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My word we're a bunch of moaning good-for-nothing sometimes. Publicans I mean. Obviously not all of us, but I really do despair of our public image.


I don't often read the Morning Advertiser website as every article lists the first line of comments made beneath it, and nearly every one is negative. I strongly believe in looking for the opportunity in everything, rather than the easy 'slag off and give up' approach that some appear to have.
Don't you just hate brands that produce elegant glassware


They recently ran an article about the now-legal 'schooner', or 2/3 pint measure, being shunned by 'pubs and pub-goers'. I could go on about how this would appear to be a non-story, given the data comes from an online survey of 300 CAMRA members. This isn't meant to be taken as against CAMRA, except for one thing, which is 300 is 0.00227272727% of CAMRA's membership. Just over a fifth of 1%.*


No, what really grabs my goat is the response from publicans on the forum.


'Whats wrong with a half pint glass'


'Who would want to drink any beer in less than a pint quantity'


'No surprise here, as no-one wanted them'


Come on chaps, lets look for the positive eh? For a start-off, lets give them a chance to get out there. Heineken are seemingly the first to get them out, and they've only just become available. I got my mitts on them yesterday, and they fit nicely in the hand, well weighted - exactly the same as the pint glasses, just slightly smaller.


Secondly, nobody is forcing you to stock them. I don't see what the fuss was about with the wine measures coming in. You don't need 3 different sized glasses for wine, you need one, unmarked, and 3 thimbles.


For the lagers, I'll probably keep half a dozen of each behind the bar (they don't take up much space as they're tall and slim). Where I really see the opportunity is with the ales.


As the majority of our ales are guest ales on rotation, we bought an amount of pint glasses branded with the pub - kindly sponsored by a couple of breweries who gave us a free firkin of ale in return for their name being on the back. We got the glasses lined at a third and a half, using them for our beer festivals as well.
Shamelessly stolen from A Good Beer Blog
What we haven't got yet are branded half pint glasses. What we'll do now is get some branded 2/3 pint glasses, lined at a half. Elegant, table glasses that bottled beers would also look good in. If I can get them nucleated then they'll do for the lagers as well.


It's so easy to be dismissive of something without trying it first - lets see if CAMRA festivals add another line at the 2/3 mark on their pint glasses and see how it goes. For stronger ales it's another selling point - for no extra work or expense.


Remember, it's not a problem, it's an opportunity. And it's not going to replace pints - pints will never disappear, ever. Having the leader of the free world enjoy a pint helps:
The guy in the background either really likes beer or really like the president




I would like to find a better name for them though...


Cheers


*This is an issue I have with many surveys and, more importantly, how their results are reported. Like I say, not CAMRA per se



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