Butt (unit)
The butt (from the medieval French and Italian botte) or pipe is an old English unit of wine casks, holding two hogsheads (about 477 litres). 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.
A 'buttload' is a common American slang term for a large amount not specifically quantified.
Tradition has that George, Duke of Clarence, the brother of Edward IV of England was drowned in a butt of malmsey, February 18, 1478. [1] [2] It was used in The Cask of Amontillado for describing the Amontillado's size.
Footnotes
| gallon | rundlet | barrel | tierce | hogshead | puncheon, tertian | pipe, butt | tun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tun | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | pipes, butts | ||||||
| 1 | 1+1⁄2 | 3 | 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 (wine) |
| 3.785 | 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) |
| 4.546 | 68.19 | 119.3 | 159.1 | 238.7 | 318.2 | 477.3 | 954.7 | litres |
| gallon | firkin | kilderkin | barrel | hogshead | Year designated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | hogsheads | |||||
| 1 | 1+1⁄2 | barrels | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | kilderkins | |||
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | firkins | ||
| 1 | 8 | 16 | 32 | 48 | ale gallons | (1454) |
| = 4.621 L | = 36.97 L | = 73.94 L | = 147.9 L | = 221.8 L | ||
| 1 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 54 | beer gallons | |
| = 4.621 L | = 41.59 L | = 83.18 L | = 166.4 L | = 249.5 L | ||
| 1 | 8+1⁄2 | 17 | 34 | 51 | ale gallons | 1688 |
| = 4.621 L | = 39.28 L | = 78.56 L | = 157.1 L | = 235.7 L | ||
| 1 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 54 | ale gallons | 1803 |
| = 4.621 L | = 41.59 L | = 83.18 L | = 166.4 L | = 249.5 L | ||
| 1 | 9 | 18 | 36 | 54 | imperial gallons | 1824 |
| = 4.546 L | = 40.91 L | = 81.83 L | = 163.7 L | = 245.5 L |
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- ^ "wine barrel". Sizes. 2009-02-02. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
- ^ "English Beer and Ale Barrel". Sizes. 2002-01-23. Retrieved 2018-03-27.