Do you think the Almighty Pint will ever disappear?!
Will it ever disappear? Do you think pubs will ever star selling beer by the quarter-litre? What would you say if it did disappear? Share your fears here.
Answers:
Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
Can't see it happening, they tried it in the past and it was defeated.
It will also cost the licensed trade too much to but new glasses, so for once they will be on the side of the public in opposing it
The UK made 4 derogations from adopting metric units, one of those derogations, a particularly pointless one, that required Land Registrations to use the acre, has now been allowed to drop. However, carat for precious metals and jewellery, the mile (only for road distances and speeds despite OS surveyed maps being only in Metric units) and the pint for beer and milk sales only have continued in use.
The argument for retaining the Imperial pint was that to change it would be extremely expensive as vast numbers of new metric size beer glasses and milk bottles would need to be manufactured, overnight. The fact that beer glasses and milk bottles have a very high attrition rate, and are, therefore, in constant production was ignored. Also ignored was the simple and effective way that this might have been done. Since the Imperial pint is 568 ml. the existing glasses and bottles could have had a sand blown marker (as is now used for the Customs marking) made at half litre, and continue to be filled to the full pint capacity. Replacement bottles and glasses would continue to be made to the existing Imp pint size and also given a half litre sand blown mark, and served as full pint measure, then on a future date, the contents would be served only up to the sand blown half litre mark. A glass of beer served at a half litre would have the space above the half litre mark for a full head of foam, thus settling the argument about being served full measure including the froth. Whether future production of milk bottles (and beer glasses?) should continue in sand marked pint or half litre size would be academic.
The fact that it has not yet happened, despite the announcement in Parliament in 1966 that Britain would adopt the Metric system of measurement, and was required to adopt it fully by the EU (apart from the derogations) by the last day of 1999, does not suggest that Imperial measures are going to be disappearing in Britain for a while longer.
I have no fears or expectations of the UK or the BBC adopting metric measurements soon.
If you drink a beer with a head, it's unlikely that you've had a pint measure since they scrapped the lined glasses. If you're of a certain age (old) you'll remember the lined glasses that held two half-pint measures. Personally, I prefer to have a head on my beer than an exact pint of liquid.
No chance any more than our daily pinta milk will disappear either and the EU know it.
Anyway, we are now allowed to weigh and sell things in English pounds and ounces if we like also we can measure in pints and gallons too.
The PINT stays - including over my dead body and etc.
Beer, cider and milk are sold by the pint, but they are also sold metric, 440ml cans beer, 2 litre bottles of cider and 1 litre bottles of milk, so use of the pint may sadly fade away.
Never!
It might change offically to 555ml or whatever it is, but it will always be called a pint.
I think things like milk etc will change, but never beer or cider!
Never ! The pint is as British as the union flag !
Never! it just wouldn't happen.
