Sneaky, Smaller Beer Pints Ripping You Off
Photograph from v1ctory_1s_m1ne on Flickr
With hops prices skyrocketing as fast as gasoline, a pint of beer can run you at least five dollars, and it might not even be a real pint. Some bars are sneakily shrinking glasses from the traditional pint size of 16 ounces to only 14 ounces. According to the Wall Street Journal, two of the world's largest glassware makers (Libbey and Cardinal International) both noted that "orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year." To keep drinkers fooled, the glasses have a thicker bottom or shaft, or bartenders just devote the extra space to foamy head.
Over at Beer Advocate, a forum related to the article has emerged, and many consumers believe formal legislation should be passed to keep bars in check. Do we really need a beer police? Maybe so. One member passed along a link to the National Full Pints Petition, an effort in England to overturn a current law, which states that a pint only needs to be 90% full. Will the same happen here? It would be nice to have some consistency in pours, especially on an international level. Nobody wants to be less drunk for more money.
Previously
Hops Shortage May Yield Beer That's Short in Flavor
Photo of the Day: How To Stimulate the Economy, One Drink at a Time
All These Articles About Rising Food Prices are Making Me Depressed, Hungry
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11 Comments:
But, on the bright side, you only have to pee 87.5% as often!
srhcb at 9:38PM on 06/11/08
Just an editorial correction:
"An effort in England to overturn a current ENGLISH law, which states..."
Scottish law and English law are different (here and just generally in fact). The 90% rule is because they are allowed to take into account a proper head. It does not apply in Scotland.
sarahdlr at 10:34PM on 06/11/08
You could always order a beer with a higher alcohol content. Or you could consider quality over quantity.
Chewy at 1:09AM on 06/12/08
I have pint glasses that walked off from pubs 8yrs ago (not proud of it but it does establish the time frame). I was really peeved when I found out a 12oz beer bottle fills these glasses. I'd guess that 'pint' glasses have been much less than 16oz for a while and I do think that's bull. That's 2-4oz per 'pint' over how many years? That adds up to a lot of beer that I paid for and never got to enjoy.
@chewy - I somewhat agree but I'm only buying high quality beers to begin with and I'm still getting stiffed a few ounces.
christopher at 9:11AM on 06/12/08
@chewy Its just annoying in the same way that prepackaged products in the supermarket are sold in shrunken sizes in an effort to charge you more without your knowledge. Try to find a package of coffee that is actually 16 ozs anymore.
bobbob at 9:22AM on 06/12/08
Look, if you're going to call it a pint, SERVE a pint. It's SIMPLE.
sean_mcgee at 12:06PM on 06/12/08
@sarahdlr -- Good catch! Thank you.
Erin Zimmer at 12:28PM on 06/12/08
I'm surprised this hasn't been noticed before, as during my days at Ohio University 7 years ago, most "pints" we were served were the 14 oz. ones. And like christopher I borrowed a few myself and they fill my cabinets proudly.
Granted, no doubt OU beers are much cheaper than big city ones.
bobcatsteph3 at 12:30PM on 06/12/08
While visiting my sister in Germany, I was amused to note that many of the glasses were printed with the volume in ml and a line indicating where to fill to.
wookie at 1:09PM on 06/12/08
I make sure not to go to places that try this crap & tell them so. Also look at the pitchers. They should be 64 oz pitchers NOT 60, 58, etc....I hate this kind of pinching.
Kim Nyland at 1:14PM on 06/12/08
@bobbob, That's a marketing ploy that really irks me. First the company hikes the price on the normal-size package. When you get used to the higher price for a couple of months, they reduce the amount in the package, giving you maybe 14.5 ounces in a package that looks like the old 16 ounce package, whether coffee or whatever. End result: you pay more AND get less.
I'm not at all surprised that pint glasses don't hold a pint.
holdthemayo at 4:48PM on 06/12/08