The Brutally Honest Pint

If you’re a beer drinker, you’ve probably heard about the brouhaha (oh snap) over the 14 ounce “pint” glass. If not, the twenty-five cent summary is that in order to compensate for inflation without raising prices, some pubs have begun serving beer in 14-ounce falsies—glasses that look like a pint but aren’t. It led Jeff Alworth to start the Honest Pint Project, and even got the attention of the Wall Street Journal.

Given that debate—over 14 or 16 ounce pints—it was really refreshing (double snap) to read the following in an email from Magnolia Pub’s owner Dave McLean today:

We do remain 100% committed to the 20-ounce, English pint glass as the base by which we calculate all of our beer pricing. And that means, priced per ounce, you’ll always get a slightly better deal here. Most places are basing their pint on a 16-ounce, U.S. pint. And aside from price and volume, we will always prefer the quality of an English pint glass, particularly the thin lip that makes for a nicer sip. So, the 20-ounce pint is here to stay, as are the premium ingredients that we think make our beer so unique and delicious, especially Maris Otter barley, which costs more per pound than any other barley but is worth every penny. These aren’t easy times in the craft beer community but more people than ever are discovering the joys of locally brewed, unique, artisan beer. The only direction available is forward and we’ll keep making beer the best way we know how.