Hogshead
Encyclopedia
A hogshead is a large cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commodity). More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial unit
s or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverage
s such as wine
, ale
, or cider
.
A tobacco hogshead was used in American colonial times to transport and store tobacco. It was a very large wooden barrel. A standardized hogshead measured 48 inches (1,219 mm) long and 30 inches (762 mm) in diameter at the head (at least 550 l (121 imp gal; 145 US gal), depending on the width in the middle). Fully packed with tobacco, it weighed about 1000 pounds (453.6 kg).
The Oxford English Dictionary
(OED) notes that the hogshead was first standardized by an act of Parliament
in 1423, though the standards continued to vary by locality and content. For example, the OED cites an 1897 edition of Whitaker's Almanack
, which specified the number of gallons of wine in a hogshead varying by type of wine: claret
(presumably) 46 imp gal (55 US gal; 209 l), port
57 imp gal (68 US gal; 259 l), sherry
54 imp gal (65 US gal; 245 l); and Madeira
46 imp gal (55 US gal; 209 l). The American Heritage Dictionary claims that a hogshead can consist of anything from (presumably) 62.5 US gal (52 imp gal; 236.6 l).
Eventually, a hogshead of wine
came to be 63 wine/63 US gal (52.5 imp gal; 238.5 l), while a hogshead of beer
or ale
is 54 gallons (250 L if old beer/ale gallons, 245 L if imperial).
A hogshead was also used as unit of measurement for sugar in Louisiana
for most of the 19th century. Plantation
s were listed in sugar schedules as having produced x number of hogsheads of sugar or molasses. As well a hogshead is used for the measurement of herring
fished for sardines in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick
.
The etymology of hogshead is uncertain. According to English philologist Walter William Skeat (1835-1912), the origin is to be found in the name for a cask or liquid measure appearing in various forms in several Teutonic languages, in Dutch oxhooft (modern okshoofd), Danish oxehoved, Old Swedish oxhufvod, etc. The word should therefore be "oxhead," and "hogshead" is a mere corruption. It has been suggested that the name arose from the branding of such a measure with the head of an ox.
's Circus Royal describes how the Victorian circus employed a hogshead in a most unusual fashion. The poster, advertising a performance in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, boasts: Mr Henderson will, for the first time in Rochdale, introduce his extraordinary TRAMPOLINE LEAPS and SOMERSETS! Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters, and lastly, through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE!" John Lennon
borrows these same words as lyrics for The Beatles
song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
On The Simpsons
, Abraham Simpson
stated, "The metric system
is the tool of the devil
! My car gets 40 rods
to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it." (This is approximately .002 mpg, 10.5 feet per gallon, or 0.8 meters per liter).
Imperial unit
The system of imperial units or the imperial system is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act of 1824, which was later refined and reduced. The system came into official use across the British Empire...
s or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
s such as wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
, ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
, or cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
.
A tobacco hogshead was used in American colonial times to transport and store tobacco. It was a very large wooden barrel. A standardized hogshead measured 48 inches (1,219 mm) long and 30 inches (762 mm) in diameter at the head (at least 550 l (121 imp gal; 145 US gal), depending on the width in the middle). Fully packed with tobacco, it weighed about 1000 pounds (453.6 kg).
The Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford English Dictionary
The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...
(OED) notes that the hogshead was first standardized by an act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in 1423, though the standards continued to vary by locality and content. For example, the OED cites an 1897 edition of Whitaker's Almanack
Whitaker's Almanack
Whitaker's Almanack is a reference book, published annually in the United Kingdom. The book was originally published by J Whitaker & Sons from 1868 to 1997, then by The Stationery Office, from 2003 to 2010 by A & C Black and from 2011 by .-Content:...
, which specified the number of gallons of wine in a hogshead varying by type of wine: claret
Claret
Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.-Usage:Claret derives from the French clairet, a now uncommon dark rosé and the most common wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century...
(presumably) 46 imp gal (55 US gal; 209 l), port
Port wine
Port wine is a Portuguese fortified wine produced exclusively in the Douro Valley in the northern provinces of Portugal. It is typically a sweet, red wine, often served as a dessert wine, and comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties...
57 imp gal (68 US gal; 259 l), sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
54 imp gal (65 US gal; 245 l); and Madeira
Madeira wine
Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...
46 imp gal (55 US gal; 209 l). The American Heritage Dictionary claims that a hogshead can consist of anything from (presumably) 62.5 US gal (52 imp gal; 236.6 l).
Eventually, a hogshead of wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
came to be 63 wine/63 US gal (52.5 imp gal; 238.5 l), while a hogshead of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
or ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
is 54 gallons (250 L if old beer/ale gallons, 245 L if imperial).
A hogshead was also used as unit of measurement for sugar in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
for most of the 19th century. Plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s were listed in sugar schedules as having produced x number of hogsheads of sugar or molasses. As well a hogshead is used for the measurement of herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
fished for sardines in Blacks Harbour, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
.
The etymology of hogshead is uncertain. According to English philologist Walter William Skeat (1835-1912), the origin is to be found in the name for a cask or liquid measure appearing in various forms in several Teutonic languages, in Dutch oxhooft (modern okshoofd), Danish oxehoved, Old Swedish oxhufvod, etc. The word should therefore be "oxhead," and "hogshead" is a mere corruption. It has been suggested that the name arose from the branding of such a measure with the head of an ox.
Popular references
An 1843 poster for Pablo FanquePablo Fanque
Pablo Fanque was the first black circus proprietor in Britain. His circus, in which he himself was a performer, was the most popular circus in Victorian Britain for 30 years, a period that is regarded as the golden age of the circus...
's Circus Royal describes how the Victorian circus employed a hogshead in a most unusual fashion. The poster, advertising a performance in Rochdale, Lancashire, England, boasts: Mr Henderson will, for the first time in Rochdale, introduce his extraordinary TRAMPOLINE LEAPS and SOMERSETS! Over Men & Horses, through Hoops, over Garters, and lastly, through a Hogshead of REAL FIRE!" John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
borrows these same words as lyrics for The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song, Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
"Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is a song from the 1967 album by The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was composed by John Lennon...
On The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Abraham Simpson
Abraham Simpson
Abraham J. "Abe" Simpson, often known simply as Grampa, is a fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta and he is also the patriarch of the Simpson family, the father of Homer Simpson, and the grandfather of Bart, Lisa, and Maggie Simpson...
stated, "The metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
is the tool of the devil
Anti-metrication
The spread of metrication around the world in the last two centuries has been met with both support and opposition. All countries except Burma , Liberia, and the United States of America have officially adopted the metric system, although actual usage may be more complex.-Natural evolution and...
! My car gets 40 rods
Rod (unit)
The rod is a unit of length equal to 5.5 yards, 5.0292 metres, 16.5 feet, or of a statute mile. A rod is the same length as a perch or a pole. In old English, the term lug is also used.-History:...
to the hogshead and that's the way I likes it." (This is approximately .002 mpg, 10.5 feet per gallon, or 0.8 meters per liter).