Care of Wooden Firkins

Care of Wooden Firkins

By agreeing to buy Wishbone Brewery beer in a Wooden Firkin you are agreeing to follow our recommendations and will be liable for their loss or damage.

This is the care and advice sheet, please see that these bullet points are followed, damaged or badly treated wooden Casks will be invoiced in full for their loss or repair at current market prices, this will include any transport costs incurred around their repair or replacement. Currently £300+Delivery+VAT per Firkin (Price at time or writing Oct 2026).

Please help us keep the wooden casks in good condition, this in-turn helps you get the best quality beer to your customers.

The Beer:

  • The beer is delivered in the same state as a regular Firkin (Metal or Plastic) and will require the usual settling & venting.
  • DO NOT age the beer in your cellar, the beer will taste better if drunk fresh like regular Cask beer, ageing may degrade the beer and the drinkers experience of it. Do Not Cellar Age!
  • Wooden Firkins are expensive items and they make us no money sat in someone’s cellar for extended periods. We reserve the right to charge rent on a weekly basis at 10% of the Cask’s replacement cost per week.

Care of Wooden Casks:

  • ALWAYS seal up used casks.
  • ALWAYS gently roll, DO NOT drop.
  • ALWAYS store wooden casks inside.
  • Store Wooden casks on their side, this keeps the ends wet and stops them drying out.
  • IMMEDIATELY (Second mention) seal the wooden cask/s when empty with the Hard Peg and Cork usually provided by us or use your own, pouring a kettle full of boiling water into the empty cask before sealing is good practice to help stop the wood from drying out.
  • Contact the brewery to tell us when the wooden cask/s are finished with so we can plan their uplift in a timely manner.

In Short:

  • No slugs & snails
  • No cigarette butts
  • No bird shit
  • No painting
  • No using as seats
  • No dropping
  • No using to saw or drill things on, it is not a Black & Decker Workmate!
  • Did we say, SEAL THEM UP!

Thanks for looking after this historic beer packaging method, we appreciate the TLC we know you will give them and so does the next customer.