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!
