Below is a list of old English units for brewery casks, used for ale and beer. In addition to the items listed below see separate articles on the individual units.

The system was based on the definition of the ale gallon

Gallon

The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...

 of 282 cubic inch

Inch

An inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...

es. In the Britain

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, after the adoption in 1824 of the imperial system, the units were based on the slightly smaller imperial gallon. The older units continued in use in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Until 1803, in Britain there were a varying number of gallons within a firkin, depending on whether ale or beer was being measured.