Yuppies, Sports, and Suds: The Boozy History of the Beer Helmet

Unfortunately, we’re only born with two hands. And while no one ever said holding a beer was difficult, it does prevent one of those hands from being freed up from doing anything else. That’s where the beer helmet comes into play.

Equal parts humor and practicality, the device is arguably one of the few beer accessories that has hit the zeitgeist with some staying power. And anyone who’s been to a frat party or college sports game has probably encountered one. They’ve penetrated pop culture, appearing in films like “Happy Gilmore” and even becoming the subject of a bidding war in an episode of “Spongebob Squarepants.” Most iterations of the helmet retail for under $20, and can be made easily at home for even less. All that’s really necessary is a sturdy cap — preferably a baseball batter’s helmet — some duct tape, plastic tubing, two cupholders, and the ability to not take oneself too seriously.

But for a piece of apparel so ubiquitous, most of us probably haven’t taken the time to wonder where this thing actually came from. Of course, there was indeed a time not all that long ago when beer helmets were unheard of. To trace the genesis of this modern American marvel, we need to roll back the clock to 1985 when two different California natives claimed responsibility for its invention.

The ‘Yuppie Drinking Helmet’

The first of two origin stories regarding the beer helmet begins with Michael Del Ray, a then 26-year-old business undergrad at the University of Southern California, and his idea to make hands-free drinking a reality for yuppie Harvard students at collegiate football games.

According to a November 1985 article in the Harvard student newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, Del Ray was showcasing his invention at an open-air market with two beer cans. Then, after someone left two empty bottles of Perrier sparkling water on his table, he swapped them in for the beers.

“People laughed and howled when they saw Perrier in it,” Del Ray told the Harvard Crimson. “Then people who dressed and looked like stereotypical yuppies started buying them.”

Del Ray started slinging his hats in January 1985. In the six months leading up to the article’s publishing, he reportedly sold over 40,000 units, each for the staggering price of $17 to $18.95 (roughly $50 to $54 today).

He brought the idea to Harvard at the start of the school’s football season in September, pitching it as a way for yuppie students to drink while wielding “a copy of the Wall Street Journal” in one hand and a “Harvard banner” in the other. Although the cap did have a blue “Y” decal on the front for “yuppie,” the article noted that the letter risked some confusion as being an emblem of support for Harvard’s arch rival, Yale. In response, Del Ray said, “let it be known that the creator of the Yuppie drinking helmet prefers that Yale doesn’t score a point against Harvard.”

Del Ray hoped to sell his yuppie drinking helmets at the Coop, a Harvard/MIT book and branded goods store, but a buyer for the Coop rejected the offer due to its high price and the fact that he claimed to have already encountered a similar product called the “Hoser” (VinePair couldn’t find any sources verifying the existence of the Hoser).

Despite its initial success, there’s no evidence that suggests Del Ray’s invention ever ballooned into a full-blown empire. In fact, he told The Los Angeles Times that he wasn’t even the first to think of the idea. Allegedly, he decided to start making the helmets after seeing a “primitive model in San Diego.” All the while, there was a more mysterious figure developing an identical drinking hat of his own just a few miles away.

Nelson’s ‘Beverage Dispensing Device’

Inventor Steve R. Nelson was living in Downey, Calif., when he filed a patent for the “Beverage Dispensing Device.” Although the name is much less informative than “beer helmet” or even “yuppie drinking helmet,” the patent describes the creation as more or less the same thing.

“The beverage dispensing device consists of a rigid or semi-rigid hat or helmet with holders for holding a container on each side of the hat or helmet,” the patent reads. “A flexible tube placed inside of each container is joined to form a single tube that terminates in a person’s mouth. A person may enjoy two containers of beverage, on demand, and have his hands free to applaud at a sporting event or the like.”

Nelson filed the patent in June 1985, and it was approved in April 1988. The timeline matches up near-perfectly with the genesis of Del Ray’s product, but there’s no evidence that Nelson ever turned the idea into a full-on business venture. On top of that, there’s not much information readily available on Steve R. Nelson at all. Another California inventor named Steve Nelson has accrued a substantial number of patents over the years, on everything from children’s toys to photo- and video-editing software, but no sign of the legendary helmet.

Steve R. Nelson’s Beverage Dispensing Device patent expired in June 2005. And nowadays, making such a product is anyone’s game, although given that it’s such an easy DIY project, doing so on a mass scale is probably a futile endeavor. Still, that hasn’t stopped some from making their own spins on the idea, like Viking-style iterations and others that mimic Spartan helmets.

While it may be impossible to track down ground zero for the beloved beer helmet, we can thank the ‘80s and collegiate creativity for blessing us with one of the world’s most iconic drinking novelties.

*Image retrieved from uflypro via stock.adobe.com

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