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 cask that contains (approximately) 10.8 US gallons = 9 UK gallons = 40.8 liters = 86 US pints of cask-conditioned ale (and, in the U.S., sometimes lager). There are no legal standards of construction for beer casks. Dimensions may differ per manufacturer. More on firkin volumes: here.


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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.