Butt (unit)

The butt (from the medieval French and Italian botte) or pipe is an old English unit of wine casks, holding about 477 litres or rather two hogsheads. A hogshead varied in size but today is most commonly 63 US gallons (ca. 238.5 litres), so a butt is now usually 126 US gallons or 105 imperial gallons.

How big a butt or pipe of wine is can also depend on what kind of wine it is:

Madeira or Cape Wine: 92 gallons or 348 litres,
Sherry: 108 gallons or 409 litres,
Brandy: 114 gallons or 431.5 litres,
Port Wine: 115 gallons or 435 litres.

Traditionally, a butt of beer is 162 gallons or 613 litres. That is three, not two, hogsheads of beer!

George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England was drowned in a butt of malmsey, February 18, 1478.

English casks of wine [1]
gallon	rundlet	barrel	tierce	hogshead	firkin, puncheon, tertian	pipe, butt	tun
							2	pipes, butts
						1½	3	firkins, puncheons, tertians
					1 1⁄3	2	4	hogsheads
				1½	2	3	6	tierces
			1 1⁄3	2	2 1⁄3	4	8	barrels
		1¾	2 1⁄3	3½	4 2⁄3	7	14	rundlets
	18	31½	42	63	84	126	252	wine gallons
0.83	14.99	26.23	34.97	52.46	69.94	104.92	209.83	imperial gallons	US + pre-1824
3.79	68.14	119.24	158.99	238.48	317.97	476.96	953.92	litres	US + pre-1824
-	15	26¼	35	52.5	70	105	210	imperial gallons	post-1824
-	68.19	119.3	159.1	238.7	318.2	477.3	954.7	litres	post-1824

English casks of ale and beer [2]
gallon	firkin	kilderkin	barrel	hogshead
				1½	barrels
			2	3	kilderkins
		2	4	6	firkins
	8	16	32	48	ale gallons	(1454)-1688
	9	18	36	54	beer gallons	(1454)-1688
	8½	17	34	51	beer & ale gallons	1688-1803
	9	18	36	54	beer & ale gallons	1803-1824
	9	18	36	54	imperial gallons	1824-2000
4.55	40.91	81.83	163.66	245.49	litres	1824-2000

This standards-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Categories: Units of volume | Containers | Standards stubs | Wine | Beer