July 1999

When I'm reading about larger brewing systems, I keep seeing their production ability described in units of "BBL." I'm kind of new to the brewing world and I was wondering what this meant... I really appreciate having a resource to anonymously ask dumb questions of...

Many Thanks.

BBL stands for "barrels." A barrel of beer is 31 gallons and the standard size for a keg is a half barrel. Most brewpubs brew in seven or 10-barrel batches, though there are some as brew as little as a half-barrel at a time. Very large brewers, on the other hand, may brew 1,000 barrels at a time and brew several times a day.

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