On 3 June, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy released the following statement, “In a tribute to Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, new government guidance published today will help businesses apply the Crown symbol to pint glasses. As long ago as 1698, British pint glasses intended for measuring and serving beer were marked with a crown stamp as a declaration that the glass, when filled to the brim or to a line measure, accurately measured a pint of beer. The Crown stamp gave customers confidence that they were not being sold a short measure of beer. But the symbol was replaced by the EU- wide ‘CE’ marking’ in 2006 in order to conform with EU rules in the UK. Alongside the Crown symbol guidance, a consultation has been published today on how to implement a change to the law on weights and measures, so that shoppers and business have greater choice over the way they buy and sell products .”
For CAMRA, this was too good an opportunity to miss to revive its full pint campaign. The Campaign has always believed that pub-goers have a legal right to receive a 100% per cent liquid pint but that is not currently how a pint of beer is defined in law, which means that consumers could be short-changed and have no recourse should, contrary to recommended industry practice, a top-up be refused.
Nik Antona, CAMRA’s national chairman said, “The Jubilee Bank Holiday was a brilliant success for pubs and social clubs across the UK and it was great to see a decisive statement from the government on fairness for consumers. However, while the Crown mark is a flagship signifier of the nation’s favourite drink, it isn’t enough to guarantee a full pint on its own. CAMRA has been calling for a pint of beer to be legally defined as 100% liquid for many years, to ensure consumers are not short-changed at the bar. The government now has a fantastic opportunity to give consumers the right to a full pint, defined as 100% liquid as part of the new consultation on weights and measures.”
More information about the Full Pints campaign can be seen here.
