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A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. Someone who makes such barrels is known as a cooper. Contemporary barrels are also made in aluminium (also called kegs) and plastic.

Barrels often have a convex shape, bulging at the middle. This constant bulge makes it relatively easy to roll a well built wooden barrel on its side, changing directions with little friction. It also helps to distribute stress evenly in the material by making the container more spherical.

Casks used for ale or beer are equipped with shives, spiles and keystones in their openings.

The "chime hoop" is the iron hoop nearest the end of a wooden barrel. The "bilge hoops" are the hoops nearest the bulge, or centre.

The stopper used to seal the hole in a barrel is called the bung.

Contents 1 History 2 Ageing in barrels 3 Beer "Barrels" 4 Sizes 4.1 English traditional, wine 4.2 English traditional, beer and ale 5 Oil barrel 6 Dry goods 7 Other uses 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

In ancient times, in Europe, liquids like oil and wine were carried in vessels, for instance amphora, sealed with pine resin. The Romans began to use barrels in the 3rd century AD, as a result of their commercial and military contacts with the Gauls, who had been making barrels for several centuries.

For nearly 2,000 years barrels were the most convenient form of shipping or storage container, for those who could afford the superior price. All kinds of bulk goods, from nails to gold coins, were stored in them. Bags and most crates were cheaper, but they were not as sturdy and they were more difficult to manhandle, for the same weight. Barrels slowly lost their importance in the 20th century, with the introduction of pallet-based logistics and containerization.

In the mid 20th century, large 55 gallon steel drums began to be used for the storage and transportation of many fluids, such as water, oils and hazardous waste. Empty drums occasionally became musical instruments.

Main article: Ageing barrel

The term "Barrel" typically refers to wooden vessels that are small enough to be moved by hand. This would include up to Puncheon size (see below.) Barrels are used for the storage of liquids, to ferment wine, and to age wine (notably brandy, sherry, and port) and whiskey. Some wine is said to be fermented "in barrel," as opposed to a neutral container such as a steel or concrete tank. Wine can also be fermented in large wooden tanks, often called "open-tops", because they are open to the atmosphere. Other wooden cooperage for storing wine or spirits is called "casks", and they are large (up to thousands of gallons) with either elliptical or round heads.

Although it is common to refer to draught beer containers of any size as barrels, in the UK this is strictly correct only if the container actually holds 36 imperial gallons. The terms "keg" and "cask" refer to containers of any size, the distinction being that kegs are used for beers intended to be served using external gas cylinders. Cask ales undergo part of their fermentation process in their containers, which are called casks.

Casks are available in several sizes, and it is also usual to refer to "a firkin" or "a kil" (kilderkin) instead of a cask.

English casks of wine [1]

gallon	rundlet	barrel	tierce	hogshead	firkin, puncheon, tertian	pipe, butt	tun
							1	tun
						1	2	pipes, butts
					1	1+1⁄2	3	firkins, puncheons, tertians
				1	1+1⁄3	2	4	hogsheads
			1	1+1⁄2	2	3	6	tierces
		1	1+1⁄3	2	2+2⁄3	4	8	barrels
	1	1+3⁄4	2+1⁄3	3+1⁄2	4+2⁄3	7	14	rundlets
1	18	31+1⁄2	42	63	84	126	252	gallons (US/wine)
3.79	68.14	119.24	158.99	238.48	317.97	476.96	953.92	litres
1	15	26+1⁄4	35	52+1⁄2	70	105	210	gallons (imperial)
4.55	68.19	119.3	159.1	238.7	318.2	477.3	954.7	litres

Like other units, the pre-1824 definitions continued to be used in the US, the wine gallon of 231 cubic inches staying (since 1707) the standard gallon for liquids (accompanied by the corn gallon of 268.8 cubic inches for solids), whereas in Britain that gallon was abolished and replaced by the Imperial gallon. The tierce later became the petrol barrel. The tun originally was 256 gallons, which explains where the quarter, being 8 bushels or 64 (wine) gallons, comes from.

English casks of ale and beer [2]

gallon	firkin	kilderkin	barrel	hogshead	(butt)	(tun)		Year designated
						1	tuns
					1	1+3⁄4	butts
				1	3	5+1⁄4	hogsheads
			1	1+1⁄2	4+1⁄2	7+7⁄8	barrels
		1	2	3	9	15+3⁄4	kilderkins
	1	2	4	6	18	31+1⁄2	firkins
1	8	16	32	48	144	252	ale gallons (ale)	(1454)
= 4.62	= 36.97	= 73.94	= 147.88	= 221.82	= 665.44	= 1164.52	litres (ale)
1	9	18	36	54	162	283+1⁄2	ale gallons (beer)
= 4.62	= 41.59	= 83.18	= 166.36	= 249.54	= 748.62	= 1310.09	litres (beer)
1	8+1⁄2	17	34	51			ale gallons	1688
= 4.62	= 39.28	= 78.56	= 157.12	= 235.68			litres
1	9	18	36	54			ale gallons	1803
= 4.62	= 41.59	= 83.18	= 166.36	= 249.54			litres
1	9	18	36	54			imperial gallons	1824
= 4.55	= 40.91	= 81.83	= 163.66	= 245.49			litres

The US beer barrel is exactly 31 US gallons, i.e. 116.34777 L, which is half a gallon less than the traditional wine barrel. (26 U.S.C. §5051[3])

The standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum product (abbreviated bbl) is 42 US gallons (34.972 Imperial gallons or 158.987 L). This measurement originated in the early Pennsylvania oil fields, and permitted both British and American merchants to refer to the same unit, which was based on the old English wine measure, the tierce.

Earlier, another size of whiskey barrel was once the most common size; this was the 40 US-gallon (151.4 litres) barrel for proof spirits, which was of the same volume as 5 US bushels. However, by 1866 the oil barrel was standardized at 42 US-gallons.

Oil has not been shipped in barrels for a long time [4] since the introduction of oil tanker ships, but the 42-US-gallon size is still used as a unit for measurement, pricing, and in tax and regulatory codes, each 42-US-gallon barrel making about 19½ gallons of gasoline.^{[citation needed]}

The current standard volume for barrels for chemicals and food is 55 US gallons or 208 litres.

A barrel is standardized for several other products. A barrel of wheat or rye flour is three bushels or 196 pounds (88.9 kg), but a barrel of cornmeal is 200 pounds (90.7 kg). A barrel of sugar is five cubic feet. A barrel of portland cement is four cubic feet or 376 pounds (170.6 kg).^[1]

Being over a barrel is to be in a predicament, or helpless in a situation where others are in control. ("I have no choice in the matter—my creditors have me over a barrel.") The phrase is said to originate from either of two 19th century practices: rolling drowning victims over a barrel to clear their lungs of water, or flogging someone who is bent over a barrel. If it is your turn in the barrel it means that it is your turn to do something unpleasant. This originates from a practice done by pirates and sailors which involved placing a person in a barrel with a hole drilled in it and imagining that the person in the barrel was a woman. This supplemented the lack of females on board a ship.

• 55 gallon drum
• Kegs
• Cask ale
• Wine barrels

• A primer on selecting barrels
• Online barrel conversions
• Origin of "over a barrel"