A pint of imperial stout, please
The UK drinking culture is built and based around sessionable, low ABV beers in the pub and they are drunk in pints. Of course, we have half pints too, but these are the reserve of the beer festival, or for the beer hunter who wants to drink lots of different ales or for the odd cask beer which powers above the 6% ABV mark (yes, most Brits consider 6 to be as strong as rocket-fuel). And then there’s the third of a pint glass. It’s an official measure but I only know one bar which offers it routinely. Any licensed premises on our little island can serve third-pints but they just don’t. There is also talk of a two-thirds glass coming, but I can’t see that benefit myself. The vessel isn’t the only important thing to consider; it’s what’s in it.
Last weekend I went to the Old Ale festival at the famous and fantastic White Horse in Parsons Green, West London. It’s a great place, known for its great beer selection and great food menu. This festival is a celebration of historic styles, the programme says – barley wines, porters, stouts, milds, strong ales, plus a few big IPAs. They also get a great selection of imported casks – this year Sierra Nevada featured heavily, as did some Italians. There were some casks under 5% but the majority were stronger, with some going up into double figures.
Remember the pint drinking culture we have in the UK?
There was a lot of great beers that just had to be tried. In order to get through them you order a half pint as it’s the smallest measure they sell. It was the incredibly drinkable and delicious Italian IPAs which caught my thirsty eye. A half of Baladin Open (one from the keg and one from the cask, so that’s two), a Birra del Borgo Re Ale and then a Re Ale Extra (my knowledge of Italian impressed me with this one as a poster behind the cask said ‘luppulo extra’ – I knew that one was for me), and then My Antonia, an imperial pilsner brewed by Sam Calagione and Birra del Borgo. These ranged from 6.4%-7.5%. A half of each of these and it’s getting dangerous already. They were light, hoppy, full of flavour and very drinkable, but they are strong by British standards. These were just the starters. That half pint of Thomas Hardy’s was spectacular from the cask, but it’s 11.7% and that’s not session beer. Next to it at the bar was Left Hand’s Oak Aged Imperial Stout, a feather-light 10.5%. I had to get one of them too. Double-figure ABV beers are exceptional examples and there weren’t too many 10%-plus beers, but there were enough – four half pints and you’re rolling around like a lunatic. (I suppose this is a good time to mention drinking in moderation…)
This is where the British reserve of drinking pints (and the occasional half pint) lets us down. Of course there is a difference between drinkers, the drink and where we are. Step into most pubs and the beer will range from 3.5%-5%. That stuff is fine for a pint glass and that stuff is what most people drink (drink this in a half pint and your masculinity might even be questioned by the staunch old brigade of drinkers). But there are a growing number of stronger beers being produced in the UK and these are sought after by a growing minority. This minority are educated drinkers and they know that a half pint of barley wine will kick their ass (arse), but that’s the smallest measure they can get.
At a beer festival I want to drink different beers but I don’t want to be on my back only half way through the day. Part of the trouble is that these stronger beers are relatively new to the pub culture (sure, strong beers have been around for a long time but you don’t often see them pulled from the cask – they are a special reserve or they are bottled). As beer evolves in the UK so, I think, the glassware has to also. Brewers are taking inspiration from the US in terms of style, strength and flavour and we should look at their way of drinking too.
What I wanted was a smaller pour, perhaps 4-6oz in a smaller glass. These festivals aren’t about getting hammered, they are about trying new beers, trying rare beers, enjoying them. The Great British Beer Festival serves third-pints. That’s just over 6oz. It’s perfect for tasting and for drinking; it’s not too little that you can’t enjoy it and not too much that you can’t handle drinking a few. I like the US way of serving small measures of big beer. I’d like even more if the British could embrace that and more places served third-pints. I’d even champion a quarter-pint glass.
Pint drinking is an essential facet of Britishness. We go to the pub and we drink a few pints and stumble home. It’s ingrained in our drinking culture, unfortunately. Recently, during the Wetherspoons beer festival, I ordered three thirds. They came on a tray, neatly arranged on a little, brightly coloured sheet of paper. I sat down and opposite me came a drunk, Scottish roar: “Why don’t you just have a full pint, mate?!” he asked incredulously, shaking his head at me. A third of a pint is not masculine. It’s not British. Beer is served in pint glasses. The industry (dispense, glassware, regulation, marketing) has to keep up with the speed at which beer is evolving in the UK. I love the pint glass and it just feels perfectly right in the hand, but when it comes to strong beer I want it served in smaller measures. I think that’s sensible, don’t you?
Great article. I have always noticed the sort of funny looks I get when I order half-pints in the UK, but I assumed it was my accent. Good to know that the barman just thought I was a pansy.
In most bars here in the US strong beers are served in 10 ounce pours. Still bigger than a half pint. A couple of those at 10+% will still mess you up. Festivals mostly stick to 2 oz pours. Enough to have a good taste and still be able to sample a good number of the hundreds of beers available.
I’ve got a collection of 6 oz taster glasses and when I attend a festival, I always ask for a half pour. 4 oz at a time is a great way to get through a festival.
I also have a story about English drinkers, but I’ll email that to you Mark.
jbmcphee, that made me laugh!! Yes, the barman just thought you were a pansy
Michael, is 10oz the largest pour in a bar and what are the options of pour size? 2oz is ok for the very strongest. I still like to have 4-6oz because I have this thing for the way beer changes in the glass – you might love the first sips then in the middle, as it warms, you might notice something different, then towards the end you might not like it…
Mario, 4oz is pretty much perfect for a beer festival, I’d say. Although in the pub there is something very satisfying about the volume of a pint.
I don’t think brewers are taking the style inspiration from the US. There would need to be much more hop content for that. Actually beer in the UK used to be MUCH stronger. Due to duty and such like a large poportion of our market has an under 5% abv rate.
Actually IPA’s used to be between 5-7%. A lot of old ale is generally higher in abv. However these used to be conusmed in tankered. Tankereds were common place in English pubs which I think need to be re-introduced to the market.
You get a better aroma and a better feel for the beer in tankered glasses. The Czech’s and the Germans have the right idea. They didn’t stop this tradition.
I also have a wide Fuller’s ESB glass which is also the way to go for a better glassware approach. However also look at costs. Pint glasses are now a standard to be produced and thus are very cheap now.
I agree more glassware should be used more in the UK market. However I fail to see the rest of the population taking note. I think tulip glasses are very acceptable in tempting normally otherwise female drinkers to beer and should be marketed accordingly.
I actually praise Inbev for once with glass marketing as they produced a new glass for Stella which is a better glass than a contempoary pint glass for beer. Just I would never buy Stella. They may have unwittedly paved a way for promoting different glasses for the beer drinking public.
tankered = tankard sorry
as only 2 pubs in london sell extreme beers ie the rake who already do thirds and the white horse who dont i dont think the other 70000 bars in london are going to take you up on the smaller glass size.
Good article by Mark. I had exactly the same problem at the White Horse Old Ale festival. So many excellent beers to try but at a half a time, a guaranteed sore head. I overdid it on the Friday and thus didn’t make it back the next day.
I’ve also had the same experience he describes when buying “three thirds” at a Wetherspoons during one of their festivals. It’s a really sensible move on their part, but you do get some odd looks and comments from their usual clientele!
I too would have loved the chance to sup in thirds at the Sloaney Pony. As it was, I was “tankered” by 6:30 and had to go home to lie down.
Pints and halves are fine for your average pub session but I agree that festivals should certainly offer smaller servings. I’ve been to fests in Belgium, Denmark and the US all which offered many 10%+ beers but with a smaller pour and even ended up going out on the town afterwards. I think the UK is the only place that hasn’t quite figured this out yet. On a side note, providing water doesn’t hurt either, lots of the fests abroad have coolers of water so you rinse your glass and drink some water in between beers.
tdtm – good points. I like the ESB glass and definitely agree about Stella – that glass is a good step forward for decent glassware, I think.
Ethereal, dubbel, reakt – seems the White Horse got us all!! Reakt, I definitely agree about water too.
So, does anyone know where this third pint limit thing came from? And are only fixed measures allowed – i.e. third, half, pint – or is a third just the minimum. Presumably it only applies to beer? And only to draught beer – bottles come in all sorts of non-imperial volumes?
Are there any rules on (minimum) beer measures in the US? The small festival pours are largely explained by the fact that you normally pay an entry fee including all drinks. Mind you, they tend to be limited to 3-4 hour sessions, which I hate. Beer enthusiasts in the US often seem gobsmacked when I tell them that you can visit most UK festivals for 10 or more hours a day, and for days on end!