Traditional wooden barrels in Cutchogue, USA

Modern stainless steel beer barrels—also called casks or kegs—outside the Castle Rock microbrewery in Nottingham, England

A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. Cutchogue is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York (USA The population was 2849 at the 2000 census Tynemill is a British Pub chain based in the East Midlands and Yorkshire. A microbrewery, or craft brewery, is a modern Brewery which produces a limited amount of beer usually with an orientation toward distinctive and flavorful products Nottingham ( is a city in the Ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes the Surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given Straight line, the axis Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Iron (ˈаɪɚn is a Chemical element with the symbol Fe (ferrum and Atomic number 26 Someone who makes such barrels is known as a cooper. Traditionally a cooper is someone who makes Wooden staved vessels of a conical form of greater length than breadth bound Contemporary barrels are also made of aluminium 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. Stress is a measure of the average amount of Force exerted per unit Area.

Casks used for ale or beer have shives, spiles and keystones in their openings. Ale is a type of Beer brewed from Malted Barley using a top-fermenting Brewers' yeast. Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed Alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea A shive is a Wooden or Plastic fitting used in ale casks. It is found on the curved side of the cask arranged so that when the cask A spile is a small Wooden peg used to control the flow of Carbon dioxide out of a Cask of Ale. A keystone is a small Wooden or Plastic fitting used in ale casks.

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

The stopper used to seal the hole in a barrel is called the bung. A bung is an apparatus used to seal a container, such as a Bottle, Tube or barrel.

History

In Europe in ancient times liquids like oil and wine were carried in vessels, for instance amphora, sealed with pine resin. An oil is a substance that is in a viscous Liquid state ( "oily") at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer and is Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice An amphora (plural amphorae or amphoras) is a type of Ceramic Vase with two handles and a long neck narrower than the body This article is about the tree For other uses of the term "pine" see Pine (disambiguation. Resin, not to be confused with Rosin, is a Hydrocarbon Secretion of many Plants particularly coniferous trees. 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. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western

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. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 main - title Coin keywords numismatics coin review 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. A pallet (ˈpæːlɨt (sometimes called a skid) is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a Forklift, Pallet Containerization (or containerisation) is a system of Intermodal freight transport Cargo Transport using standard ISO containers

In the mid 20th century, 55-gallon steel drums began to be used for the storage and transport of fluids such as water, oils and hazardous waste. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. An oil is a substance that is in a viscous Liquid state ( "oily") at ambient temperatures or slightly warmer and is The term hazardous waste comprises all toxic chemicals radioactive materials, and biologic or infectious waste. Empty drums occasionally became musical instruments in a steel pan band. Steelpans (also known as steeldrums or pans, and sometimes collectively with Musicians as a steelband) is a Musical instrument and

Aging in barrels

Main article: Aging barrel

Wine barrels in Napa Valley, California. An aging barrel is a barrel used to age Wine or distilled spirits such as Whiskey, Brandy, or Rum.

The term "barrel" typically refers to wooden vessels that are small enough to be moved by hand, up to puncheon size (see below). ---- __FORCETOC__ Barrels The original and prime meaning of the word puncheon is a tool or instrument for piercing or punching such as those used for impressing Barrels are used for the storage of liquids, to ferment wine, to age wine (notably brandy, sherry and port) and whiskey. The process of fermentation in Wine is the Catalyst function that turns Grape juice into an Alcoholic beverage. Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Wine is an Alcoholic beverage made from the fermentation of Grape juice Brandy (from brandywine, derived from Dutch brandewijn — “burnt wine” is a spirit produced by distilling Wine Sherry is a Fortified wine, made in and around the town of Jerez, Spain. Port wine (also known as Vinho do Porto, Oporto, Porto, and often simply Port) is a Portuguese, Fortified Whisky (uisge-beatha or whiskey (uisce beatha or fuisce) refers to a broad category of Alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented Some wine is 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 are called "casks", and they are large (up to thousands of gallons) with either elliptical or round heads. In Mathematics, an ellipse (from the Greek ἔλλειψις literally absence) is a Conic section, the locus of points in a

Beer "Barrels"

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 holds 36 imperial gallons. Draught beer (also known as draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 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. A keg is a cylindrical container usually constructed of aluminum steel or wood A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container traditionally made of Wood Staves and bound with Iron Hoops The Draught beer (also known as draft beer or tap beer) has several related though slightly different understandings Cask ales undergo part of their fermentation process in their containers, called casks. Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is the term for unfiltered and unpasteurised Beer which is conditioned (including Secondary fermentation

Casks are available in several sizes, and it is common to refer to "a firkin" or "a kil" (kilderkin) instead of a cask. A Firkin is an old English unit of volume The name is derived from the Middle Dutch word vierdekijn which means The kilderkin is an old English unit of volume equal to half a barrel or two firkins

In the United States, the term "keg" commonly means a 'half barrel' size container. A keg is a cylindrical container usually constructed of aluminum steel or wood

Sizes

English traditional, wine

Pre-1824 definitions continued to be used in the US, the wine gallon of 231 cubic inches being the standard gallon for liquids (the corn gallon of 268. A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries 8 cubic inches for solids). In Britain that gallon was replaced by the Imperial gallon. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 The tierce later became the petrol barrel. The tierce is an old English unit of Wine casks holding about 159 litres. The tun was originally 256 gallons, which explains where the quarter, 8 bushels or 64 (wine) gallons, comes from. A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries A bushel is a unit of dry volume, usually subdivided into eight local Gallons in the systems of Imperial units and U

English traditional, beer and ale

The US beer barrel is 31 US gallons (116. 34777 litres), half a gallon less than the traditional wine barrel. (26 U. S. C. §5051[3])

Oil barrel

Standard Oil Company blue 55-US gallon (44 imp. Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing transporting refining and marketing company gal, 200 L) barrel

Main article: barrel (unit)

The standard barrel of crude oil or other petroleum product (abbreviated bbl) is 42 US gallons (34. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries 972 Imperial gallons or 158. 987 L). The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. This measurement originated in the early Pennsylvania oil fields, and permitted both British and American merchants to refer to the same unit, based on the old English wine measure, the tierce. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ( often colloquially referred to as PA (its abbreviation by natives and Northeasterners is a state located in the Northeastern An oil field is a region with an abundance of Oil wells extracting Petroleum (crude oil from below ground The tierce is an old English unit of Wine casks holding about 159 litres.

Earlier, another size of whiskey barrel was the most common size; this was the 40 US gallons (33. Whisky (uisge-beatha or whiskey (uisce beatha or fuisce) refers to a broad category of Alcoholic beverages that are distilled from fermented US customary units, also known in the United States as English units or Imperial units (in reference to the British Empire) (but see English A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries 3 imp gal/151. Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries 4 L) barrel for proof spirits, which was of the same volume as 5 US bushels. The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume. However, by 1866 the oil barrel was standardized at 42 US gallons.

Oil has not actually been shipped in barrels [4] since the introduction of oil tankers, but the 42-US-gallon size is still used as a unit for measurement, pricing, and in tax and regulatory codes. History The technology of oil transportation has evolved alongside the oil industry Each barrel is refined into about 19½ gallons of gasoline, the rest becoming other products such as jet fuel and heating oil, using fractional distillation. Fractional distillation is the separation of a mixture into its component parts or fractions such as in separating Chemical compounds by their Boiling point by heating ^[1]

The current standard volume for barrels for chemicals and food is 55 US gallons (46 imp gal/208 L). US customary units, also known in the United States as English units or Imperial units (in reference to the British Empire) (but see English A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries Imperial units or the Imperial system is a collection of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824 A gallon is a measure of Volume. It is in current use in the United States and still has limited use in many other English-speaking countries The litre or liter (see spelling differences) is a unit of Volume.

Dry goods

A barrel is standardized for other products:

• cornmeal, 200 pounds (90. Cornmeal is Flour ground from dried corn, and is a common Staple food. 7 kg);
• portland cement, four cubic feet or 376 pounds (170. Portland cement is the most common type of Cement in general usage in many parts of the world as it is a basic ingredient of Concrete, mortar, Stucco 6 kg). ^[2];
• sugar, five cubic feet;
• wheat or rye flour, three bushels or 196 pounds (88. Sugar is a class of edible Crystalline substances mainly Sucrose, Lactose, and Fructose. Flour is a powder made of Cereal grains It is the key ingredient of Bread, which is a staple food in many countries and therefore the availability A bushel is a unit of dry volume, usually subdivided into eight local Gallons in the systems of Imperial units and U The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass 9 kg).

Other uses

Due to the traditional barrel's distinctive shape and construction method, the term has been used to describe a variety of largely unrelated objects, such as the gun barrel and barrel organ. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion A barrel organ (or roller organ) is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of Bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case usually

The English idiom over a barrel means 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. An idiom is a Phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal Definition, but refers instead to a figurative meaning that is known only " The phrase is said to originate from 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. Drowning is Death as caused by suffocation when a liquid causes interruption of the body's absorption of oxygen from the air leading to Asphyxia. Flagellation is the act of whipping (Latin flagellum, "whip" the human body

See also

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

References

External links

• Online barrel conversions
• Origin of "over a barrel"