Butt (unit)
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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.
[edit] Footnotes
| gallon | rundlet | barrel | tierce | hogshead | firkin, puncheon, tertian | pipe, butt | tun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tun | |||||||
| 1 | 2 | pipes, butts | ||||||
| 1 | 11⁄2 | 3 | firkins, puncheons, tertians | |||||
| 1 | 11⁄3 | 2 | 4 | hogsheads | ||||
| 1 | 11⁄2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | tierces | |||
| 1 | 11⁄3 | 2 | 22⁄3 | 4 | 8 | barrels | ||
| 1 | 13⁄4 | 21⁄3 | 31⁄2 | 42⁄3 | 7 | 14 | rundlets | |
| 1 | 18 | 311⁄2 | 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 | 261⁄4 | 35 | 521⁄2 | 70 | 105 | 210 | gallons (imperial) |
| 4.55 | 68.19 | 119.3 | 159.1 | 238.7 | 318.2 | 477.3 | 954.7 | litres |
| gallon | firkin | kilderkin | barrel | hogshead | (butt) | (tun) | Year designated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | tuns | |||||||
| 1 | 13⁄4 | butts | ||||||
| 1 | 3 | 51⁄4 | hogsheads | |||||
| 1 | 11⁄2 | 41⁄2 | 77⁄8 | barrels | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 153⁄4 | kilderkins | |||
| 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 18 | 311⁄2 | 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 | 2831⁄2 | ale gallons (beer) | |
| = 4.62 | = 41.59 | = 83.18 | = 166.36 | = 249.54 | = 748.62 | = 1310.09 | litres (beer) | |
| 1 | 81⁄2 | 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 |
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