Firkin
Volume · Also called: kilderkin
That is
40.91 l
1 firkin (firkin)
The other way round: 1 m³ is 24.441 firkins.
- Period: 1826 to today
- Region: England
- Goods: beer and ale
Values
| Value | That is | Period | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| firkin | 40.91 l | 1826 to today | beer and ale · England |
| kilderkin | 81.83 l | 1826 to today | beer and ale · England |
What the unit was used for
These are the small casks of the English brewery trade, and they are why British cask ale still moves in units nobody else uses.
The names come from Middle Dutch, vierdekijn for a little fourth and kindekijn for a little vessel, which records where the hopped-beer trade in England came from.
Both are defined as fractions of the barrel rather than in their own right, a quarter and a half.
Before the Weights and Measures Act 1824 they were counted in ale gallons of 282 cubic inches, so a cask of the same name held rather more than it does now.
The firkin is still the standard cask for real ale in British pubs and at beer festivals, which makes it the one unit here a reader may have met this week.
In the system
1 firkin = 9 gallons = ¼ barrel; 1 kilderkin = 18 gallons = ½ barrel = 2 firkins