How Many Ounces of Beer in that Pint?

Posted by Baylen on Jun. 9, 2008

beer.jpgThere’s nothing more annoying than the short pour, right? Bartenders and servers who don’t fill your beer up to the point where the head arches over the top of the glass tend to piss off customers. But how about ones who do fill up the glass, except that the pint glass they’re using is actually a couple ounces short of a pint? The Wall Street Journal reports on the (unfortunately growing) phenomenon, which was first documented by a Pacific Northwest jack-of-all-trades.

Jeff Alworth, a Portland, Ore., beer blogger, university researcher and a founder of the Honest Pint Project, has been testing suspected short-pouring bars, in some cases measuring his beer-glass capacity by the men’s room sink. His group collected more than 400 names in two weeks for an online petition urging state regulators to enforce a 16-ounce rule. And at one point, he was posting the names of bars that didn’t measure up on his Web site. But in response to complaints, he now has taken to listing the names of establishments serving full pints in bigger glasses.

More on the Honest Pint Project from its originator, Beervana blogger Jeff Alworth, here. Honest Pint Project on WSJ coverage of said Project here.

I’m happy to see that BridgePort, my favorite Portland brewhouse, pours an honest pint, according to Beervana.

One final point… The legislator noted in the piece who wants to spend tax dollars to enforce the pint, when the Honest Pint Project seems to be bringing things into line nicely–and without taxpayer money–wouldn’t get my vote.

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Viewing 6 Comments

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    Thanks for the link. One thing I'd add is that the legislative solution hasn't gotten even as far as a brainstorm session so far as I know (Oregon's next legislative session isn't until January '09). I think it's premature to say that Clem's proposal is to trigger an enforcement mechanism.

    If we did seek a legal solution, my proposal would be state-certified glassware. That way, pubs could advertise their state-certified 18- or 20-ounce glasses. That would allow consumers to make their own judgment about places that didn't use certified glassware--effectively making it a market-based enforcement. (Imagine how many people would go to gas stations where a "gallon" was not a certified unit of measure.) It would save a lot of money and reward good behavior rather than punishing bad behavior.
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    In the modern world it makes sense that rather than waiting for government to create new sausage to regulate behavior we should rely on the wonders of the world wide web to get the message out. You can count on the fact that if enough folks protest, both vocally and by taking their business elsewhere, the vendors will get the message AND change their behavior.

    That said, don't count on the fact prices won't be increased along the way. The only reason the glass is smaller is so the brewer wouldn't have to raise prices. Consider the packaging of just about everything, from corn chips to coffee to chocolate bars and you'll see the same phenomenon. Of course, folks reading this story care only about their beer. Count me in!
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    Most bars do go through a lot of glass as part of doing business, but if I was running a pub I'd be mad if I had to replace all of my logo pints to get certified. The problem with allowing certs of existing stock, though, is coming up with an indelible way to mark the glasses with a cert mark... and finding enough state workers (or more expensive contracted workers) to visit every pub and mark every glass that they wanted certified. Watch that beaurocracy get folded into a tax increase on alcohol...

    Seems like two things might work:

    One, leave it entirely to grass-roots efforts like Beervana's, which would show up on review sites and blogs. Encourage restaurant reviewers to start carrying pint references when they visit pubs. Yelp, Beertown, etc are seen by a lot of enthusiasts, and it would probably have some small effect.

    Two, make it one more thing the health inspector can ding you for. And make a profit-pour violation apply not just to the size of the glass, but to how much the bartenders put in it. An 18 oz glass with an inch of head on it is as much a problem as these mini glasses, and should be noted the same way.
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    A "proper pour" is something like 17 or 18 ounces, and wouldn't fit in a US "pint" glass. Measure them yourself. A 12 oz bottle pretty much fills them up (with head).

    We are all getting ripped off, but that is the life we've chosen.
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    Thanks for calling attention to this type of nonsense. Ryan's Irish Pub in NYC uses these phony pints and hopefully I will not be returning there any time soon...
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    Thanks for calling attention to this type of nonsense. Ryan’s Irish Pub in NYC uses these phony pints and hopefully I will not be returning there any time soon…

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