In Australia there are many different sizes, some with bizzare names. But the 20oz pint is still used in some areas.
When I go to my local pub here in the UK I ask for a pint of cider (usually strongbow) [note for US readers: Cider in the UK is the same as 'hard cider' in the US] If they run out of Strongbow I have a Magners (its actually an Irish Cider) They give you a pint glass and a bottle of magners. On the side of the bottle it says "1 pint, 568 ml" I then pour the contents of the bottle into the pint glass supplied by the bar staff. I carefully pour it until there's nothing left in the bottle - holding it vertically I wait for the drops to stop. What I then have is a pint glass full to the brim of cider (no miniscus). Carefully I pick up the pint that is full to the brim and take a sip from it so that I can walk with it without causing spillage. This is how it is. Honestly. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David King Sent: 21 January 2005 13:11 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:32019] RE: A half litre of beer please. The thing with pints and pint glasses and beer is that what goes into the glass can only ever be 1 pint of poured out beer. When i take a can of 500 ml of beer at home and try to pour it into a glass that holds exactly 568 ml it won't fit, because the beer expands as it leaves the can/bottle. This means that pint glasses hold less than what you get in a 500ml-bottle! This is possibly a known rip-off by the beer industry, but I doubt if they would change it. In Australia they increased their pint definition to 600 ml, which would mean that if the beer expanded when poured then the glass would hold around 1 pint of unpoured beer, poured out as 600 ml. David King ** Get Fast Broadband from �14.99 ** http://tinyurl.com/5y7mf Excellent web hosting and email http://www.1and1.co.uk/?k_id=3899401 Stephen Humphreys wrote: > > >>>From these observations it is clear to me that no-one ever gets a >>>pint >> >> >of beer in England when they ask for one - they get somewhat less - but >how much less? > > > >>>To explore this further, I measured the diameter of the glass and >>>made >>> >>> >an (informed and experienced) estimate of the depth of froth that's >usually put on the top of the beer. I then calculated the froth to be >very close to 70 millilitres. So my calculation went 568 mL � 70 mL = >498 mL that I rounded to 500 mL or half a litre. Perhaps everyone who >orders a 'pint' in England is quite unaware that they are really >drinking 'half litres'. > >Indeed, a minority of metric folk sometimes claim this in the UK. Its >an old argument that doesn't hold water (pun intended) A few points to >note: > >1) If you fill a pint glass with 500ml of cider or lager (headless) it >comes appallingly short of the brim >2) The pint glasses are poured into over a filtered catch - you will >notice that when "heady" beers are poured the bar tender will continue >to pour whilst beer is pouring outside and down the glass (a nightmare >for "Barney"!). You are then presented with a pint (which will be wet >down the side). >3) A reasonable head may be preferable, but you are in your legal right >to hand the pint glass back and ask it to be "brimmed" >4) Indeed, it s a messy business picking up a full pint, especially >when you've had a few! >5) You won't know that many pubs have oversized glasses with a pint and >half-pint mark scratched into the glass, this is to accommodate a head >with no questions asked. > >Perhaps you are referring to th epint glasses they use in Spain? They >have a mark on the bottom saying "570 ml" > >P.S. Next time I ask for a "pint" in paris and the head makes it so >that its less than 500 ml, should I make some sort of assumption that >they use "true American pints"? I don't think so. > > > >
