Half pours at breweries/bars

I remember that. A bartender friend told me the idea was to get you to buy a 3rd beer thinking you would get another token. That token never came.

 

My local pub in Pennsylvania, USA always gives free samples. I have had up to 4 before deciding.

 

I like this approach. Figure out what you want and then commit to it. And dont check in every sample and rate them. Rate the beer you can experience a full serving of

 

Sounds like bullshit to me. Row 34 in Boston advertises half pours upon request, and Redbones offers 10, 12, 16, or 1 liter pours of all beers (stronger beers may not be served in 16 oz. or 1 liter). Granted one place is in Boston and the other Somerville, so neither is in Cambridge.

Lord Hobo is right up the street from Meadhall though and offers flights.

Yup, we have a cask ale festival here in Boston every year. They give you a nonic pint glass and you can get 5, 10, or 20 oz. pours (there’s fill lines on the side of the glass).

I won’t judge the beer from a 1/2 oz. pour, but I’ll judge whether I want to have 16 oz. of it.

Is it a place in Maine, if so which place if you don’t mind me asking?

The Schnitt originated in Germany didn’t it? (Not at craft beer bars obviously)

And in the Czech Republic they offer Mlìko pours. One of our local breweries, Notch, doesn’t offer flights, but they offer Schnitts and Mlìko pours.

 

A friendly warning to avoid Boston if you come to the States hoping to experience something different. The "hyped" sorts of IPAs you're referring to are often priced pretty similarly. $10ish for a 12 ounce (or smaller) pour isn't that unusual for whatever the DDH IPA of the moment is.

"Luckily" you can get more everyday sorts of beers that are just as good for the low low price of around $8 a pint.

#imostlydrinkathome

 

Most of the places here sell their half pours at just $1 dollar less than a full pour. Works for me because I get my beer in a portion size I generally prefer, seems like it works even better for the breweries and their pockets. Don't get why any brewery wouldn't do this ( not sold on the reasons offered in this thread) and, for myself, I 95% of the time won't return to a brewery that doesn't.

 

Hey, fellow Rhode Islander here. Seems like most places I've been do half-pours and flights. Maybe only the minority that don't?

 

If the samples are offered, that's cool.
If you asked for the samples, not cool.

 

I'm a huge fan of half-pours. I don't often want a full pint of anything, and I don't always want to get a flight every time, either. Especially if I'm driving. The last time I visited a local brewery a couple of weeks ago I ordered two half pints of the two beers I most wanted, and it worked perfectly.

 

I was in a pub in Covent Garden (The Plough on Museum Street), London last year and being an American tourist had no clue about the local beer scene. The bartender poured me sample after sample until I found something I truly liked— it took I swear like six tasters until I found one I actually liked (it was a Camden Town IPA). I was frankly getting quite embarrassed by then, but the bartender insisted I try his taps until I found a beer that suited me. I had found my pub and I tipped the guy like a dumb American until I came back home.

 

We sell 8.5, 12, and 16oz standard pours dictated by abv and/or cost. We also have 5oz tasters that most use to build their own flight, but you can just as easily order a solo 5oz if you just want a “half pour.”

My biggest complaint is the amount of guests that order a full pour of any beer and send it back bc they don’t like it. It happens far more than you might realize. We also will give out a free taste upon request which makes it more frustrating.

 

can't imagine the amount of glassware that you need to keep to serve 5oz tasters, 8.5, 12 and 16oz pours!

 

True...but glassware inventory can be reduced by 25% by using a 12oz tulip with an 8.5oz limit line.

 

One of the.bars here has 16oz branded tulips with lines marking every 2 oz from 6 on up