When you order 'a beer' how much do you get and how much does it cost around NZ?
You might refer to it as a pint, a handle or a schooner – but when you order from a tap down the pub, how much beer should be in the glass?
Turns out, it’s hard to say.
The UK pint is a precise measure of 568ml. In the US, the legal definition of a liquid pint is 473ml.
But here in Aotearoa, it’s a loose term. What you get when you order a draught beer, as our unscientific study suggests, differs depending on where you go.
READ MORE:
* What is the best apple variety in New Zealand?
* Thrift Club: My community runs a giving table of free food and gifts
* Why Panhead Supercharger is the best beer in New Zealand
We sent intrepid reporters around the country out to their local to order a draught beer. They were told to specify the beer but not the size, though if pressed they should ask for a pint. So how much beer did they all get?
Well, the results of their investigations find ordering a draught beer will get you an enormous range of volumes, from a full imperial pint to under 400 mls.
Here’s where we went and what we got.
Revelry, Ponsonby, Auckland
“Go between 4pm and 7pm and a pint of delicious Cassels Milk Stout will set you back $7.11 (it is usually $15). The 11c on the end of the price is reminiscent of the 1980s but is actually an effect of the discount thanks to Happy Hour.
It is advertised as a pint on the board and served in a metric 425ml glass, which is neither an imperial pint or a US pint according to Google but it beats a meagre 330ml stubby that leaves you feeling thirsty.”
- Edward Gay
The beer: Cassels Milk Stout (5.2% ABV)
The volume: 425ml
The price: $15
The Londoner, Hamilton
“The bartender did not ask me what size I wanted. When I asked the size poured, she was fairly surprised by the question and had no clue. She had to ask the duty manager, who confirmed it was 570ml. The head was about a cm.”
- Avina Vidyadharan
The beer: Hawkes Bay IPA (5.7% ABV)
The volume: 570ml
The price: $12.50
Rosie O’Grady’s Irish Pub, Palmerston North
“We went to Rosie O'Grady's, an Irish pub in Palmerston North, and ordered a Panhead Supercharger and a Mac's Gold.
“We weren't asked to specify what size each one was, but the bartender told us the Mac's Gold came in a handle and the Panhead was in its own specially marked Panhead glass.
“I asked how much each one was in mls. ‘Um, I should know,’ the bartender said, wondering why we were asking, but couldn't give us an answer.
“Neither glass had a measurement on it but the Panhead glass had markings on the side from full to empty.
“Upon further inspection afterwards, with the assistance of the bartender and a measuring jug from the kitchen, it turned out both beers were 500ml.”
- George Heagney
The beer: Panhead Supercharger (5.7% ABV) and Mac’s Gold (4% ABV)
The volume: 500ml
The price: Supercharger – $11.50, Mac’s Gold – $9.50
The Tasting Room, Wellington CBD
“Oh how naive I was to think ordering a beer as part of this investigation would be simple.
“I took my Hario scales for this one, as any good investigative journalist would. Bartender Nick poured my Emerson’s Pilsner into what looked like it could be a pint glass, however informed me it was only a 425ml glass. Upon further inspection, the bottom of the glass also had ‘425mls’ engraved on it.
“But the scales told a completely different story. Doing a bit of math once I finished my beer, my scales informed me I had only been given 394.5mls of beer. Now, there was a bit of room at the top of the glass but 30mls? I’m unsure.
“That being said, the service was great, the beer was yum, and as I walked back to my seat bartender Nick yelled ‘bring back the pint!’.”
- Imogen Wells
The beer: Emerson’s Pilsner (4.9% ABV)
The volume: A reported 425ml and weighed 394.5ml
The price: $13
Two Thumbs Brewery, Nelson
“The bartender went straight for the pint. He saw me coming a mile away. $14 for the privilege of partying and I'd say it was worth every penny. I asked the volume and it was 440 big, proud and patriotic mls.”
- Barnaby Sharp
The beer: Party in the APA (5.5% ABV)
The volume: 440ml
The price: $14
O.G.B, Cathedral Square, Christchurch
“All taps beers were listed as ‘pints’.
“When I received the beer in the dimly lit bar, I asked how many mls it was, and the server looked taken aback while trying to think if it was 560mls, or something close. Seconds later as he pulled the beer he was able to confirm it was 570mls, a standard imperial pint.
“It arrived with a few mls of head and a skerrick shy of being a full glass.
“As I had my beer, a bartender told me he had worked in Australia where there was a multitude of different beer glasses on offer, including schooners and pints, and some pints in Australia weren't the ‘imperial pint’.”
- Carly Gooch
The beer: Robin’s IPA (5.5% ABV)
The volume: 570ml
The price: $13
How much beer do you get in a draught pour at your local, and how much do you pay? Tell us in the comments.