ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,311,571, issued on May 27.
"Apparatus and method for toasting of barrels" was invented by Ericus A Van Kleef (Newburgh, Ind.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An apparatus for toasting the inside surface of a barrel. The apparatus generally includes a base member and an arm member. The arm member includes a central support member and at least one radially disposed electric infrared heater configured to heat the inside surface of the barrel evenly, and an extending arm disposed at an upper-most end of the arm member such that in application, the inside surface of the barrel rests on the extending arm and not the heater. The arm member includ...