Product Code Database
A pint glass is a form of drinkware made to hold either a United Kingdom imperial pint of or an United States pint of . Other definitions also exist, see below. These glasses are typically used to beer glass, and also often for cider.
Until the 1990s regulars of some UK pubs would keep their own pewter tankard, often engraved with their name or nickname, behind the bar. This practice has largely disappeared with the requirement to sell beer in certified vessels.
Under the European Union (EU) Measuring Instruments Directive (Directive 2004/22/EC), the certification of measuring instruments and devices used in trade (including beer mugs, weighbridges, petrol pumps and the like) can be done by third parties anywhere within the EU with governments taking "only the legislative and enforcement (market surveillance) functions" and "ensuring that the system of third party assessment ... has sufficient technical competence and independence" (or, in simple language, calibration services were Privatization). Glasses that have been certified by authorised firms anywhere within the EU have the letters CE mark and the certifying agency's identification number etched on them. Official list of approved verifiers (at December 2005). Conservatives campaigning to have dual markings of crown and CE were informed by EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen that "a Crown stamp look-alike could naturally be affixed to the glass, as long as it is done in such a way that it is not confused with the CE marking". Following the Brexit the CE mark is being replaced by the UKCA marking for goods placed on the market in Great Britain. In September 2021 it was announced that the crown certification mark would return to pint glasses in the UK.
Selling beer in unmeasured glasses without using some other form of calibrated measure is illegal. Half-pint, one-third pint and two-thirds pint (schooners) glasses are also available and are subject to the same laws. Two-thirds of a pint is not equal to the Canadian, US or Australian schooners, which are respectively of different measures. Instead, the term "schooner" is sometimes informally used within the UK to describe two-thirds of a pint (379 ml).
Although the glass must be accurately calibrated, industry guidelines only require a pint to be at least 95% liquid, allowing 5% of the pint to consist of the foamy "Beer head". The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has described this practice as selling a short measure, and says that it costs drinkers £1million a day in beer they have paid for but not received. The British Beer and Pub Association has issued guidelines for bar staff to give a "top up" to any drinker who is unsatisfied with the measure they receive.
CAMRA recommends the use of "lined" or "oversized" glasses in pubs. These have a line near the top (usually labelled "") to which the beer should be poured, with the head forming above it. In the past a number of breweries supplied these glasses to their pubs; this is now rarely the case, and lined glasses are found mostly at enthusiasts' events such as beer festivals, serious cask ale pubs, and brewery' own bars.
| +Different versions of the pint | |||
| Flemish pintje | 250 ml | ||
| German Pintchen | Third of a litre | ≈ 330 ml | |
| Israel | 360–440 ml | Varies, no fixed definition. | |
| pint | 425 ml | 425 ml | |
| United States liquid pint | 16 Fluid ounce | ≈ 473 ml | Used in the United States. |
| United States dry pint | 18.6 Fluid ounce | ≈ 551 ml | Less common. |
| Imperial pint | 20 Fluid ounce | ≈ 568 ml | Used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Canada. |
| pint | 570 ml | 570 ml | Based on the imperial pint rounded to a metric value. |
| Royal pint or pinte du roi | 48 French cubic inches | ≈ 952 ml | Varied by region from 0.95 to over 2 liters. |
| Canadian pinte | Imperial quart | ≈ 1136 ml | In French only. |
| Scottish pint or joug (obsolete) | 2 pints and 19.69 imp fl oz | ≈ 1696 ml | |
Beer in Australia is formally measured in metric units, but draught beer is commonly ordered and sold in glasses approximating imperial measures, including a 570 ml pint. In the state of South Australia, "pint" refers to a 425 ml ( pint) glass, known as a schooner in the rest of Australia. As in the UK, certified glassware must be used; the capacity of the beer glass is defined by either the brim or, where present, the fill line. Guide to the Sale of Alcohol, National Measurement Institute, 2010 There are no legally prescribed sizes for beer volumes, but the stated capacities, which are a legal requirement, must be formally tested by the hoteliers and breweries.
In Canada, Federal law mandates a standard imperial pint. However, this law is rarely enforced in some provinces, such as British Columbia, and establishments sometimes sell US pints or other measures as "pints."
The Republic of Ireland uses the imperial 20 fl oz pint measure (≈568 ml), where metrology marks are used to show that a glass has passed inspection by the National Standards Authority of Ireland, a state-run body which enforces a number of standard rulings. Starting in 2006, the NSAI "pint" mark, a circle featuring two wavy lines, between which "PINT" is written, with a year mark (last two digits), and a three digit batch code either side; has begun to be phased out with a European standard "PINT"/CE logo stamp . Smaller Pint glasses have been used in pubs and nightclubs though.
In Israel, although officially defined as 568ml, pubs use the term arbitrarily and the "pints" served constitute a wide range of volumes (360ml–440ml). In the past, the custom was to serve beer in 330ml or 500ml in the original beer manufacturer's glass. The tax on alcohol was doubled in July 2012 to Shekel sign4.2 per litre. In order to avoid raising prices at pubs, and as a result, the loss of customers, a new standard beer measurement appeared; the "pint". Customers don't seem to know how much liquid should be in a pint, which varies from place to place. Some venues did not do this, and still serve beer in 500 ml glasses.
In the United States, a pint is . However, the typical conical "pint" glass holds 16 US fl oz only when filled to its rim with liquid. With a half-inch of foam, the actual liquid fill is roughly , missing one eighth of its volume. In 2008, some restaurants replaced 16-ounce pint glasses with 14-ounce ones, to which customers objected. In response to this, 2014 legislation in the state of Michigan (known for its craft brewing culture) requires bars to serve 16-ounce pints.
Pint glasses are also often sold as collector or novelty items, sometimes individually or boxed with a pint bottle of beer.
frequently have commemorative pint glasses made specially for the event.
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