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Posted by cainxinth 4 hours ago

Is it a pint?(isitapint.com)
130 points | 117 commentspage 2
Waterluvian 4 hours ago|
In Canada (and I’m sure elsewhere) there are surprise inspections where government inspectors show up at petrol stations and see if the pump actually gives you what it claims.

I volunteer for the pub equivalent of this.

bluGill 4 hours ago||
In the US every gas pump I've seen (I have not check the majority of states, but still a good sample) has a sticker on it stating inspections and who runs the state department that inspects them. Usually it is a yearly inspection (at least according to the sticker, maybe they do it more often I don't know)
Gormo 2 hours ago||
Not just gas pumps, but any measuring device used to determine the price of a metered product. The scales at the register at supermarkets also have calibration stickers in my state.
bluGill 1 hour ago||
Now that you mention it, I've seen them at some grocery stores - but generally not in a place I'd be looking unlike gas pumps where is is right next to the price and so you won't miss it.
lucideer 4 hours ago|||
I don't know if other companies do this anywhere but if you live in Ireland. Diageo have roles for people to travel around the country doing precisely this.
arkensaw 4 hours ago||
ah yes, the guinness vans, I do often see them out and about
9rx 4 hours ago|||
You're in luck. Measurement Canada has the authority to inspect pints. Typically they only act on complaints, though.

https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/measurement-canada/en/buyin...

ryandrake 4 hours ago||
I have a feeling that if the USA did random, surprise inspections on businesses to make sure what they were selling was actually as-advertised, the whole system would be exposed as fraud within a month.
bregma 2 hours ago|||
I don't want my beer to taste like gasoline though.
Waterluvian 2 hours ago||
Both may contain ethanol.
hrmtst93837 2 hours ago||
"You poured yourself a mega pint of red wine, correct?"

"A mega pint?"

zabzonk 2 hours ago||
I used to work in the Netherlands (i'm from the UK) and I could never understand how the Dutch put up with so much froth on their beer, even really enjoying being ripped off by it.
froh 2 hours ago|
there is a calibration marker on the glass and the liquid has to be filled up to that line, the froth on top is extra. so on the continent we get more, not less. so from where we stand it looks rather like the islanders are ripped off ;-)

cheers

zabzonk 2 hours ago||
I'm not denying this, but I do remember a jug of beer being ordered and me being asked to pour it into several glasses without noticeable markings, and me trying to end up with about a 1/4 inch of head as I would in the UK and my Dutch friends yelling "more head" or something even less than polite.

Mostly in the NL I drink bottled beer. And I'm a Yorkshire man, at least by birth.

hencq 1 hour ago||
Yeah, in the Netherlands 2 finger widths is the norm. But if it's more than that, people will get upset that you're pouring them milk.
zabzonk 57 minutes ago||
I really liked working in the NL, but their food and drink I could not get used to. I did a bit of consultancy at KLM, and what was offered for lunch in the cafeteria turned my stomach - artificial meat, artificial bread. I complained about this to one of the KLM staffers I was working with - "We know, We know, and of course the bosses never eat here"

Also, the Dutch idea of Chinese food is very strange (basically some sort of Indonesian thing - and I like Indonesian, but not that).

Anyway you in no way requested a critique of Dutch cuisine, but I'm glad I got it off my chest. So, apologies.

TheGRS 4 hours ago||
I'll happily volunteer for this. I may have found my new purpose in life!
chaboud 3 hours ago||
I've joked that the 16oz US pint was a long-play metric-system scheme to drive adoption of 500ml (~16.9oz) as a measure, a Pavlovian mechanic to trick beer-drinking Americans that the metric system is actually better because it results in more beer. The joke's on them. We're all about 12oz cans! 33cl? pfft...

Germans have it nailed down with the Kölsch Stange, a 200ml glass that so readily disappears that it stays cold and you just get another from the Kranz.

wolfi1 2 hours ago|
no one drinks it that way, except for those who drive. and believe me, for half a litre in half an hour one yields an acceptable beer temperature
skeptrune 4 hours ago||
Most useful website I've been on in a hot minute
wodenokoto 4 hours ago||
> 79.3% of pours were short (under 100% of claimed volume)

That is quite surprising. What breweries used to do when I worked in cafes and bars was to paint a mark on the glass and under it write "0.5" (in market that sells in liters and not in pints) and this mark is above[1] the half liter mark. Note that it is without units.

Pubs and bars get glasses for cheap or free and the brewery/distributor tries to trick the bar into selling more beer than they expect.

[1] We checked using measure cups from the kitchen. Maybe there is a conspiracy to have kitchens use too little ingredients.

calebelac 4 hours ago||
Thanks for sharing! Glad to see there's some momentum behind this libatious tragedy
metalman 2 hours ago||
I had a mk1 diesel rabbit, which when asked about the mileage, I would reply that is got 15 miles to the pint, though further into my youth people still refered to a "point of rum", as a measure distinct from all others, but of course bieng Canadian, beer comes in quarts.
amonon 4 hours ago|
Look, I get it. Beer is expensive, these days. Always has been. But I feel like these movements miss the forest for trees.

If we mandate beer volume then places that are “shorting” you will just raise the prices. Not to mention the tax on beer that would be required to pay for the inspection service. No one likes feeling like they got less than they paid for, but there’s solution is to take your business elsewhere.

Also, you know what really annoys me? When a bartender pulls a pint for me, and it’s up to the brim with no foam. Foam is part of the joy of a crisp beer. It adds aroma and anticipation. If I wanted to drink something with no foam I’d drink a soda. And in my heart of hearts (or stomach if stomachs?) I fear that’s where these arguments lead.

Johnny555 4 hours ago||
No one likes feeling like they got less than they paid for, but without regulation, how do you know that you got less than you paid for unless you're going to carry around a measuring glass yourself?

If the places that were shorting you have to raise prices when they have to give you what you paid for, that's false economy -- you're not saving money, if you want to drink less beer to save money, ask for a smaller glass.

goosejuice 1 hour ago|||
There's a distinct difference between food retail and food service. This kind of regulation will harm the later, it does not belong. Are we going to weigh every pizza, every omelette, every side of fries too? We don't need to sterilize every single part of our food culture.

Anyone who has spent even a short amount of time in the food service business will be familiar with shrink. The average bar is probably seeing more than 15% shrinkage. The short pours are probably not offsetting that loss. Margins are thin.

Solutions for the neurotic drinker this website appeals to: - order a can or bottle - buy retail and stay home - go to a self pour joint and pay by volume. Bonus: you don't have to talk to anyone.

Otherwise put away the scale and talk to the bartender. Chances are you come away with plenty of free beer. Most small taprooms will help you find a beer you like by giving you free beer. If you're obsessing over getting what you paid for in food service, you're missing out on the true value of that industry.

Let's not harass our bartenders, a hell of a tough job, with scales. I spent years behind the case of a cut to order cheese shop. There's a time and place for scales. This is not it.

Johnny555 1 hour ago||
Bars are dying and are on thin margins so they have to do short pours, but if I just talk to a bartender, he'll give me plenty of free beer?
goosejuice 1 hour ago||
Yes, generally food service operates on thin margins. A neighborhood brewery probably won't be profitable for the first few years, then if successful might stabilize around 15% net* profit margin.

If you go to a beer bar or a tap room, a large part of the role of a bartender is helping you find beer that you like. Successful bars and bartenders thrive from repeat customers. Community is important. This is very obvious if you actually sit down at bars and talk to the people behind them.

amonon 3 hours ago|||
I guess I feel the same way about that as I do about a steak. How do I know that the steak is the 16oz I ordered? Ultimately the most important part is if I found the experience satisfying enough to return, not whether the steak was within .5oz of its stated measurement.
roxolotl 4 hours ago|||
The solution is in other comments. In the EU glasses are etched with a fill line. Not filled to the mark? You complain.
amonon 3 hours ago||
That seems very reasonable to me.
graemep 4 hours ago|||
> No one likes feeling like they got less than they paid for, but there’s solution is to take your business elsewhere.

People need to know how much they got. it can be hard to judge, especially as you will be comparing across visits to different places on different days, and different styles of glass, etc.

Spivak 3 hours ago||
I think your expected outcome is actually the desired one, to kill shrinkflation in favor of actual price increases. When the measures are all the same you can compare apples to apples across different businesses.
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