Much a-foaming about nothing

Musings Over a Pint's David Turley has examined a recent puff piece in the Wall Street Journal:

A Pint-Size Problem
Beer lovers nurse a grudge as some bars switch to smaller glasses

It's all about the practice of establishments serving beer in glasses smaller than 16 ounces.

News flash to WSJ: this has gone on for years! Bars charge you for a glass of beer, not necessarily for 16 ounces, although that indeed often is the measure.

And guillotined beers? Pouring and pouring and pouring through foam to create a headless beer only produces a flatter less lively pint, er, glass of beer. It's an incredible waste of money for the bar.

A perfect pour is about the content of the liquid not the measure of the measure. Embrace the foam!

David also examines some of the logical and reportorial inconsistencies in the piece. Read his post here: A Pint-Size Problem - Or much ado about nothing?

The Campaign for Real Ale in the United Kingdom has seen short pouring as a serious problem, requiring governmental oversight.

For several years, CAMRA has been lobbying the government to enact legislation to ensure drinkers get a full imperial pint (or half pint) when they pay for it. It may surprise you to learn that currently the law only requires a publican to serve a pint which is 90% liquid. CAMRA have launched a new website, takeittothetop.co.uk, which hosts an online petition to be delivered to 10 Downing Street.

Although I want to support CAMRA, I have a concern. If there's one thing I hate more than a short pint, it's a flat pint - cask beer is supposed to be served with a head. Remember, real ale is alive, and the natural carbonation should deliver at least a small head with little or no agitation. However, if you want a pint that's 100% liquid, there's no room left for the foam in a standard glass.

Stonch's Beer Blog
18 April 2007

Do we really want the government in the business of minding our Ps and Qs (pints and quarts, that is)? This is a case of an issue in search of a problem.

Maybe we should bring back the ale conner.

If so, I'd prefer female inspectors in leather breeches. But that's just me.