Where to buy full pints of ale in Hastings...

By Steve the Beermeister 

NOT this!

Trading standards officers have regularly found that pubs take advantage of guidelines that pints of beer can be served containing only 95 per cent liquid, allowing for a 'head.' The Weights and Measures Act 1985, however, stipulated that a pint of beer should be a pint. Indeed, in the 1970s, maybe as much as 50% of real ale was served from metered electric beer pumps into an oversized glass, meaning there was no wastage and a full pint was delivered every time. This was more regular in the Midlands and further North, notably in pubs owned by these breweries: Banks, Greenalls, Boddingtons, Hydes, Robinsons, Wards, Stones, and Gales further South. 

Nor this!

Sadly, a 1982 court ruling stipulated that a head of froth was "an integral part" of a pint, and that it was fair to serve beer provided the head was "not excessive or unreasonable." In 2000 the Government announced that pubs that sold pints of less than 95 per cent liquid could be prosecuted, facing fines of up to £1,000, and landlords were also given two years to stock up on over-size glasses, but this has never been enforced, and you often see beer wasted as it pours over the top of brim measure glasses into drip trays. Brewers and publicans, consequently, have been allowed to make the customer pay for wasted beer, and/or make extra profit that isn't taxed, for example, by selling more than 72 pints of ale from a 9 gallon firkin, so Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs lose out on tax revenue too, meaning we pay more tax!

Why waste beer?!?

Why is this so important? Well, apart from the customer, that is you and me, and HMRC being fleeced, beer in licensed premises is the only produce in the country which is allowed to be sold in measures less than advertised. Imagine the uproar if retailers were allowed to sell any other produce short, eg 18 fags in a pack of 20, 450mls of milk in a pint bottle, 18 litres of petrol and charge for 20 litres, 300g of tomatoes in a tin of 400g etc etc... Indeed, selling pints of beer that are not 100 per cent liquid enables brewers and pubs to boost profits by effectively selling air, especially in the North where a 'big head' is actively encouraged by using tight 'sparklers' and, sadly, even down South these days! 

So, where in Hastings & St Leonards can you be served a full pint of ale in an oversized lined glass? Well, the longest running pub I can think of is the First In Last Out (FILO) in the old town High Street, which uses oversized lined glasses in which to serve up real ale (see above, where I'd already taken a mouthful before remembering to take the photograph, oops!)...

...and the only other pub I can think of is in Bohemia, ie The Tower, London Road, St Leonards, Hastings, the reigning CAMRA South East Sussex Pub of the Year. Louisa, the manager of The Tower, and her staff serve up all 6 of the real ales on sale in lined oversized glasses, quality! Oh, and soon I'll be writing about the real ale beer festival that Louisa is running at The Tower from Friday 23rd of February to Sunday the 25th. One for us real ale lovers to watch out for, as there will be a planned 25 different ales available! See link for hints...

If anyone knows of any other pubs in the area who sell their real ales from lined oversized glasses, please feel free to share this information with me, cheers!