On 26 Mar 2015 at 6:48pm David wrote:
I used to enjoy an expensive pint of a special guest ale poured into a 'measured' (marks on the glass for a full pint etc.) glass. The Snowdrop now seem to have discontinued this honest measure as apparently the bar staff were 'overfilling' this particular glass. Now if I want one of their expensive pints it is poured into a normal (underfilled) pint glass. May I suggest (Tony) that it is the education of the bar staff that is at fault if you want to use this as an excuse to get rid of all the decent measured pint glasses.
P.S. Is this local and unpolitical enough?
On 26 Mar 2015 at 7:06pm Landlord wrote:
Can't really see your point , if they are not serving pints then they are in breach , and I thought it was law for pubs to have marked glasses
On 26 Mar 2015 at 11:21pm Belladonna wrote:
So take it direct to the landlord - and if they don't change the glass then change your pub.
On 26 Mar 2015 at 11:33pm bob wrote:
If you realiy want to get ripped off, go to the jht !
On 27 Mar 2015 at 10:38am huw wrote:
There was a big campaign by CAMRA for pubs to use oversized, marked glasses a few years ago. This fell by the wayside soon after as, more often than not, it resulted in more than a pint being dispensed. There's probably some physics along the lines of surface tension and other bits involved not just untrained staff and I assume if it's on one of the more expensive lines the wastage is more noticeable. The other problem with over sized glasses is that a lot of customers complain they have been short measured because they think the glass hasn't been filled up and it becomes fairly painful having the same conversation 50 times a shift.
On 27 Mar 2015 at 10:42am stevet wrote:
I’ve always thought it slightly ridiculous that glasses of beer have to be filled to the brim. One would never do the same with wine or a cup of tea (or any other Beveridge for that matter). The oversized glasses make so much sense
On 27 Mar 2015 at 10:55am Paul wrote:
While we're at it can I ask that the snowy chef fries their chips a bit longer? A beige chip isn't a chip - it's just a cooked potato!
On 27 Mar 2015 at 11:34am Paul wrote:
While we're at it can I ask that the snowy chef fries their chips a bit longer? A beige chip isn't a chip - it's just a cooked potato!
On 27 Mar 2015 at 12:43pm Ed Can Do wrote:
It's always amazed me how upset some people get about their pint being "Short" a couple of millimetres. I can think of no other product that illicits the same level of consternation if the exact volume to the drop isn't dispensed. Go and have a look at the bottles of milk in Tesco and see if you can find two with exactly the same amount of milk in, it's pretty much impossible but you don't see people demanding that the last few drops are added.
On 27 Mar 2015 at 2:02pm GhostBike wrote:
I know people who get very upset if their cup of tea is not almost overflowing. They accuse you of "making half a cup".
On 27 Mar 2015 at 2:09pm Paul Newman wrote:
I remember working at a petrol station and people were convinced I had a special button that out the last penny on and that I collected them for my special pot of ill earned filthy lucre bwoo hoo ha ha ha ha and it was all TRUE ....
( Not really natch )
On 27 Mar 2015 at 5:37pm Old Bike wrote:
Trouble is Ed can do, milk is n't £3.50 a pint. Due to the shape of the glasses, 10mm off the top can equate to 10% of the total. 35 pence. Multiplied by 50 times a night and you can see the reason for short measures.
Someone showed me a photo of a pint of Guinness he was served (not in Lewes) and the black stuff was halfway down the harp on the side of the glass. His wife wouldn't let him complain. Hilarious!
On 27 Mar 2015 at 5:56pm Belladonna wrote:
When I worked in a pub many years ago we always had to fill almost to the top, then let the beer settle, then top up to the rim - both lager, bitter and Guinness.
On 27 Mar 2015 at 6:46pm Tony@thesnowdrop wrote:
As can be seen by the responses above, people have different opinions of the ideal beer glass so whatever ones we choose, someone will object.
All our glasses are government stamped and the law states that a pint of beer may be up to five per cent head and 95 per cent liquid. Our staff are always happy to top your pint up if you wish and we've decided that this is a better policy for now.
Because of the time a pint takes to settle it is very difficult to ensure that the liquid reaches the line exactly every time, particularly when your beers are constantly changing, as the level of carbonation and viscosity varies considerably. It is as illegal to sell beer in over measures as under measures so how best to achieve the exact measure is an ongoing problem in the trade that has yet to be solved, but a pint glass seems to come closest and raises the least objections from customers.
As Huw states, educating the customer has proved at least as big of a problem as training staff when using lined oversized glasses. It really isn't pleasant to be repeatedly accused of trying to rip customers off, even when they are perfectly polite about it.
The fact is that in Britain we expect the top of the head of our beer to reach the brim of the glass and we need to change this expectation if lined oversize glasses are to become the norm. If the head doesn't reach the rim, the beer appears flat and the pint looks tampered with. We are not the only ones who have experimented with them - Wetherspoons were the first chain to introduce lined oversize glasses across their entire estate many years ago and quickly withdrew them following adverse customer reaction.
As for the colour of our chips - we double cook them (I think triple cooking makes their surface too hard and glassy) from fresh potatoes rather than frozen potatoes. Because they are made from seasonally available potatoes the varieties vary through the year and consequently so does their colour and flavour. Some seasonal varieties simply will not achieve the perfect depth of colour but are the most suitable at a given time of year. Trust me, I've done the research and on the subject of chips I really do speak from experience!
On 27 Mar 2015 at 9:21pm Ted Crilley wrote:
Tony, you're a legend.
On 27 Mar 2015 at 11:21pm Tony@TheSnowdrop wrote:
Actually, on the subject of politics & pubs, some readers of this site might be interested in the fact that after many years of campaigns against pubco abuse of tenant licensees, the queen has just given royal assent to an act which will regulate the pub companies behaviour and give tied publicans an option to buy their beer from wherever they want after their next rent review. This means for customers that many pubs, apart from freehouses, will be able to stock a considerably better range of beers than they are currently allowed and not have to pay up to twice the market price. It's the result of ten years of dedicated campaigning and innumerable setbacks along the way. It will result in a fairer playing field and frankly a great deal more competition for pubs like the Snowdrop and I believe will result in a far more vibrant and exciting pub industry.
I have no political party allegences but I think it's worth mentioning that this free market initiative has been vigorously opposed by Tory government ministers apparently led by George Osborne. I would also like to point out that Norman Baker has been very supportive of publicans and was extremely proud to vote in favour of the bill against the government in his first vote following his resignation as a Government Minister.
In the interests of balance I should also point out that the Labour Party & Caroline Lucas supported the bill against the government, as did many individual Tories & Lib Dems.
I'm not aware of any UKIP involvement so I don't know if Nigel Farage's frequent eagerness to pose with a pint of Greene King IPA should be taken as pro or anti licensee. Rumours amongst licensees of a sponsorship deal remain pure speculation.
On 28 Mar 2015 at 10:18am Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
The change to the ludicrous "tie" is long overdue and very welcome.
As for Farage's frequent guzzling of Greene King, that's another good reason for not voting for him and his cronies. He should be drinking local stuff from the Whitstable brewery or that microbrewery at Faversham, both produce great beers.
Greene King has its place, undoubtedly, but that place is Suffolk.
On 28 Mar 2015 at 10:46am Mavis wrote:
Annette that sounds a tad 'blokey' if i may say !!
On 29 Mar 2015 at 12:25pm feline wrote:
Some of us females have very strong feelings about beer Mavis!
On 1 Apr 2015 at 7:40pm MuttsNutts wrote:
If british pubs were as scrupulous in there glasses being cleaned thoroughly as the german bars are, then we would all get a better pint with a decent head on it, and less cold sores.