Picture it. You’re in a pub with your mates, unwinding after work, and you go to order a pint. You are shocked, disgusted even, to be presented with what is decidedly not a pint, but is instead a glass two-thirds of the size filled with beer. Dejected, you return to your seat with your not-pint and drink it sadly, longing for the good old days in the 1400s when booze was served in a tankard.
Dramatics aside, a recent study carried out by academics at the University of Cambridge found that punters drank 10 percent less beer when pubs served the drink in smaller glasses, as they tended to stick to the same number of rounds despite actually receiving less. The current pint-sized glasses were replaced by ones that were just over 30 percent smaller, and according to the academics the impact this had was significant enough that it could make an actual impact to people’s health, lowering the likelihood of certain cancers in beer-drinkers.
According to study lead Professor Dame Theresa Marteau: ‘Removing the largest serving size for beer, lager and cider – in this case, the pint – could encourage people to drink less.’
'This could be beneficial both to the nation’s health and the health of individuals.'
The most surprising part of this whole ordeal? People didn’t actually complain that much. You read that right. Something changed and Brits didn’t moan about it. We can hardly believe it either, but the facts don’t lie.
The researchers are now calling on the government to impose restrictions on bars and pubs, so that the largest glass they’d be allowed to sell ales in would be the reduced size, but the government has, thus far, rejected the idea. One MP told the BBC that ‘Keir Starmer loves a pint’, which would suggest that there are no plans to change anything about the current, classic sizing.
Although there was some support across multiple parties in parliament for the change, it seems unlikely to happen anytime soon, so try not to lose any sleep over it. Your pints are safe for the foreseeable.
Pubs according to Time Out
Pints aren’t being taken away, so where should you go to grab one? Why not one of our favourite pubs in the UK, a seriously stunning boozers you might never have heard of, or a truly excellent beer garden?
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