Beer pours at restaurants (BW3's)

[Cincy_Ron]

This is not a new thing.
Pint-sized fight brews over short beer pours - The Denver Post

That's awesome. Thanks for the link.

 

[Beerrific]

I think you're right Beerrific. Looks like I'm going to have to head back for happy hour for some scientific research. A buddy that was with me the other night has agreed we need to get to the bottom of this! :cross:

Not sure how we're going to do it yet, it'd be nice if I could just offer to buy one of their glasses.

Just take in a measuring device. Pour the beer right in there when you get it. Make a scene. When it is not 23oz, kindly point to the banner flying over the bar and ask for your additional 3 oz (or whatever).

They key is to be polite, but make a scene. :cross:

 

[IrregularPulse]

Wonder if I can talk SWMBO into BW's tonight. I could throw 23 oz n a bottle into her purse.

 

[olllllo]

Here is the WSJ article from last year:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121279252381153273.html

Some restaurants have replaced 16-ounce pint glasses with 14 ouncers -- a type of glassware one bartender called a "falsie."
And customers are complaining that bartenders are increasingly putting less than 16 ounces of beer in a pint glass, filling up the extra space with foam.
Two of the world's biggest glassware makers, Libbey and Cardinal International, say orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year. Restaurateurs "want more of a perceived value," says Mike Schuster, Libbey's marketing manager for glassware in the U.S. Glasses with a thicker bottom or a thicker shaft help create the perception. "You can increase the thickness of the bottom part but still retain the overall profile," he says.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Playing the devil's advocate:

An American pint glass (the 16 oz variety, not the "falsie" 14 oz'er) holds exactly a pint at the rim (see my post above). If you got a nicely poured glass of beer with about an inch of head, would you be upset about a short pour, or would that pour meet your expectation? After all, you're really only getting about 14 oz of beer.

I found a vague reference that even substantiates the idea that an American pint glass is expected to hold less than 16 oz (150 servings per keg comes out to 13.2 oz per serving). Oddly enough, the guy's complaining about undersized glassware!

Now, someone go measure that BW3 glass so we can get on with the stale Lite beer jokes!

 

[Cincy_Ron]

Just take in a measuring device. Pour the beer right in there when you get it. Make a scene. When it is not 23oz, kindly point to the banner flying over the bar and ask for your additional 3 oz (or whatever).

They key is to be polite, but make a scene. :cross:

Oh! Don't egg me on like this! I'll be picking up a pyrex beaker graduated to the eight of an ounce and a high def video camera!

 

[Cincy_Ron]

Wonder if I can talk SWMBO into BW's tonight. I could throw 23 oz n a bottle into her purse.

Mines down in Fla on vacation right now. Probably flirting with a bartender, or I would have done exactly what you mention...

 

[Sherpa FE]

I guess what it all comes down to is.....you're at BW3's drinking a Miller Lite during happy Hour for $3.50. Not your local brew pub enjoying a fine beer for $6-7 bucks. Drink your beer, eat your wings, play your golden tee and pool,, listen to the band, Repeat.





Put me down for some Spicy Garlic and Asian Zing

And THATS WHAT THEY WANT!
People not to challenge them, or to care, as long as they keep the extra money that you are giving them.
I would just tip them less....OOPS...wrong thread.

Seriously tho....
Look at it this way, you are buying 23 oz of beer.

They only give you 19 oz

They just made .60 cents....per beer

Now you take the fact that they have an extra 4 oz, that you have already paid for, and then they sell that to another person, so they are getting paid twice for the same beer.

Lets go back to the money...
for a cheap beer...its roughly .15 cents per oz.
If they are shorting 4 oz every pour, and 1 person averages 3 beers an hour times that by a night of drinking, by all the people.
it adds up quick...they are ripping you off, plain and simple, whether or not you decide to take it, thats a personal issue and totally up to you.

 

[johnnydrama]

Moderately off topic, do BW3 usually have decent beers on tap? My local sports bar has okay stuff, and there is a BW3 down the road. I'd check it out if they had worthwhile brews.

 

[IrregularPulse]

Then shove that thing down your pants and get going! Might actually get a full pour that way too!

Mine does not have decent beers on tap.

 

[Whiskey]

Playing the devil's advocate:

An American pint glass (the 16 oz variety, not the "falsie" 14 oz'er) holds exactly a pint at the rim (see my post above). If you got a nicely poured glass of beer with about an inch of head, would you be upset about a short pour, or would that pour meet your expectation? After all, you're really only getting about 14 oz of beer.

I found a vague reference that even substantiates the idea that an American pint glass is expected to hold less than 16 oz (150 servings per keg comes out to 13.2 oz per serving). Oddly enough, the guy's complaining about undersized glassware!

Yep I've read that too, an American Pint glass holds a 12oz pour with head, so about 14 oz to the rim.

I use "american pint" glasses at home and they hold a 12 oz bottle with head exactly. Although last I checked an Imperial Pint is right at 20oz.

 

[Cincy_Ron]

Here is the WSJ article from last year:
A Pint-Size Problem - WSJ.com

That article just ticks me off. I'm taking a time out. Be back later tonight.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

In my experience, BW3 boasts a lot of beer on tap, but most of the taps pour different brands of American light lager. Occasionally, they'll have a decent craft/local brew on one or two of the taps.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

And, then you go and try to explain to THIS forum how to pour a beer?

Bad form.

Not the way I see it. This sort of thing happens a lot. People think they know a lot about beer, then start spouting crap that is either mildly incorrect or straight up blasphemy. I don't think the OP went over board and he handled the situation well. I am just saying that unless you are 100% positive you are right about something, you end up looking like a big loser if you call someone or someplace on something and end up being wrong.

Adding information is not snobbish, and I am NOT a beer snob. I do know a lot about beer, but there is no reason in my opinion to ever be snobby about it.

I am in the camp that you are at a wing place ordering a really cheap ML; just drink it and be happy. If that is the way BW3 thinks a beer should be poured it is their restaurant and if they are making that choice I am sure a lot of people are liking it or they would have negative effects and go back tot he old way. Again, if you want a good proper beer, go to a more beer friendly bar.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

Yep I've read that too, an American Pint glass holds a 12oz pour with head, so about 14 oz to the rim.

Almost. A true American pint glass holds 16 oz at the rim. A "falsie" or "shaker" glass holds 14 oz at the rim.

 

[Whiskey]

Almost. A true American pint glass holds 16 oz at the rim. A "falsie" or "shaker" glass holds 14 oz at the rim.

Hmm I'll have to measure my American Pint glasses when I get home. I've probably just never seen a "true" American Pint glass used anywhere.

 

[Homercidal]

Go measure the damn beer so I can find out if you are getting screwed! The suspense is killing me!

 

[Sigafoos]

How did the Honest Pint campaign deal with this? I want 16oz AND a good head... the solution, of course, is to move to the UK. Gordon Ramsay gets to swear there.

Oh, and as for the one time I went to a BW3 (I live in Buffalo, why would I go to a chain? But explain that to my brother in law) about the best they had was Bass or SA.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

The bars I go to are changing for 12 oz. in a standard pint, and if you are buying a special beer of some kind it will often come in an appropriate glass and be poured appropriately. We are lucky in Wisconsin that beer is a big part of our culture so almost everyone takes it seriously.

I still am surprised if this shakes out. Maybe they just haven't updated their signage? Or perhaps they think that "a beer" comprises the whole package of beer, glass, and head?

Either way, I am sad to say, that no matter what we do, they will continue to pour pints as they see fit because they own the restaurant.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Any respectable establishment that wants to have happy beer drinking customers should buy glasses large enough to fill to the required level plus head. Anything else is just being a cheapass and is done by people who serve and sell beer only as a means to profit, clearly lacking the appreciation for beer that nearly everyone here has.

I've never had this be an issue in a brewpub, only in joints that serve BMC to the masses. Squeeze out every penny since most customers are too stupid to notice.

 

[EdWort]

I knew I had a BW3 big ass beer glass from a promotion a while back. I dug it out and measured the contents. As you can see, it is 23 ounces if it is full to the rim with NO FOAM.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I am in the camp that you are at a wing place ordering a really cheap ML; just drink it and be happy.

I am in a different camp. Complaining and rectifying rip off tactics about beer measures should start at BMC and trickle down. People that drink the good stuff already know what to expect from their beer. It is time to educate the uneducated......Yeah, I know that comes off as looking beer snobby, but nobody wants to get ripped off whatever they drink.

 

[EdWort]

It's all about truth in advertising.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Makes me wish I didn't have a full plate this afternoon. I'd go grab my boss and tell him that we need to do some research at BW3. I could go for a few 19oz. Boston Lager's

 

[IrregularPulse]

I knew I had a BW3 big ass beer glass from a promotion a while back. I dug it out and measured the contents. As you can see, it is 23 ounces if it is full to the rim with NO FOAM.

well thank you Ed. I'd say we can all go to bed now. Now it's your poersonal decision if you want to order 19oz beer and pay 23oz price for it. or just sit at the bar a few times get to know the Barkeep, and say, hey, mind filling that all the way up. Thanks. show him your appreciation in your tip. OR....we're all HomeBrewers here, stay home and and drink better beer and more of it!

 

[beerkrump]

Not the way I see it. This sort of thing happens a lot. People think they know a lot about beer, then start spouting crap that is either mildly incorrect or straight up blasphemy. I don't think the OP went over board and he handled the situation well. I am just saying that unless you are 100% positive you are right about something, you end up looking like a big loser if you call someone or someplace on something and end up being wrong.

Adding information is not snobbish, and I am NOT a beer snob. I do know a lot about beer, but there is no reason in my opinion to ever be snobby about it.

I am in the camp that you are at a wing place ordering a really cheap ML; just drink it and be happy. If that is the way BW3 thinks a beer should be poured it is their restaurant and if they are making that choice I am sure a lot of people are liking it or they would have negative effects and go back tot he old way. Again, if you want a good proper beer, go to a more beer friendly bar.

From Webster:"snob - one who has an offensive air of superiority in matters of knowledge or taste". *DING*

The issue at hand is not the quality of the restaurant or beer, but one of honesty in business practices and marketing. It would be one thing if they changed their menu to read "20 oz. draft - $3.50". But they didn't, they changed the volume of beer served under the pretense that it is a proper pour. Yes, agreed that a beer should have a full healthy head. But, in England, Germany, and other countries, this is taken into account and is illegal to pull what BW3 is doing. It is dishonest and sneaky. The corporates just hope that people will do as you suggest and sheepishly accept what is given.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I disagree. Europe uses proper glasses and sells beer in .25L, .33L, .5L, and 1L amounts and the glasses have proper room for head.

BW3 advertises the full capacity of the glass, yet shorts the customer with foam. It's the oldest trick in the beerman's book to boost profits.

It's the truth. And you can't argue with it. I try often to argue against truth in this forum, but I cannot argue the pure logic of this post.

That is the word.

 

[MeatyPortion]

It's crap like that at restaurants I can't stand. Like neat charges for scotch. Who the hell has expensive scotch on the rocks anyways? (Yeah, I know, there's always someone...)

 

[IrregularPulse]

I say whoever sent that last email, send this thread link to the same guy. Let him know this is a small internet community passionate about beer and we all have large groups of friends that value our input on beer. Mention, "I understand if you don't care about a few people because you're a huge corporation, but don't spout about caring about beer, when you obviously don't and please be aware that we are all well aware that what you are doing is border line if not Illegal."

 

[EdWort]

well thank you Ed. I'd say we can all go to bed now. Now it's your poersonal decision if you want to order 19oz beer and pay 23oz price for it. or just sit at the bar a few times get to know the Barkeep, and say, hey, mind filling that all the way up. Thanks. show him your appreciation in your tip. OR....we're all HomeBrewers here, stay home and and drink better beer and more of it!

Or we can spread the word and voice our opinion about their deceptive practices and ask them to stop.

Buffalo Wild Wings - Contact Us

I'm sure a lawyer would love to setup a class action for all the beer drinkers that have been shorted. :cross: