In the UK, a beer keg is a cylindrical container for transporting beer, nowadays normally made from aluminium as it is lighter than the former steel. Kegs are used to transport beer to pubs around the country. Kegs have a valve attachment to allow gas (carbon dioxide) in, which forces the beer out when hooked up in the pub.The usual volume of a UK beer keg is 50 litres, the mini-kegs you can buy in the supermarket are normally 5 litres.

Barrels are made from wooden sections held together with metal hoops and historically had a capacity of 32 gallons. They were used to transport commodities such as wine around the world. Barrels of varying sizes are used today to age some spirits such as rum and brandy, but also some speciality beers. Breweries which quote output in ‘barrels per year’ in the UK are referring to measurements of 36 imperial gallons.


This question was submitted by : Kruger