A standard keg in the UK contains 88 pints, though some specialist beers can come in smaller 53-pint kegs.
But what about a barrel? A butt? A hogshead? A firkin? Here at The George pub in Tunbridge Wells, we love answering all of your beer-related questions. Whether you’ve landed on this page because you need to figure out how much beer to order for a get-together, or you’re just curious about everything beer (because who isn’t?), in this post, you’ll find a comprehensive breakdown of UK beer units and measurements.
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How many pints are in a keg?
Keg sizes will differ slightly depending on where you are in the world. In the UK, the standard measurement for a pint is 568 millilitres. Generally, a standard beer keg in the UK contains 11 imperial gallons – 50 litres – of beer.
There are 8 pints in an imperial gallon, so to figure out the number of pints per keg, we can multiply 11 by 8, and the answer is 88 pints per keg.
Standard UK Keg
- 1 imperial gallon = 8 pints
- 1 standard keg = 11 imperial gallons = 88 pints
How many pints are in a 30-litre keg?
If you’re looking to order a keg online, you’ve probably come across lots of 30-litre kegs of beer. These kegs contain 6.6 imperial gallons, just shy of 53 pints.
How many pints are in a UK barrel of beer?
Beer barrels, once a common vessel for storing beer, have a capacity of 36 imperial gallons. To put it into perspective, that’s 288 pints. Compare that to a modern-day standard keg, and 88 suddenly seems like a much smaller number of pints!
Despite their impressive capacity, barrels – along with other large containers – have fallen out of favour as the brewing industry has shifted towards using smaller, more practical containers. These smaller barrels are easier to lift and manoeuvre.
Additionally, ale is a “live beer”. Ideally, once tapped, cask ale should be consumed within 5 to 7 days. Since demand for ale is no longer what it was hundreds of years ago, smaller containers reduce the chance of waste.
- 1 barrel = 36 imperial gallons = 288 pints
UK Ale Cask Units
Cask has been used to store ale for hundreds of years, but the larger containers, including tuns, butts, and hogsheads, are rarely used these days for the same reasons cited above – they are too large and heavy, making them impractical.
Tun of ale
A tun is a traditional unit that was once used in the UK to measure beer volume. It had a massive capacity of 216 imperial gallons. For perspective, that’s 1,728 pints! Historically, tuns were used for commercial purposes – back when demand for ale was much higher – and to cater to large events such as weddings and festivals.
- 1 tun = 216 imperial gallons = 1,728 pints
How many pints in a butt?
You’ve probably heard the term “a buttload of” something and assumed (probably correctly) that the speaker was referring to an undefined, huge amount. Well, a buttload of beer is precisely half a tun. That’s two hogsheads, 108 imperial gallons – or 864 pints!
- 1 butt = 108 imperial gallons = 864 pints
What’s a hogshead?
Hogsheads of beer have been around for hundreds of years. In the mid-15th century, a hogshead was defined as 48 ale gallons. When the imperial system was adopted in 1824, a hogshead was redefined to mean 54 imperial gallons. Hogsheads of beer were very popular in the early 19th century when they were used to transport IPA beer and porter across the sea to the Empire by the East India Company.
A hogshead contains half the amount of a butt. That’s 54 gallons, or 432 pints.
- 1 hogshead = 54 gallons = 432 pints
How many pints in a Kilderkin?
Although kilderkins – from “small barrel” in Middle Dutch – are no longer commonly used, it is the unit that CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) use to calculate beer quantities in beer festivals.
A kilderkin holds 21.6 imperial gallons, which is half a barrel or 144 pints
- 1 kilderkin = 21.6 imperial gallons = 144 pints
How many pints in a firkin?
Firkins are the most common containers for cask ale today. A firkin holds a quarter of a barrel of ale or half a kilderkin. There are 72 pints of beer in a firkin, though only around 69 of the 72 pints are consumable. The final few pints in a firkin contain all the sediment that sinks to the bottom of the cask.
- 1 firkin = 10.8 imperial gallons = 72 pints
How many pints in a pin?
Pins are the smallest cask units. Homebrewers often use pins, or plastic versions called “Polypins”, though they can also be found at beer festivals where speciality or experimental beers are on sale.
A pin is half a firkin. It has a 5.4 imperial gallon capacity and contains around 36 pints.
- 1 pin = 5.4 imperial gallons = 36 pints
Final Thoughts
There are many types of beer containers, though the most popular today are standard kegs and firkins – the others, as magnificent as they sound, are too large and heavy for practical use in modern times.
At the Fonthill brewery (in the George stables), we brew our own ale, ten firkins at a time. Head over to our taproom, open every Friday and Saturday, to sample keg and cask straight from the source – and enjoy a few cocktails, too.
Thinking of visiting? There are plenty of things to do in Tunbridge Wells, from live music events to woodland walks. Keep an eye on our Instagram for regular updates!
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