When is a Pint NOT a Pint?

by Bob Jones

Well as some of you know, I finally decided to focus my frustration about the poor pours at most pubs and sent a letter off the Department of Agriculture, Division of Measurement Standards. Here are the high points of the letter I sent …

The Original Letter …

I am very upset and concerned about what is going on at most pubs and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area. The problem is with the glassware utilized to serve the new specialty microbrewed beers and the measure of beer the customer receives compared to the measure of beer advertised. These establishments typically advertise a pint (16 oz.) of beer for a specific price. It is typical of these pubs to have "Pint Nights" where they feature a special beer for the evening. The cost for these specialty beers has increased over the last several years to prices ranging from $3.25 to $4.50 per pint.

The beers are served in a typical tapered glass that was designed as a cocktail shaker glass and not as a beer serving glass. The pubs and restaurants like these glasses because they are both cheap and do not break easily. The problem is that these glasses will only hold 16 oz. of beer if filled to the very top of the glass without ANY foam. In fact it is almost impossible to get 16 oz. of beer into one of these glasses under any circumstances. I have made accurate measurements using scientific graduated cylinders to confirm this. Surface tension is required to even have a chance of getting a full 16 oz. in the glass. And assuming that the bartender actually did fill the glass right to the top and somehow got 16 oz. in the glass, it is impossible to carry or move the glass without spilling any of the liquid. Therefore it is impossible under any circumstances to get a pint (16 oz.) of beer to the customer.

A side issue is the proper dispensing of premium crafted beer. The beer is crafted to be served with a proper foam head for best presentation and flavor. It is therefore not possible to both serve a full measure of beer in one of these glasses and properly serve the product as the brewery intended it, with a foam head.

However, I am questioning more than the size of the glass. My problem comes with how the establishments are advertising a pint of beer for sale and then filling the glass with typically 12-13 oz. of liquid and the balance of the glass with foam. This amounts to cheating the customer out of 25% product in the case of a 12 oz. liquid pour. When beer was $1.50 a pint, no one complained about the price and quantity of the pour. Now with specialty beers hitting $4.50 per pint or $36 per gallon, it's time some regulation is put on these establishments to deliver what we the customers are paying for and is advertised. I know there is a lot more regulation on proper measure of gasoline, and at $1.50 per gallon it's a mere 1/24 the cost of beer at $36 per gallon.

The question might arise whether the foam is considered part of the beer and therefore 12 oz. of liquid plus 4 oz. of foam MAY be 16 oz. of beer. I would argue that even IF the foam was considered part of the beer and a glass is filled to the top at the tap (even with surface tension), it will dissipate on the way to the table or just sitting there on the bar. Then what happened to the beer? Did it evaporate? The answer is yes, the foam is mostly made up of carbon dioxide gas and will eventually collapse and dissipate. Therefore the foam cannot be part of the beer and the customer is getting cheated out of a large fraction of advertised product!

To cite a bit of precedent on this matter, I would point out that the Germans and English both serve their beers in lined or marked glassware. The bar tender is required to fill the glass to the line with liquid beer product. This insures the customer gets his full measure of beer. The line on the glass is for the liquid level of the beer and the foam is above the line and not considered part of the measure. These lined glasses did not appear because the pubs and restaurants cared about the consumer, they were required by law after a consumer revolt!

There also may be some precedent on this issue in nearby Santa Cruz county, California. I understand from a friend that all pubs and restaurants there were recently required to change all glassware because of this same problem.

I have personally mentioned this problem to several establishments without any success. I even had one pub owner tell me that he makes more profit on foam than beer and had no reason to change anything. Therefore I am bringing it to the attention of the Division of Measurement Standards.

As you might guess, I am an avid beer consumer and do visit these establishments frequently. I am also a member of a homebrew club and this topic comes up often at club meetings. I have never met a beer drinker that wasn't upset or bothered by this common practice. If you need signatures of confirmation I can easily rally other concerned beer lovers to sign a petition. I have attached a short list of signatures from our last meeting.

A few offending pubs and restaurants were cited ...

Your attention to this matter is very much appreciated. I will be looking forward to hearing your response to these issues. I would be happy to meet with anyone from the Division of Measurement Standards and visit any of these establishments to verify and measure the problem in person. Additionally, I would add that this is a nation wide problem, but I only feel compelled to work on the issue at a local level for now. State legislation is certainly an option and I may pursue it with your help and support.

The Response …

Well I got a nice letter back from the Department of Agriculture, Division of Measurement Standards. They said they had investigated my complaint, and the establishments mentions in the original letter had been contacted and action has been taken to correct the specific problem. Additionally they stated "Every person, who sells by himself or herself, or through or for another, sells any commodity in less quantity than he or she represents it to be is guilty of a misdemeanor." This is a California state law.

My Comments…

Well all the pubs have to do is stop calling it a pint and the problem is fixed. Right? Well maybe. We won’t have a complaint, but the real problem isn’t fixed. I want a pint of beer in a proper glass! If you are tired of being ripped off at your local, then sent a letter off to your county office of Weights and Measures and report the problem! I have the name and address for each county office in California. If you are so inclined to write a letter, please send me an email and I will forward you the address for your county. That’s about all we can do for now.

So where do we go from here? Well I intend to send a letter off to Calif. Senator Boatwright’s office soon. He is a lame duck Senator, but since he has been involved with wine related issues, he is a good start. He should be able to refer me to another senator sympathetic to our cause. New state laws can’t even be submitted until next January 1997 anyway.

I would like to go for a state law requiring beer to be served in lined glassware, just like in England and Europe. Stay tuned, your support and effort may be needed to pull off a new state law. We may have to rally all the clubs in California for support. But think of the possibilities, to establish a new law in California regarding beer dispensing would indeed be cool!