Have you heard of "falsies"? They're the latest news in the beer drinking world. Falsies are pint glasses that have an extra thick bottom, so they look like a pint but actually only hold about 14 ounces (rather than the 16 ounces that a pint should have).
The Wall Street Journal did a piece on deceptive beer pours last week about this issue, and a lot of people are up in arms about it. I can't say that I blame them. If a restaurant or bar needs to raise prices, that's fair: most of us know by now about the hops shortage and fuel prices that are driving up the cost of beer. However, I draw the line at trying to cheat people out of beer.
Some establishments have unapologetically switched to 14 ounce glasses. That's also fine, as long as you inform your customers of that practice. I'm all for turning a profit, but businesses that cheat their customers are the lowest of the low in my book. Next time you're ordering a pint, make sure you're getting what you paid for.
6-18-2008 @9:56PM badfrog101 said... Most of the faux British restaurants around here use the 14 oz glasses and call it a pint. I have taken to asking to have my beer served in a guiness glass, which is a real pint. Only once have I had any questions, and I raised my eyebrows and wondered what the Bureau of weights and measures would think..? The mgr laughed and served me in a guiness glass, saying I was the first one who had complained.
I made it into a joke, not a challenge, but made my point, and they automatically give me and my table guiness glasses now.
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6-18-2008 @10:49PM Esoterikal said... Wacky Americans and your 16 oz pints... A pint of beer is and should always be 20 oz, British standard
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6-19-2008 @8:47AM Will Butler said... Shayna, God bless you and your enthusiasm for beer. I fully admit that I'm not really much of a beer drinker (excepting Guinness, obviously), so do you have any recommendations?
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6-19-2008 @10:28AM Jason said... In Europe, all glassware has a line on the side with a measurement. A shot glass has a line for 4 CL. A pint has a line for 0.5 L. The U.S. should standardize this way.
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6-19-2008 @10:18PM don said... Hmm.. well, I know here (Canada), there seems to be no controls on what is a 'pint of beer'.
It can range from 14, 16, 18, to 20oz.
Pretty annoying actually.
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6-20-2008 @8:32PM Shayna Glick said... Will Butler:
That's a tough call. Beer preferences are such a personal thing. I personally like pilsns and hefeweizens, and any beer that has fruit tasting components. But I occasionally go for a chocolate and/or oatmeal stout. I saw a beer today that described itself as a vanilla porter, but I'm saving that for next time (as I ended up going with Dogfish Head Black and Blue: quite tasty!). My best advice is to go to a liquor store that has a great beer selection and just pick up something that looks good that you've never had before.
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6-25-2008 @7:24AM Monty Python 1975 said... What have we got here, a bunch of snobs drinking pints of "stout" or "bitters"! How unamerican can you get. This isn't England. In America we drink our beer out of a can or bottle. It's twelve ounces but we don't have to measue it. Then after a few, we look for the sissies drinking import swill out of a glass ank kick their butts.
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6-25-2008 @7:43AM Simzeee said... When you drink a beer in a CASINO, It is watered down soooooooooooo bad. And it tastes awful.
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6-25-2008 @8:56AM Spoon said... @ Monty Python:
Just because some people don't want their beers to all taste the same (Bud, Miller, Coors), doesn't mean they are a bunch of snobs. I like a wide range of beer depending on the occasion. And most of the time I am drinking AMERICAN beer in pints...but your right, that's so "unamerican" to support local breweries and businesses. Grow up. And since this "isn't England," change your name, Monty Python.
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6-25-2008 @9:01AM Alan W. said... Mess with a stout drinker and you'll be sadder Budweiser.
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6-25-2008 @9:07AM James said... Bars and restaurants have been doing the same thing with shot glasses for as long as I've been drinking. (9 years) A lot of bartenders and servers don't know this, especially the younger ones who havn't made a career of their jobs. If they havn't worked a lot of places, they think that whatever their bar does is the standard. Therefore, you can also often estimate how strong your mixed drinks will be by the size of the shot glasses - it's what your server thinks is a shot.
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6-25-2008 @9:13AM rcott said... I love my beer, but one or two is enough, generally, especially with DUI laws what they are. So, when I drink beer, it's good beer, regardless of the cost. I like a good lager, on the dark side, with lots of flavor. I figure that if I'm only going to have a couple, I might as well enjoy the good stuff. Go ahead and pound those Buds and Lites. I'd rather drink the good stuff and enjoy (translated: taste) it.
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6-25-2008 @10:40AM Taylor said... A beer night recommendation. "Sixer Mixer Night" Get 5 friends(and yourself), everyone get together and bring a 6 pack of a microbrewery beer that you have never heard of or tried. Empty your 6 pack but with the exception of 1 beer and re-fill your 6 pack with 1 of each beer. Hang out & pregame before a fun night or watch a ball game and taste 6 different beers. Vote on the best beer and keep track of the ones you have tried so you don't have repeats in the future. Cheers!
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6-25-2008 @10:24AM stew said... i enjoy my beer when i have an occasion to drink one. i more enjoy the american lagers. european beers are ok if i'm only having 1 or 2. more than that, and the taste gets too bitter for me. american beer is great!!! i can have all i want and the flavor stays the same.
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6-25-2008 @10:44AM Mark said... Hey number 8,They don't water beer down at casino's.
What you are drinking is out of date beer. And that taste terrible especially out of a keg.
While everyone complaints about the size of their mug. Remember that 3/4" of head that is served on top of your beer. Thats about 1 1/2 ounces. They teach that at bartending schools and at resturants.
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6-25-2008 @11:47AM Rebecca said... I love the comment BadFrog. Didn't ever think about the Guinness glass. I stopped ordering pints after a few of my friends who worked at bars in Manhattan advised me they were watering down the beer. Since then I only order bottled beer and they better pop that cap in front of me!
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6-25-2008 @12:02PM Katie said... I couldn't agree more Spoon. Monty Python needs to shut it. So what if us Americans prefer good beer to the nasty Buds and Millers. That in no way makes us snobs.
I wish we had 20 oz. beers as a standard pint.
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6-25-2008 @12:05PM Nightowl said... Montypython1975
I needed a good laugh----and I got one! Loved your comment---and IF the limeys don't like it then let 'em send in the Red Coats---we'll kick their ass AGAIN drinking our faked pints of American beer!
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6-25-2008 @12:15PM ACB said... What a bunch of cheap asses! Go to the store & buy your own damn beer if you don't like what they're serving!
Bud Light is better in the bottle anyway.
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