is an old English term for a large cask used for delivering beer to a pub or for shipping. It contained no less than 54 Imperial gal (65 US gal) and was in common use in Britain, especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was a coopered wooden vessel, barrel shaped, and built of tapered staves held together by iron hoops. As with all other casks, it had a large bung or shive hole in the center of one of the staves and a smaller hole in the flat end or head, into which the tap would be hammered when the cask of beer was broached. The hogshead’s capacity posed two problems. First, it could be used only in very busy establishments where this amount of beer (432 Imperial pints, each of 20 oz) could be drunk within 2 or 3 days. Otherwise, air, which enters the cask as the beer is being served, could oxidize the beer, bring in souring bacteria, or simply allow the beer to go flat. Second, a full cask weighed close to half a ton. Because it was often necessary to manhandle the hogshead from the dray into the pub cellar, lighter casks such as firkins proved much more convenient. As per capita beer consumption dropped throughout the 20th century, publicans required smaller casks that were both easier to maneuver and faster to deplete. This made the hogshead redundant, and it is rarely seen today.

See also firkin.