Thorough mixing of nitrogen with a beverage to provide a visually interesting and tasty drink is achieved by passing the nitrogen and beverage together through a mixing manifold that is inexpensive to manufacture and easily cleaned and sanitized.

A machine for mixing and dispensing beverages includes a single manifold, a bottle restraining unit and a randomizing beverage activator. The manifold is connectable to a plurality of separate, pre-filled beverage holders of already prepared beverages and provides pre-defined portions of selected said beverages to a dispensing outlet. The bottle restraining unit restrains the pre-filled bottles, which are either plastic bottles or glass bottles. The activator dispenses at least two beverages from the set of the beverage holders by randomizing an attribute of a drink. The attribute is chosen from an amount of the beverages and the beverage holders.

A receptacle for storing, pressurizing, and dispensing packaged beverages. The receptacle includes an airtight chamber with a removable lid, wherein the joint between the lid and the chamber is also airtight. A gas valve allows for the inflow and outflow of gas, and a tap port and tap stem allow the beverage to be dispensed without breaking the seal of the chamber. A pressure relief valve allows for more rapid depressurization. The chamber can be used at high and low pressures, such as a partial vacuum, to prevent oxidation of a number of open beverages, such as beers, wines, and sodas. A pressure gauge port coupled with an optional pressure gauge allows a user to verify the appropriate pressure for the type of beverage being preserved. The gas valve may be disposed on a base of the receptacle, as may the pressure relief and/or the pressure gauge port.

A system and method for dispensing sparkling and other non-pressurized beverages from a container. Sparkling wine and other beverages may be dispensed using a dispensing system that includes a stopper body that can be engaged with the container at the container opening. The stopper body may be arranged to introduce gas into the container during pouring-type dispensing, as well as re-pressurize and seal the container for storage, e.g., to keep a carbonation level of beverage remaining in the container.

A beverage infusion apparatus includes: beverage infusion apparatus comprising: (a) an infusion module for infusing a nitrogen containing gas into a beverage to form a gas infused beverage, wherein: (i) the infusion module comprises a gas draw venturi device for drawing the nitrogen containing gas into the beverage as a result of flow of the beverage through the gas draw venturi device to form the gas infused beverage; (b) a dispensing valve for dispensing the gas infused beverage and constructed to move between an open position and a closed position, wherein: (i) the open position permits dispensing of the gas infused beverage from the beverage infusion apparatus; (ii) the closed position prevents dispensing of the gas infused beverage from the beverage infusion apparatus; and (iii) the dispensing valve is constructed to move between the open position and the closed position by a user of the beverage infusion apparatus; and (c) a pump constructed to move the beverage, under pressure, from a beverage reservoir, through the dispensing valve to the dispensing valve. A method of forming a gas infused beverage at a location of purchase of the gas infused beverage is provided.

A machine for mixing and dispensing beverages includes a single manifold and a randomizing beverage activator. The manifold connects a set of upright beverage holders, each holding a different, already prepared beverage, to a dispensing outlet. The activator dispenses at least two beverages from the set of the beverage holders by randomizing an attribute of a drink. The attribute is chosen from an amount of the beverages and the beverage holders. Modified caps can be used for the beverage holders. The activator determines a dispensing ratio for beverages and converts the dispensing ratio to a dispensing time per beverage holder. The ratio defines the number of time segments each beverage holder is activated.

A system and method for dispensing sparkling and other pressurized beverages from a container. Sparkling wine and other beverages may be dispensed without removing a cork or other closure. One or more needles may be inserted through the closure and sparkling beverage dispensed through the one or more needles. The one or more needles may be inserted at an angle to the vertical or axis of the bottle opening in which the closure is positioned, e.g., to avoid contact with a metal retainer on the closure. Dispensed beverage may be directed to a pressurized reservoir to help maintain or recover carbonation prior to dispensing.

A cap for engagement with a beverage container allows an extractor needle or other conduit to pass through a portion of the cap such that beverage can be removed from the container without removing the cap. The cap may include a septum that is radially and/or axially compressed and a barrier layer arranged to engage with the container to form a seal.

Beverages such as beer and soda which contain carbon dioxide or other gases may degrade in quality when subjected to atmospheric pressure, oxygen, and/or light. It may be desirable to store such beverages in containers which prevent exposure to these conditions. An aluminum can is one such container but is associated with the problem of resealing the can after breaking the seal. The described utilities provide for resealing, pressurizing, and/or dispensing from an aluminum can or similar beverage container.

Thorough mixing of nitrogen with a beverage to provide a visually interesting and tasty drink is achieved by passing the nitrogen and beverage together through a mixing manifold that is inexpensive to manufacture and easily cleaned and sanitized.