Maine Full Pint Bill Passes First Round

A Maine bill seeking to ensure beers advertised as pints are a full 16 ounces has passed its first round of votes in the Maine Legislature’s Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee.

The bill sponsored by Democratic Senator John Patrick, which passed 12-2, will crack down on bars and restaurants that advertise pints but serve them in 14 ounce glasses.

“It’s like truth in advertising,” Patrick told the Portland Press Herald. “As with any other standardized thing, if you buy something of a specific measure, you expect to get that much.”

Maine’s top liquor inspector Gregory Mineo said the bill, titled “An Act to Standardize Pints of Beer Sold in Maine,” will be impossible to enforce.

The bill requires that all 16 ounces of a pint glass must contain liquid, meaning all bars, restaurants and breweries would require new glassware to account for foam and spillover. 

“The glass industry would love it,” said Sean Sullivan, Director of the Maine Brewers guild. “But it would be difficult for our members to take on the costs.”

Similar bills have been introduced in Oregon and Michigan, but Maine’s is the first to reach the full House and Senate.