What name is given to the large cask which holds 54 imperial gallons of beer?
English brewery cask units was equal to two kilderkins or of a beer or ale hogshead. This is somewhat larger than the wine barrel. The kilderkin (from the Dutch for "small cask") is equal to half a barrel or two firkins. The kilderkin is still currently used. It is the unit of choice of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, 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.
English brewery cask units English brewery cask units Capacities of brewery casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The system was originally based on the ale gallon of . In United Kingdom and its colonies, with the adoption of the imperial system in 1824, the units were redefined in terms of the slightly smaller imperial gallon (). 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