Michigan Beer Bill: Law Requires All Pints Be At Least 16 Ounces, Or Else
![Michigan Beer Bill](https://d.medicaldaily.com/en/full/259260/michigan-beer-bill.jpg?w=450&f=138487eec445a1817e4534fc3d67ef66)
All bartenders in the United States can tell you that a pint of beer is 16 oz., but is that the amount they’re serving you? Thanks to a Michigan beer bill, bar patrons won’t have to worry about getting less booze than what they paid for.
According to a handful of lawmakers around the state, bars and restaurants have started using “cheater pints,” and the public has been none the wiser. These deceiving beer receptacles appear to be a pint, but only hold around 12 to 14 oz. due to a reinforced bottom.
Michigan bar owners are at odds with the amendment to the Liquor Control Act seeing as it would require them to buy all new size-appropriate glassware. John Holl, editor of All About Beer magazine, told the Associated Press that concerned alcohol purveyors could avoid any hassle by calling it something other than a pint.
The bill has been sponsored by Rep. Brandon Dillon (R-Grand Rapids) and Rep. David Knezek (D-Dearborn Heights). If it receives approval, it will be unlawful to "advertise or sell any glass of beer as a pint in this state unless that glass contains at least 16 ounces of beer."
“It’s kind of a truth-in-advertising issue,” Dillon told NBC News. “When you sell a product, you have to sell what you’re claiming to be offering.”
This “truth in advertising” is a breath of fresh air for people who have been duped into paying for a pint only to receive a 12-oz. glass. “A pint should be a pint, and a U.S. pint to the best of my knowledge has 16 ounces,” self-employed plumber, Gary Lord, told the Detroit Free Press.