Capacities of

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of

English units English units are the units of measurement used in England up to 1826 (when they were replaced by Imperial units), which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at ...

. The system was originally based on the

ale gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austr ...

of . In United Kingdom and its colonies, with the adoption of the

imperial system The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed th ...

in 1824, the units were redefined in terms of the slightly smaller

imperial gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austral ...

(). The older units continued in use in the United States. Historically the terms ''beer'' and ''ale'' referred to distinct brews. From the mid 15th century until 1803 in Britain "ale" casks and "beer" casks differed in the number of gallons they contained.

Units

Tun

The tun is a cask that is double the size of a butt and is equal to eight barrels and has a capacity of . Invented in Brentford, a tun was used in local breweries to measure large amounts of alcohol.

Butt (Imperial)

The butt of beer was equal to half a tun, two hogsheads, three tierce, or .

Hogshead

The

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alco ...

of beer and ale was equal to a quarter of a tun, half a butt, a tierce and a half, or three kilderkins. This unit is close in size to the wine hogshead. :;hogshead (Ale) :In the mid-15th century the ale hogshead was defined as 48 ale or beer gallons (221.8 L). In 1688 the ale hogshead was redefined to be 51 ale or beer gallons (235.7 L). In 1803 the ale hogshead was again redefined to be 54 ale or beer gallons (249.5 L), equivalent to the beer hogshead. :;hogshead (Beer) :From the mid 15th century until 1824 the beer hogshead was defined as 54 ale or beer gallons. :;hogshead (Ale) (Imperial), hogshead (Beer) (Imperial) :In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and its colonies, with the 1824 adoption of the imperial system, the ale or beer hogshead was redefined to be 54 imperial gallons. The ale or beer hogshead is therefore exactly or approximately .This assumes the current 4.54609-litre definition of the imperial gallon.

Barrel

The

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

of beer or ale was equal to two kilderkins or of a beer or ale hogshead. This is somewhat larger than the

wine barrel Oak is used in winemaking to vary the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of wine. It can be introduced in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods, or as free-floating chips or staves added to wine fermented in a ves ...

. :;barrel (Ale) :As with the hogshead the ale barrel underwent various redefinitions. Initially 32 ale or beer gallons (147.9 L), it was redefined in 1688 as 34 ale or beer gallons (157.1 L) and again in 1803 as 36 ale or beer gallons (166.4 L). :;barrel (Beer) :The beer barrel was defined as 36 ale or beer gallons until the adoption of the imperial system. :;barrel (Ale) (Imperial), barrel (Beer) (Imperial) :The adoption of the imperial system saw the beer or ale barrel redefined to be 36 imperial gallons, which is exactly : or approximately .

Kilderkin

The kilderkin (from the Dutch for "small cask") is equal to half a barrel or two firkins. :;kilderkin (Ale) :The ale kilderkin likewise underwent various redefinitions. Initially 16 ale or beer gallons (73.94 L), it was redefined in 1688 as 17 ale or beer gallons (78.56 L) and again in 1803 as 18 ale or beer gallons (83.18 L). :;kilderkin (Beer) :Until the adoption of the imperial system the beer kilderkin was defined as 18 ale or beer gallons. :;kilderkin (Ale) (Imperial), kilderkin (Beer) (Imperial) :With the adoption of the imperial system the kilderkin was redefined to be 18 imperial gallons, which is exactly or approximately . The kilderkin is still currently used. It is the unit of choice of CAMRA, the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is ...

, for calculating beer quantities for beer festivals in the UK. Ales are usually delivered in firkins, cider and other drinks are usually in boxes, bottles or other containers measured in gallons or litres, and all (except wine) are sold in pints or parts thereof. For CAMRA internal accounting, all are calculated in kilderkins. A kilderkin is a 144 pint container but there is not 144 pints of cask conditioned consumable beer in a kilderkin (see Firkins below for explanation).

Firkin

The ale or beer firkin (from

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...

meaning "fourth") is a quarter of an ale or beer barrel or half a kilderkin. This unit is much smaller than the wine firkin. Casks in this size (themselves called firkins) are the most common container for

cask ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for beer that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...

. :;firkin (Ale) :From the mid 15th century until 1688 the ale firkin was defined as 8 ale or beer gallons (36.97 litres). In 1688 the ale firkin was redefined to be ale or beer gallons (39.28 L). In 1803 ale firkin was again redefined to be 9 ale or beer gallons (41.59 L), equivalent to the beer firkin. :;firkin (Beer) :From the mid 15th century until 1824 the beer firkin was defined as 9 ale or beer gallons. :;firkin (Ale) (Imperial), firkin (Beer) (Imperial) :The beer or ale firkin was redefined to be 9 imperial gallons in 1824. It is therefore exactly or approximately .
Most English cask conditioned beer bought by publicans is delivered in 72 pint containers (i.e. Firkin) but the volume of consumable beer in the container is far lower. For example a 72 pint container of Greene King IPA currently only has 66 "full" pints of consumable beer that can be sold or drunk, the other 6 pints are sediment, finings, beer stone, hops, proteins or less than an imperial measure and therefore not consumable or saleable. HMRC does not charge duty on any portion of beer that cannot be consumed, brewers should make a declaration to the first customer (i.e. publican) to inform them what are the actual duty paid contents of the beer so customers are fully aware of how much is being sold to them.

Pin (Imperial)

A pin is equal to half a firkin (). Plastic versions of these casks are known as "polypins" and are popular in

homebrewing Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...

and the off-trade (deliveries for home consumption). They are also popular at beer festivals where non-standard beers are sold.

Gallon

Originally the 282-cubic-inch ale or beer gallon was used. With the adoption of the

in the United Kingdom and its colonies, the system was redefined in terms of the

Chart

References

Notes

{{reflist, group=nb Units of volume Alcohol measurement