Document and Entity Information (USD $) In Billions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Apr. 30, 2013	Oct. 31, 2010	Jun. 17, 2013 Common stock, Class A, voting [Member]	Jun. 17, 2013 Common Stock, Class B, nonvoting [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	BROWN FORMAN CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000014693
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Apr. 30, 2013
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-30
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Public Float		$ 9.4
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			84,487,042	129,303,321