Casks

The word 'barrel' is commonly used as a name for the type of container which beers are delivered to the pub in. However the word is more correctly, a unit of measure. As a container, the cask was made of wood and roughly cylindrical in shape except that it 'bulged' outwards in the middle, and was used to transport not only the obvious liquids (water, beer, wine etc.) but also other commodities such as fish, sugar, flour, meat, cement, minerals, and so on. The sizes of the different casks varied with contents and, some of these different casks acquired different names. It’s now rare to see but sometimes a pub will serve ale ‘straight from the cask’ - you can expect that the landlord or landlady will really know how to look after their beer and you can expect it to be lovely. We add a cask symbol to those establishments where we have come across a pub where this is the case. You can expect that it will also get a superb pint symbol as well!

Cask Sizes

4½ Gallons

Firkin

9 Gallons

= 2 Pins

Kilderkin

18 Gallons

= 2 Firkins

Barrel

36 Gallons

= 2 Kilderkins

Hogshead

54 Gallons

= 1½ Barrels

Puncheon

72 Gallons

= 2 Barrels

Butt

108 Gallons

= 2 Hogsheads

Tun

216 Gallons

= 2 Butts

Enter number and select unit.
Select other units for conversion.

Ales are delivered to pubs in varying sizes of cask dependent on the amount of storage capacity and also the volume of ales which the pub can sell. A 'Pin' can easily be stored on a counter top to dispense the ales straight to the glass but the largest cask used would normally be a 'Hogshead' as anything larger becomes very difficult to move around a cellar The firkin, a small beer cask, holding nine Imperial gallons (72 pints) would have been of traditional wooden construction (often Oak) whereas modern day casks are usually made from Aluminium. Aluminium kegs start at nine gallons. They are of the non-pressurised type for real ales, unlike the casks of 'Keg' beers which require the assistance of carbon dioxide gas to extract the contents. Glossary of Brewing

html5 menu by Css3Menu.com