Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Firkin Dimensions

I was asked. I didn't know. I took out the tape, and measured. Now I do know, and you can too.

Here are the exterior dimensions of a stainless steel firkin.


  • The diameter or width of the head from the outside lip of the chimb is 12 1/2 inches. [red arrows]
  • The width of the firkin at its widest point at its belly is 16-17 inches. [green arrows]
  • The circumference of the firkin at its widest point at its belly is 49 inches. [green arrows]
  • The length of the firkin from chimb to chimb is 19 1/4 inches. [blue arrows]
  • The length of the firkin from back chimb [blue arrows] to the protruding end of the tap [black arrow] is 23 3/4 inches. An inserted cask widge provides a similar measurement. This is a critical measurement when installing a firkin in a small space, such as underneath a bartop.
  • The diameter of the keystone bung is 1 3/8 inches. [black arrow]
  • The diameter of the shive bung is 2 inches. [yellow arrow]
A firkin is a beer cask that approximately contains: 10.8 US gallons = 9 UK gallons = 40.8 liters = 86 US pints. There are no legal standards of construction for beer casks. Dimensions may differ per manufacturer. More on firkin volumes: here.


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Fobbing at the Tut, by Cizauskas
This post is one in a series on Cask Ale: Fobbing at the Tut.

  • The length of a cask with a tap inserted was something I had somehow neglected to measure. Thanks to Charlie Buettner, brewer at Mad Fox Brewing Company, who took some of the measurements for me.
  • 1 comment:

    1. Thanks for the post!
      I'm having a wood firkin custom built and I have one question.
      How far in is the keystone bung from the perimeter of the head?

      ReplyDelete

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