Know your measures

For licensees who don't know their Butts from their Noggins, John Porter offers a guide to ensuring your customers are always served drinks in legal quantities.

Beer, wine and spirits have been regulated for as long as there have been pubs, reflecting the importance they have always had as mainstays of trade and barter, as well as a necessary means of survival in the days when clean water was a rarity.

As just one example among many, the phrase "take him down a peg or two" dates back to the dark ages law that ale should be served in four pint containers called "pottles". These were marked inside with "pegs" which divided the contents into eight equal parts - and it inevitably turned into a raucous drinking game to see if you could drink more pegs in a sitting than your opponent.

From a hogshead to a firkin, the traditional weights and measures used to buy and sell drinks are a part of pub culture.

Nevertheless, in recent years many of the old measures have given way to metric measures - the old one-sixth of a gill single spirit measure, for example, is now legally a 25ml measure.

Other drinks, most notably beer, are still sold in imperial measures - successive politicians having decided that the good old British pint is sacrosanct.

Beer and cider​

Draught beer and cider must be sold in quantities of one-third of a pint, half a pint, or multiples of half a pint.

The one-third of a pint measure has recently come back into fashion as a taster glass for pubs offering a "try before you buy" promotion on different beers.

Any brim measures and line measures on glasses, or meters used to dispense liquids, must be stamped, which means that the equipment has been tested by a trading standards officer and found to be accurate.

All equipment which has been passed for trade use carries a stamp consisting of a crown with the test officer's personal number beneath.

Spirits​

Gin, rum, vodka and whisky must be sold in 25ml or 35ml measure, or multiples, and measured through stamped measuring instruments or thimble measures.

In addition, a notice must be displayed indicating the quantity being dispensed. This should be located in each bar so that it can be easily read by intending purchasers.

The exception is prepacked spirits, such as those found in PPS drinks, or spirits sold by the bottle.

Wine​ Wine intended for consumption on the premises can be sold:

• by the bottle, which is normally 75cl
• by the carafe in 25cl, 50cl, 75cl, or 1 litre quantities.
• by the glass in 125ml and 175ml quantities, or multiples.

Where wine is sold by the carafe or the glass, the quantity in which it is sold must be indicated by a notice. This notice must appear in a prominent position in the bar or on a wine list or menu, so the prospective customer can see them before the wine is ordered.

Wine should be measured using either a stamped spirit measuring instrument (Optic), stamped carafe, stamped lined glass or stamped pouring measure.

The full pint​

The full pint issue appears to be officially "on hold" as the Government ponders the opinions of its own advisers that enforcing a 100 per cent liquid pint would be both impractical, and an unnecessary burden on the trade. The Government has said it may review the question again, but there has been no movement since the General Election.

So, it's business as usual, which means that the BLRA code of practice is the best guidance available for publicans, and is recognised by the trading standards authorities. The code says that it is acceptable for licensees to serve a pint that is 95 per cent or more liquid, so allowing for a head, and that they should top up the glass if the customer so requests.

Beer glasses should be either of the following:

• a "brim measure", where filling to the top of the glass indicates true measure
• a "line measure", where true measure is shown by a line below the top of the glass, or an over-size glass, filled using a beer meter.

The overwhelming view of the trade seems to be that it prefers the brim measure. In the Publican's Market Report 2001, only 15 per cent of publicans served said they used a lined glass. In all, 88 per cent of publicans said they served top-ups on request.

(See The full pint debatefor more information).

Trading Standards checklist​

This checklist was produced by Cambridgeshire Trading Standards to help pubs check their compliance with the law. How do you measure up?

• Your price list of drinks is displayed and it can be easily seen by customers at each bar
• Your Weights and Measures sign for the quantity of gin, rum, vodka and whisky being sold is clearly displayed
• You indicate the size of glass (125ml, 175ml or 250ml) for the quantity of wine being sold
• The spirit measures only display the brand of spirit in the bottle
• Gin, rum, vodka and whisky are dispensed from stamped 25 or 35ml measures
• Staff know to ensure the spirit measure is refilled properly before the next measure is taken
• Staff are aware that beer/lager should be liquid, not froth, and to top up on request
• Staff are trained in the proper use of thimble measures
• Staff are aware of how to use the correct glasses for the sale of wine

Imperial measures​

The old imperial measures, whether still in use or not, are part of pub heritage. Just remember, if you're using any of the following to settle an argument in the bar, the list that follows refers to liquid measures - the same terms can have a different meaning when used to measure dry goods.