American "Pint" vs European PINT!

[Sigafoos]

Okay, then stay home and drink homebrew (which is what I do the vast majority of the time anyway). Right now I'd settle for being sure what I was paying for: a pint? (then I'm being ripped off) A glass? (then it's fine, if a bit pricey)

 

[MeatyPortion]

I mainly go to places that serve in the breweries' glasses anyway so it doesn't affect me but if other people started doing it then businesses would have no choice, especially in this economy.

 

[Pappers_]

well at my favorite pub, they serve their taps in brewery specific glasses, ie Trumer Pils in a Trumer Pils glass. Surely not a pint, but I like it.

 

[remilard]

I mainly go to places that serve in the breweries' glasses anyway so it doesn't affect me but if other people started doing it then businesses would have no choice, especially in this economy.

If you like the fact that your bar serves beer in the correct glass, I would highly recommend that you don't try to get the government to pass laws about what glasses the bars can use. Believe me, they won't be written from a beer geek's perspective.

I'm not a fan of shaker glasses but I'm a big boy and I am pretty sure I don't want the government any more involved in my beer purchasing than they are now.

 

[Baja_Brewer]

I've swiped glasses from a local brewpub because I was pretty sure I was getting under-served. Low and behold, I was! Now...how can I got about telling them this without mentioning that I took one home for a bit of testing? I don't know, but the bottom of the 'pint' glass is so thick that I was pretty sure I was getting screwed!

 

[MeatyPortion]

If you like the fact that your bar serves beer in the correct glass, I would highly recommend that you don't try to get the government to pass laws about what glasses the bars can use. Believe me, they won't be written from a beer geek's perspective.

I'm not a fan of shaker glasses but I'm a big boy and I am pretty sure I don't want the government any more involved in my beer purchasing than they are now.

Interesting point, although this seems to be more of a grass roots movement and would rely solely on customers policing their local hangouts.

 

[Edcculus]

But do you expect every bar in the country to replace every glass they have?

Those are water glasses. They should be used for thier purpose; water and soda. Bars need to invest in beer glasses and not serve beer in water glasses.

When it comes down to it, I don't tell a bar they are serving in the wrong glass. However much I dislike the shaker glass as a beer vessel, it is the defacto here in the US. As long as I can get an unfrozen one, I'm fine.

 

[Sigafoos]

Exactly. It sucks, but I'm not expecting anything to get changed in the near future, even if we do call it 'grassroots.'

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

If you like the fact that your bar serves beer in the correct glass, I would highly recommend that you don't try to get the government to pass laws about what glasses the bars can use. Believe me, they won't be written from a beer geek's perspective.

I'm not a fan of shaker glasses but I'm a big boy and I am pretty sure I don't want the government any more involved in my beer purchasing than they are now.

When paying for beer my new dollar is 90 cents. I don't expect the law to get involved in THAT either!

 

[springer]

only problem with making the bars pour a real pint is where does it stop? The bars around here either use shot glasses and fill it and still pour some booze into the glass while dumping in the shot or just do a 2,3 or 4 count .So if its regulated you get a a 1 once shot in you drink and do you think the price will go down?. bars don't gouge on booze either they pay a hell of a lot more for beer or booze than we do. They can't just buy it when its on sale at the corner store. Everything has to be bought from a commercial distributor I believe NY has 3 or 4 liquor distributors and then beer is the local distributor that only sells to business's the two big ones around here are Dutchess Beer or Manhatten beer

I was in Australia and every drink is metered out and don't even bother to ask for a double. I think its better to just stop calling them pints . How bout large and small like soda .

 

[Edcculus]

Thats comparing apples to oranges. Having a fill line on beer glasses is easy. We aren't talking about liquor pouring.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I don't buy the slippery slope argument: "oh my gosh where will it all end? govermints out of mah bar!"

This isn't going to change everything in the bar, just truth in advertising concerning a pint.

 

[MultumInParvo]

bars don't gouge on booze either they pay a hell of a lot more for beer or booze than we do.

I wouldn't call it gouging, but the average bar really isn't paying that much. I worked for a restaurant that now has beer, I think a keg of Miller costs them like 60-65 bucks. They sell 12 oz's for 4 bucks. Thats what, 165 beers. So they make $660 per keg. A $600 profit!

Alcohol is almost always the highest margin product in any restaurant. The rest of the operations normally have profits margins of 2-3%.

 

[Lunarpancake]

Lets say your local bar pours an american pint where 15% of the beer is missing due to headspace. Every 6.66 beers you drink you will have been missing 1 entire beer.

So technically.....you order 7 beers, and you've really only drank 6 beers. But you still pay for that 7.

Each keg that is supposed to serve 120 pints actually ends up serving 145.


WHY IS NO ONE ELSE AS ANGRY AS I AM!?!?!?!

 

[remilard]

Lets say your local bar pours an american pint where 15% of the beer is missing due to headspace. Every 6.66 beers you drink you will have been missing 1 entire beer.

So technically.....you order 7 beers, and you've really only drank 6 beers. But you still pay for that 7.

Each keg that is supposed to serve 165 pints actually ends up serving 190.


WHY IS NO ONE ELSE AS ANGRY AS I AM!?!?!?!

You know what you are getting when you buy a beer, you are an adult, the bar owner is an adult, you live in a free country. You can do business or not. Nothing to be mad about.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I disagree: if someone is flat out false advertising and cheating me out of an extra 5-6 bucks then I have reason to be mad. Or punch the owner.

 

[Lunarpancake]

You know what you are getting when you buy a beer, you are an adult, the bar owner is an adult, you live in a free country. You can do business or not. Nothing to be mad about.

Actually...I would wager that MOST bar-going americans do NOT know that they are being ripped off by being poured about 15% less than they should be.


YOU can go to the bar and take it in the rear.......ill go and request a FULL PINT, or I wont go.

Maybe we should stand up and get WHAT WE PAID FOR ...rather then bending over and letting the bar owner rape us of our rights in our free country.


You sir are a push over...and a sissy if you enjoy going to bars and getting raped.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I mean, really: people get up in arms about raising taxes on beer but shouldn't worry about getting less poured than paid for at a bar?

 

[Lunarpancake]

I mean, really: people get up in arms about raising taxes on beer but shouldn't worry about getting less poured than paid for at a bar?

Seriously.....what is happening is nothing short of robbery. Or American lazyness.

If we were being ripped off at the gas pump by being short-pumped people would be freakin' FURIOUS.

 

[Sigafoos]

Oh, so insulting people is the way to go?

How is it false advertising? At no bar that I go to does it say 'beer $4.50 per pint' (or whatever). It lists the price for a beer and that's it. That may be misleading, but it's not 'flat out false advertising.'

Also, I think you need to chill the hell out with this rape stuff.

 

[MeatyPortion]

I'm saying it's false advertising if it says "per pint", otherwise it's just a beer.

 

[Lunarpancake]

Oh, so insulting people is the way to go?

How is it false advertising? At no bar that I go to does it say 'beer $4.50 per pint' (or whatever). It lists the price for a beer and that's it. That may be misleading, but it's not 'flat out false advertising.'

Also, I think you need to chill the hell out with this rape stuff.

My big argument is that why is this happening in the first place? The bar makes enough money on the beer already, why squeeze that extra bit out of the consumer? Its unnecessary and its bad business practices. Sooner or later people really will get angry about it.

I don't understand why Europe can have pint glasses with simple pint markings on them and we can not. Is it really that expensive or difficult to slowly changes your bars glassware? I would not think so.

For those of us that frequent bars and request Pints, if you go once a week to a bar and drink 5 beers you will have been short poured 37 beers each year. Thats $259.00 a year if you pay $7.00 a pint. People change car insurance companies for less savings then that. I would wager that requesting a full pour is easier than changing car insurance companies.

 

[Cart]

The key is getting businesses to do it voluntarily, and think it's their clever idea or marketing ploy. If a few market leaders pick up honest pint glasses,eventually everybody will, or they'll lose market share.

 

[springer]

Thats comparing apples to oranges. Having a fill line on beer glasses is easy. We aren't talking about liquor pouring.

I don't think so as you are regulating the amount a beer pour should be so why wouldn't they just tack on and a drink is one fluid once. Now people are pushing that the gov should be involved in the pour of a beer ?If you feel they are not pouring the correct amount then don't go there. I believe they should just drop the pint name and be done with it.

I wouldn't call it gouging, but the average bar really isn't paying that much. I worked for a restaurant that now has beer, I think a keg of Miller costs them like 60-65 bucks. They sell 12 oz's for 4 bucks. Thats what, 165 beers. So they make $660 per keg. A $600 profit!

Alcohol is almost always the highest margin product in any restaurant. The rest of the operations normally have profits margins of 2-3%.

$600 profit? If that we true no bar would go out .Have you ever see the insurance premium just for a bars liquor license?And license is 2 to 4 thousand dollars in NY . So there is no payroll is there ,no unemployment or SS disability ins that come out of "profit"? And every beer they sell is taxed no way around it you buy X amount of beer you pay X amount of tax on it to the state . If you think a keg costs 60 -65 bucks my friend will buy 100 of them for her place. The only time she makes a real profit is when the offer a buy 2 get 1 free type of deal.


While yes the bar takes in a larger profit than the food because it has to. Every one thinks its pure profit over what it cost's to buy but when the real cost of running a bar/restaurant is put in its not that much. Ever wonder why a lot of them fail within 3 years?

 

[bonzombiekitty]

I would love to see some sort of standardization in serving beer in the US. I would like to see it mandated that beer (at least) is given a measurement next to the listed price. The bar must serve at least that measurement in liquid. And there must be a way that consumers can verify they're getting what they ordered, such as markings on the glass.

In a perfect world, all US pint glasses would be over 16oz in size but have a "fill to" line for the liquid level. So you fill so that the bottom of the head is at the line, and the remaining space in the glass is used for the head.

 

[remilard]

My big argument is that why is this happening in the first place? The bar makes enough money on the beer already, why squeeze that extra bit out of the consumer? Its unnecessary and its bad business practices. Sooner or later people really will get angry about it.

I don't understand why Europe can have pint glasses with simple pint markings on them and we can not. Is it really that expensive or difficult to slowly changes your bars glassware? I would not think so.

For those of us that frequent bars and request Pints, if you go once a week to a bar and drink 5 beers you will have been short poured 37 beers each year. Thats $259.00 a year if you pay $7.00 a pint. People change car insurance companies for less savings then that. I would wager that requesting a full pour is easier than changing car insurance companies.

I don't believe that shorting people is the motivation for using shaker glass. I think that price and availability is the motivation. They are ubiquitous and most people consider them to be the beer glass in this country.

Look around HBT for photos of home brewed beers in a glass. 90% are in a shaker glass. Do you think that people keep these glasses at home to short themselves? Why don't these unscrupulous home brewers acquire proper glass ware?

 

[Soybomb]

I don't understand why Europe can have pint glasses with simple pint markings on them and we can not.

There's no reason you can't. Have you asked for it from your local bar owner? Do you send back low shaker glasses for a top up?

Lets be honest though, most bars aren't catering to us. We're the kind of beer drinkers that make up a very small percentage of the typical bar's customer. I'd be happy to have a decent beer on tap, be served a glass with a bottle, or get a glass that isn't frozen. Maybe in the future a larger percentage of the country will appreciate beer as a food more and that will change. I'd pick my battles now.

Now if you feel like the solution to being robbed of 1 beer of every 7 is a government regulation program, I would contend (philosophical stances on the purpose of government aside) that you're going to lose that 1 beer in 7 either way. If the bar isn't shorting it to you in the glass, the government is going to be taxing you that 1/7 beer to pay for the regulation committee, inspectors, etc to implement the burea of the real pint.

Ymmv, but I'd say pick your battles and take any issues you have with the pour to the proprietor. If you don't like his response, don''t give him your business.

I think that price and availability is the motivation.

I think durability too. I don't know if everyone elses are the same but my nonic glasses are pretty fragile compared to my shakers.

To that end, be careful what you ask for, you just might get it. http://boingboing.net/2009/09/30/britain-seeks-ban-on.html "Britain seeks ban on glass pint-glasses" It might sound like a great idea to try to use government to get the bar glasses you want at every bar, but a few years later you might find yourself drinking from a sippy cup with a crazy straw.

 

[springer]

Places I go to even some of the chain places have it Bottled beer X dollars . draft small X$ and large X$ . Bet you dollars to donuts if they made a reg as to pints all places would just go large and small on drafts. The friend I have only uses the the 16 once pint glass for all draft beer. And just say's draft price is $ .

 

[justflow1983]

There's no reason you can't. Have you asked for it from your local bar owner? Do you send back low shaker glasses for a top up?

Lets be honest though, most bars aren't catering to us. We're the kind of beer drinkers that make up a very small percentage of the typical bar's customer. I'd be happy to have a decent beer on tap, be served a glass with a bottle, or get a glass that isn't frozen. Maybe in the future a larger percentage of the country will appreciate beer as a food more and that will change. I'd pick my battles now.

Now if you feel like the solution to being robbed of 1 beer of every 7 is a government regulation program, I would contend (philosophical stances on the purpose of government aside) that you're going to lose that 1 beer in 7 either way. If the bar isn't shorting it to you in the glass, the government is going to be taxing you that 1/7 beer to pay for the regulation committee, inspectors, etc to implement the burea of the real pint.

Ymmv, but I'd say pick your battles and take any issues you have with the pour to the proprietor. If you don't like his response, don''t give him your business.


I think durability too. I don't know if everyone elses are the same but my nonic glasses are pretty fragile compared to my shakers.

I live in probably the most over-regulated nanny-state in the world, and yet I can't say that my quality of life really suffers in any way from it. On the other hand, I don't get upset if I get a shaker glass of beer in the states instead of a "proper pint" with a line like I do hear. I'm not stingy, and I don't mind paying for the pleasure of drinking in a bar with my friends, which is why you do it. I don't think my quality of life would be better or worse if while I'm home in NY there's a line on the glass and I get my extra 2oz. Its just the way people do things, just like getting charged more for sitting down than standing up in other countries.

Its annoying, but I don't think I could actually get myself to be upset over it.

 

[Synovia]

I wouldn't call it gouging, but the average bar really isn't paying that much. I worked for a restaurant that now has beer, I think a keg of Miller costs them like 60-65 bucks. They sell 12 oz's for 4 bucks. Thats what, 165 beers. So they make $660 per keg. A $600 profit!

I worked in a stadium a couple years back, and we were paying less than $15 for a 1/2 barrel of BMC, and selling beer in 16 oz cups for $8. Think about that.