Senator John Patrick represents the 18th District of Maine, where the good people are FED UP with bars trying to pass off 14-ounce glasses as a proper ‘pint’ of beer, because we all know that in the USofA a pint is 16 fluid ounces (20 in the UK for an Imperial Pint).
The Democratic Senator has proposed a bill to be titled “An Act To Standardize Pints of Beer Sold in Maine”, and though it hasn’t been drafted yet Senator Patrick is seeking to standardize pints for the good of the people. From what I can tell, Sen. Patrick is truly a man of the people, as it only took “5 or 6” residents complaining in order to prompt the Senator to introduce this legislation.
Here we have an example of a law maker who actually knows what his voters want, and is working for his constituency. Unlike yesterday when we had the law maker from Montana seeking to make yoga pants illegal, this Senator from Maine is looking out for the best interests of his people (and their wallets). Because why the hell should anyone be cheated out of two ounces? It adds up! For every 8 ’14-ounce pints‘ you drink you’re actually being robbed of an entire 16-ounce pint, but still paying the same price. These bars need to be held accountable, dammit!
The Portland Press Herald reports:
Sen. John Patrick, D-Rumford, has introduced legislation to ensure that in barrooms, tap houses, taverns and dives, a beer advertised as a pint will be 16 ounces, and not a drop less.
Prodded to take action after “five or six” residents complained to him, Patrick said he hopes to instill some honesty with every tip of the tap handle.
“It’s like truth in advertising,” said Patrick, who recalled the good old days when a package of bacon was a pound, not 13 ounces.
“As with any other standardized thing, if you buy something of a specific measure, you expect to get that much,” Patrick said.
Like most bills early in this session, Patrick’s beer integrity legislation is still embryonic. It has a title – “An Act To Standardize Pints of Beer Sold in Maine” – but no actual language drafted yet.
The bill appears to take aim at what are known as “cheater pints” by some hard-core beer drinkers elsewhere in the country. They look just like pint glasses but have a heavier glass bottom so they hold 12 or 14 ounces instead of 16.
While it’s not unusual for Maine bars to serve some high-alcohol beers in smaller glasses that hold 8, 10 or 12 ounces, beer lists typically tell the customer how many ounces are in a serving. So-called cheater pints, on the other hand, are sold as pints, but really aren’t, said John Holl, the Jersey City, New Jersey-based editor of All About Beer magazine.
“If they say it’s a pint of beer and they’re using one of these glasses, that’s where it’s dishonest,” Holl said. He occasionally sees such short pints in various parts of the country, usually in an airport bar where he is already paying dearly for his brew.
On top of this bill seeking to standardize pint legislation, Maine is also on the short list of states who will likely introduce legalized recreational marijuana next. Seems to me that Maine’s stock has never been as high as it is right now.
Tip of the hat to Matt Byrne from the Portland Herald Press for sharing this story with the world.