People used to wear barrels on suspenders. And then one day they stopped. What's up with that
Jugs used to say "XXX" on them
In the 21st century, coopers mostly operate barrel-making machinery and assemble casks for the wine and spirits industry. Traditionally, the staves were heated to make them easier to bend. This is still done, but now because the slightly toasted interior of the staves imparts a certain flavour over time to the wine or spirit contents that is much admired by experts.
In the 1960s, breweries started using metal casks because of cost and simplicity; since then, the trade of master cooper in England has been dwindling.[24] In 2009 there were only four breweries left in England employing coopers, and only one was a master cooper: Alastair Simms at Wadworth Brewery in Devizes, Wiltshire.[29] When he appealed for apprentices, there were many applications, but the government's insistence that trainees should attend a university killed off a lot of the interest. Subsequently, there has been a resurgence of craft breweries and English winemakers employing coopers.[24] In 2015 Simms was at Theakston Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire.[30][31][24] Simms had an apprentice by November 2015. He still uses the traditional tools, including a croze which he estimates is over 250 years old.[32]
In the United States, there are also few master coopers left. Ramiro Herrera, Master Cooper for Caldwell Vineyard in the Napa Valley, was sent to France to learn his trade, where only two out of 40 starters completed the four-year training course. It takes him around 11 hours to build a barrel, before it is ready to be toasted.[28]
Recycling casks is common in the trade, and wine casks may be converted to contain beer. Centuries-old tools remain the preferred tool of the master cooper.[24]
By 2021, very few of the 30-odd coopers left in the United States still used traditional methods
-it's because the art of barrel making is dying
