Incidentally, I'll be trying to contact the state next week to see what our next steps are. You have all been fantastically groovy to have signed the petition--I think it will demonstrate a real interest in the issue.THE HONEST PINT PROJECT-- The five-buck pint will likely be a fact of life in 2008, thanks to global hops and barley shortages. That's OK for most of us, because fresh, flavorful beer is worth that and more. Besides, what are we going to do? Return to the days of Mickey's Big Mouth and Milwaukee's Beast? Not bloody likely.
But blogger Jeff Alworth wants us to get our pint's worth when we pay our money, because many pubs, restaurants and bars use a "shaker pint" that's closer to 14 ounces than to an honest 16-ounce pint. The Honest Pint Project on Beervana (beervana.blogspot.com -- one of the places online I regularly visit to stay informed) builds on a foundation laid by erstwhile Portland beer writer William Abernathy, who used to schlep Pyrex measuring cups to bars and broached the subject a decade ago in his Willamette Week column. Alworth has taken it further, though: He now has a list of Portland restaurants and pubs and their glassware on his blog, and he's inviting folks to sign a petition asking for real 16-ounce pints: link.
(By the way, I know content's been a bit thin lately, but I'll be posting a year-end review later today, and my beer of the year on Sunday or Monday. Plus there's that Beer Valley review I've been meaning to get to--that's the Ontario, Oregon brewery that opened earlier this year. They pretty much rock, so you should know more about them.)
Nice work Beervana! I'm a little worried about the $$$ impact (through taxes from general revenue, or-gasp-an increase in the beer tax) to pay for the honest pint project enforcement, and I'm not currently an OR state resident, which is why I haven't signed the petition. But I enjoy reading about it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
ASG
www.hopsandbarleyblog.com
I don't think there will be any financial impact, nor really any need for enforcement. As I've said from the start, I can't imagine cops doing raids on pubs. Essentially what it will do is create transparency so that the markets can function more smoothly. Once people become aware that they aren't getting full pints, they'll pay attention, and pubs will be forced by their clientele, not the cops, to serve honest pint glasses.
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