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In the UK and Ireland, a pint is 20 oz. (equivalent to just over 19 US ounces), so I always feel cheated by 16 oz. "pint" glasses in the US.
by ch_123 7mo ago
In the UK and Ireland, a pint is 20 oz. (equivalent to just over 19 US ounces), so I always feel cheated by 16 oz. "pint" glasses in the US.
- loeg 7mo agoIt's not completely uncommon to be offered 16 oz or 20 oz as options in the US. But I see it more at "fast casual" restaurants than bars or more upscale restaurants.
- cbm-vic-20 7mo agoAnd of course, what an "ounce" means may vary. According to Wikipedia "An imperial fluid ounce is defined in British law as exactly 28.4130625 millilitres, while a US customary fluid ounce is exactly 29.5735295625 mL, and a US food labelling fluid ounce is 30 mL."
- dghf 7mo agoThis is why I get agitated when Americans claim to use imperial units. If they did, their pints would be the correct size.
- cjs_ac 7mo agoAmericans don't claim to use imperial weights and measures; they use customary weights and measures, which were also used in the UK prior to the creation of imperial units with the Weights and Measures Act 1824.
- kube-system 7mo agoThere are many people in America who do not know the difference, the mistake is fairly common.
- bee_rider 7mo agoAt this point they are just American units, right? Since the UK has upgraded already.
- ZeWaka 7mo agoThat's why we call it the US Customary System.
- ascorbic 7mo agoBeer and cider are the only drinks that are legally not sold by metric volume in the UK. They have to be served by the pint, 2/3, 1/2 or 1/3. Every other drink has to use metric.
- dghf 7mo agoBut that just means the quantity has to be expressed in metric units, possibly in addition to imperial, correct? E.g. I currently have a carton of milk in my fridge that’s labelled “2272ml 4 pints”.
- ascorbic 7mo agoNot for alcohol measures. Beer and cider have to be sold in pints, and there is a list of allowed sizes used for other drinks. Also the size of the standard measure used for spirits needs to be displayed on a sign at the bar.
- dghf 7mo agoApologies, I was specifically replying to your last sentence, "Every other drink has to use in metric."
- cjs_ac 7mo agoThe origin of US Customary units is British, even if the US, Liberia and Myanmar are the last countries still using it. The UK has almost entirely adopted metric (yards and miles are still used for measuring distances on roads and pints are still used for milk and beer, and the last government made the eccentric decision to permit pints for wine, which no producer used because they couldn't get the bottles), but these systems of units have identities beyond whether or not they're in use anywhere. EDIT/CORRECTION: Milk is sold in multiples of 568 mL, so while the quantities are pints, the measurement is metric.
- alnwlsn 7mo agoThe (incorrect) claim is indeed made in every single metric vs "imperial" comments section I've come across.
- deleted 7mo ago[deleted]
- dghf 7mo agoMany Americans do claim to use imperial units. They’re wrong, but they do claim it.
- bryanrasmussen 7mo agosurely if that was the claim George Washington would never have had his dream https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYqfVE-fykk
- vlod 7mo agoAlso in the US (probably due to lack of training and the customer too embarrassed to complaining) tend not to fill it the brim (and so not even 16''). I've seen 2-3 inch heads and asked them to top it up. They look at me as if I've just insulted George Washington.
- mcjiggerlog 7mo agoWell, depending on the type of beer, that's intentional. It's not always the faux-pas that it would be to do this when serving cask ale in the UK.
- bardak 7mo agoBut usually when that is the case they will use glassware that has a 20oz line on the glass with room for the head.
- consp 7mo agoA pint in the Netherlands usually is 500ml. In very rare cases, but only in real pubs (not mass market "Irish" pubs) you get an actual pint. So you are cheated out of about ~68ml in that case. Vs the US you get a few ml more.
- ch_123 7mo agoA standard US pint is about 473ml so a US pint is ~95ml less than an imperial pint.
- saalweachter 7mo agoIn the 19th century, at the same time they went stone-mad (and redefined the hundredweight as 8 stone or 112lb), the British redefined the pint as 20 oz. After this point, there was no where the whole world round where a pint was a pound. (The US standardized on the wine gallon, so a US pint is and was 1.04 lbs.)
- thrance 7mo agoSame thing here in France. Except I've never seen any "real" pints here, it's always 50cl.
- amiga386 7mo agoAs far as I knew, Netherlands pubs typically sold: - 200ml "fluitje" (little flute) - 250ml "pintje" (little pint), often sold in a "vaasje" (vase, a tapered beer glass). This is the typical beer measure: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintje https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintje "Het bestelde glas pils heeft doorgaans een inhoud van 25 cl" They also sell standard bottled beer in 300ml and standard cans in 330ml: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standaardglas https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standaardglas I was not aware that 500ml was usual for the Netherlands. It is usual in, say, Germany, where they also sell the 1 litre Maß
- ahartmetz 7mo agoThe Maß is only a thing in Bavaria and strongly Bavarian-themed places, and almost nonexistent for bottles or cans anywhere in Germany. Faxe (which is Danish) sells one liter cans and some Czech brands sell or used to sell 1.5 liter plastic bottles - that's about it. The next common size is 5 liter mini kegs.
- eduction 7mo agoYour pubs kindly return the favor when we order whiskey. As Hunter S Thompson is reported to have quipped in a bar your side of the Atlantic: "What is this, a sample?"
- BoxOfRain 7mo agoThat's fair, can't argue with that one. Personally I'd have us use what the Royal Navy used to serve its rum ration in, the half-gill. This is 1/8 of a British pint or 71 millilitres, and the rum would have been a minimum of 54%! Fractional gills were the pre-metric shot measure in the UK, but they were still pretty stingy. 1/6 gill in England, 1/5 or 1/4 gill in Scotland, and 1/4 gill in Northern Ireland.
- dfawcus 7mo agoThe volume of UK and US fluid ounces being different also doesn't help. The UK pint is 568ml, apparently a US pint is 473 ml.
- lbourdages 7mo agoIt is the same in Canada [1] yet I frequently see beer sold in "US pints" over here. I assume they do it so they can advertise cheaper prices (the amount being smaller). Some places will write the glass size in ounces, but some won't. It is one of my pet peeves for sure. [1]: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/measurement-canada/en/buying-and-selling-measured-goods/units-measurement-used-sell-draft-beer https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/measurement-canada/en/buyin...
- neuronflux 7mo agoAlso Canadian. I don't often see "pint" on the menu, usually something like "16oz." Evidently restaurateurs and bar owners are wise to the law. Though I am pleased when I see "20oz" on the menu! I kind of understand the logic by not serving 20oz and saying "pint". Customers might avoid a place because their "pints are more expensive", when in reality that place is also serving them 4oz of extra beer. A bit like the classic 1/3 lb cheeseburger being "smaller"[1]. Annoyingly, I do find that servers will often refer to their larger size beer as "pint" regardless of whatever the menu says. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-pound_burger#Marketing_failure https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-pound_burger#Marketing_f...
- michael1999 7mo agoI have a buddy who used to call Weights and Measures on bars that passed off US customary pints as "pints". It is illegal, but enforced largely by complaint.