If you didn’t already know, Fountainhead has two hand-pumped beer engines. These babies are pretty rare in Chicago bars so we encourage you to visit and treat yourself to something special.

Before you drop by, here’s some information on beer engines, as listed in Wikipedia:

“A beer engine is a device for pumping beer, originally manually operated and typically used to dispense beer from a cask or container in a pub’s basement or cellar. It was invented by the locksmith and hydraulic engineer Joseph Bramah in 1797. Strictly the term refers to the pump itself, which is normally manually operated, though electrically powered and gas-powered pumps are occasionally used; when manually powered, the term handpump is often used to refer to both the pump and the associated handle.

The beer engine is normally located below the bar, and the visible handle is used to draw the beer through a flexible tube to the spout, below which the glass is placed. Modern hand pumps may clamp onto the edge of the bar or be mounted in a more permanent fashion integrated with the top of the bar.

A pump clip is usually attached to the handle by a spring clip giving the name, and sometimes other details such as the brewer’s name, beer type and alcoholic strength, of the beer being served through that handpump.

The handle of a handpump is often used as a symbol of cask ale, although this can also be served by electric pumps, air pressure pumps or by gravity. By contrast, keg beer dispensers usually feature illuminated countertop fittings behind which a handle opens a valve that allows the gas pressure in the keg to force beer to the attached spout.”