Sunday, 13 November 2011

I see no ships

Apparently, the two-thirds pint “schooner” measure is being shunned by pubs. I had imagined that they would have been of particular interest to specialist beer pubs offering higher-ABV draught beers, but apparently not. I can’t say I’ve seen them on offer in a single pub. Indeed, the whole raft of changes in measures and beer duty that came in on 1 October have so far proved to be the dampest of damp squibs. 2.8% ABV Skol? Result!

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6 comments:

  1. Neville Grundy13 November 2011 at 14:25

    I can see why people might want a third - as a taster, or a driver who can have a bigger range of beers within the legal limit - but I simply can't see any point to the 2/3 pint.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Curmudgeon13 November 2011 at 14:36

    In most of Continental Europe, it is normal to serve beers of about 5% ABV in 330ml glasses, which is roughly the same as two-thirds of a pint. So why shouldn't we follow suit, especially for the stronger beers?

    Although halves are available, they inevitably have the connotations of a "distress purchase". If you order a half, many will see you as a wuss.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous14 November 2011 at 05:43

    I was a very well appointed uptown bar and asked for a dark beer, (not a Lager person).

    Innes and Gunn was on tap, so I ordered a pint, the barperson said they only sol it in halves.

    So I got a pint of Guinness instead.

    Later a friend told me I&G is a strong ABV ale, so maybe that's wy they only sold it in half-pints?

    Are they trying to dodge duty on selling strong beers, or just trying to rip me off?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Curmudgeon14 November 2011 at 08:28

    Innis & Gunn is 6.6% ABV (the same as Leffe) and so would seem an ideal candidate for schooners. I don't see how there's any element of ripping you off or saving duty involved.

    It's not uncommon for such beers, where available, only to be offered in halves - probably as a deterrent to "stag party" bravado as they're far from cheap. You could have ordered two halves, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous15 November 2011 at 10:13

    Years ago (70's) I used to drink Vince cider in Devon, it was cloudy, foul, potent almost immediate brain death and that was sold only in halves.
    Never could work out the logic of it as everyone got 2 halves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous16 November 2011 at 11:09

    As I have got older, my capacity has decreased. This decrease is matched by an increase in beer strength over the last twenty years. I would welcome Schooners as a useful pacing method as halves just disappear too quickly.

    ReplyDelete

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