to thereby cool the beverage being transferred through said beverage transfer lines.

A method for simultaneously dispensing beverages to fill multiple containers in a high volume beverage dispensing operation, at a beverage dispensing station located adjacent a walk-in beverage cooler, comprising the steps of:

• mounting a housing directly onto an upright wall of said walk-in cooler, said housing having a top, bottom and interconnecting side walls;
• providing a wall duct in one of said housing side walls in alignment with a similar opening provided in said walk-in cooler upright wall;
• providing beverage dispensing openings in said bottom wall of said housing, said dispensing openings being selectively positioned for dispensing beverages into a plurality of containers located below said bottom wall;
• running a plurality of flexible beverage transfer lines from a source of pressurized beverage located within said walk-in cooler through said wall duct directly into said housing and to said beverage dispensing openings;
• providing a valve means for each of said transfer lines within said housing for simultaneously controlling the flow of beverage through said dispensing openings;
• cooling said transfer line portions located within said housing by circulating cool air from within said walk-in cooler to the interior of said housing;
• and
• dispensing beverages from a plurality of said dispensing openings to fill a plurality of containers located below said bottom wall.