In the coming weeks, we'll be posting all the information at honestpintproject.org, a new url Iggi secured after the NPR spot aired. (It currently it just bounces back to here.) I hope it will serve as a national resource, because my sense is that few other states are as tuned into their beer--and beer glassware--as Oregon.In order to get that up to speed, I have tried to cobble together some visuals using my incredibly stunted skills for such things. (Axiom: you get what you pay for.) So, at right you can see the new generic logo. I want to give a big shout-out to Deschutes Brewery, who supplied the picture of the pint glass, filled with tasty, wholesome Black Butte. An auspicious start.
An Honest Pint
A technical ambiguity that has bedeviled the project from its start: what is an "honest" pint? When I started the project, my main goal was to rid Beervana of 14-ounce cheater pints. What I didn't understand when I launched it was that 14- and 16-ounce shaker pint glasses are almost impossible to distinguish. Since the project has been designed to inform drinkers and encourage publicans from the start, I have decided to promote imperial pint glasses. Even an egregiously bad pour should give drinkers 16 fluid ounces--an amount corresponding to their assumption about what a pint is. A 16 -ounce glass meets the letter of the law, but I want to shoot for something higher. Both the Irish- (like the Deschutes) and English-style imperials glasses are iconic and instantly recognizeable, promoting transparency.
More on how that all will work when the site launches.
T-Shirt
I am also trying to create a t-shirt, and I'd like your opinion on it. I am again hobbled by poor design instincts. Using Zazzle, which game me more options for design than Cafe Press, I created two variations. Below the jump are some crude beginnings. Have a look and tell me what you think, will you? [Full disclosure: The t-shirts will sell poorly if at all, and the proceeds will go to support the project. If the project inexplicably gets a lot of attention and the proceeds begin to exceed costs, I'll let you know. Mostly I expect this to be a sink-hole of time and money.]
Click to expand and continue reading...
I like design #2, but I'd like it more without the "No cheaters!" headline.
ReplyDeleteCheck out spreadshirt.com too. They tend to have better printing and higher quality shirts than zazzle or cafe press.
The Honest Pint Project rocks!
ReplyDeletePut me in the too-clever camp for shirt 2. Keep it simple, go with #1.
I would also try for a design that could go on a darker shirt. Because a white HPP shirt will just end up having lots of beer stains on it.
By the way, I agree that "imperial glasses are iconic and instantly recognizeable", but there are knock-offs like Laurelwood's 16-ounce imperial-shaped glass (I hope it's 16 ounces).
I think I prefer design #1 as well, and I agree with Bill re: white tee shirts. You may only be planning on white shirts to start with, but if they take off it would be nice to have a design that would work well on other colors as well.
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered about Laurelwood's mock imperial pint glasses. I know they're not imperial, but sometimes I've thought they look like they're not even 16 oz... one of these days I'll have the foresight to bring along a measuring cup.
#2 is a winner. I think Beige T-Shirts would be nice. Sign me up for a shirt!
ReplyDeletei like black shirts (of course), but grey would work (the pint might show up better)...the nice thing about Zazzle though is you can order whatever you want ;)
ReplyDeleteand don't forget honestpintproject.com belongs to you too!
ReplyDeleteThinking more about this, shouldn't the shirt have the HPP slogan: "Pay for a pint, get a pint!"?
ReplyDeleteSeems like it's a toss-up between designs, but no one hates the simple version. I think I may have to disagree with 534 on the "no cheaters" header--I'm pretty enamored of that as an attention-grabber.
ReplyDeleteOn black shirts. I'll see what I can do. The background on the pint glass I have is white, and it's a black beer, so this complicates things for colored shirts. But Iggi's right, if I can figure out a way to make it look right on a colored shirt, you could pick your own color on Zazzle.
Bill, maybe I'll fiddle around and see if I can work the slogan in somewhere. (The back, maybe ... ?)
Keep the slogan!!!
ReplyDeleteIt makes no sense without the slogan!
It's a shirt that represents a cause! The cause needs to be spelled out or else it's just a shirt with a pint glass on it.... That's boring.
If you're going to make a statement, MAKE A STATEMENT!
Wimps never get heard... ;-}
I moved away from Beervana three years ago to the East Coast for graduate school. Not only are brewers here afraid of hops, but the epidemic of dishonest pints is rampant. Folks, simply put, this shit must stop. When you purchase a gallon of gasoline or milk, you are purchasing a specific, defined VOLUME. The same should apply for a pint of a beer. A PINT defines a specific unit volume...and that is that.
ReplyDeleteI know I have lost this argument, but I'll offer it one last time. I think you are wrong about advocating for imperial pint "style" glasses. Those are just as easy to create in smaller versions as shaker pints. It also ignores the variety of glassware that is every expanding (HUB's glassware, for example). All I care about is that pubs are explicit about the volume of their glassware, and the easiest way to do this is to have glassware marked. The Brits figured this out eons ago, why reinvent the wheel?
ReplyDeleteIf I know the true volume of the glassware, I can decide about the relative quality of the pour. Even better would be to follow England's lead where the imperial pint mark is well below the rim allowing perfectly measured pours.
Marking glassware is inexpensive and honest - let's insist on that standard, no less.
Seems I'm in the minority, but I like version 2. Either way, I'm prepared to buy a stack for Christmas gifts if you are up and rolling in time.
ReplyDeleteMay I put in a request for a women's version, too?
I'm British and one thing I can tell you about(UK) is the grief re. short measures poured in pubs where the bar staff are badly trained or they try to pass off too much froth/not enough liquid-often on a busy night. This happens at it's worst(in PDX) in any brewpub where they serve cask ale;staff like to pour the pint as fast as possible,creating excess froth which they then (wastefully) skim off with a knife!
ReplyDeleteProperly trained staff pour 3/4 of a pint,leave it to one side to settle while they do another quick chore,then return to -slowly-finish pouring the pint.Both Lucky Lab and Bridgeport think nothing of throwing perfectly good ale down the sink just 'cos they can't be arsed to train their staff how to pour!
But the bottom line here is that when you visit one of these places(Fri/Sat nite,f'rinstance) and it's really busy your chances of getting a full measure are poor-the staff can barely hear you!
It was such an issue in the UK that CAMRA issued a small plastic card with measures on the side calculating how much you'd been conned(you held it alongside your pint)-on a sliding scale,natch!
actually, i'm with Pat on that one. enforce a pint and don't bog it down with varients.
ReplyDeletebut that's just my $.02