Alcohol measures
The problem
It's busy behind the bar, and your new barman has been asked by a customer for five pints of lager and two cocktails. The customer turns out to be a trading standards officer who is now measuring the pints of lager into an official marked measuring device. He indicates to you that he is not happy about the way the cocktails have been prepared. Should you be worried?
The law
As far as beer, lager and cider are concerned, the current law is rather woolly. The basic legal requirement is that when a person asks for a pint, they should get a "pint". However, the case law means that a "pint" is not always what it seems.
Apart from the obvious example of a pint of Guinness, where customers expect their pint to have a significant creamy head, consumers in different parts of the country have different regional tastes. In the North of England, there is a preference for pints with a big head. In the South, they prefer flat beer.
The leading test case in this area held that it was a matter of fact whether or not the head of froth on the beer/lager was excessive. The court dismissed a prosecution in that case, finding that customers in West Yorkshire demand beer with a tight creamy head and that, when they order a pint of beer which is offered in a pint brim glass, the licensee sells not a pint of liquid beer, but a full pint glass containing liquid beer and a tight creamy head.
For some time, the Government has been concerned about this lack of clarity in the law, although there have been industry guidelines which recommend that measures of draught beer, lager and cider should comprise not less than 95% liquid after the collapse of any head of froth. It is now proposed that legislation will be enacted within the next six months to give these guidelines the force of law. Thereafter, any deficiency greater than 5% will be capable of prosecution.
As far as the cocktails are concerned, the trading standards officer tells you that your barman made the cocktails without measuring the spirits which went into them accurately. In this case, the trading standards officer is on unsure ground. The law requires that gin, whisky, rum and vodka (but no other spirits) are served in measures of 25ml or multiples thereof. There is an exception to this legal requirement when the spirits are a constituent of a drink involving three or more liquids.
Expert advice
Once the new legislation is in place, prosecutions for short measure will become much easier for trading standards officers.
There is likely to be a defence available to a prosecution if the licensee has exercised all due diligence and used all reasonable precautions to ensure that the offence should not take place. This will involve proving that all staff have been properly trained.
New training should be instituted in relation to the use of pumps, brim or lined glasses, and any jugs which are used for the service of beer and lager which might hold more than one pint. All training should be monitored, documented, regularly reviewed and updated.
Spot-testing Staff who work behind bars will need to be spot-tested to ensure that they are pouring accurately and consistently. With regard to cocktails, it is important to remember that only whisky, gin, rum and vodka are required to be sold in those specific measures. Other spirits, such as brandy, can be sold in whatever measures the licensee considers to be appropriate.
The requirement to serve in specific measures for all spirits falls away once the spirit is part of a drink involving three or more constituent liquids.
Beware!
When the new legislation is enacted, expect trading standards officers to be unusually enthusiastic in seeking to enforce this legislation. There will be much publicity about it and consumer organisations are very supportive of the change in the law.
Check list
Have staff been trained already?
Is your existing training adequate?
Prepare to implement a new training schedule and a rota of spot checks.
Arrange for point of sale material to encourage customers to ask for a "top up" if they are not satisfied when delivered.
Contacts
Craig Baylis, Berwin Leighton Paisner 020 7427 1326
Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers
020 8579 2080
