It’s been serving up boozy treats for more than 30 years but drinkers can forget supping a pint at this year’s Leeds Beer Festival.
And organisers of the much-loved event, held at Pudsey Civic Hall for the past 20 years, have decided this is no time for half measures either.
They have taken the radical decision to ditch pints and half pints in favour of third and two-third measures.
And it’s understood to be the first time any drinking hole in the country has tried it.
David Dixon, from festival organisers Leeds CAMRA, said: “Nowhere, as far as we know, has dropped halves and pints, even on a temporary basis – that’s anywhere in the country, not just Leeds.”
He added: “We say the reason for this is we are the first to be brave enough to give it a try.”
Mr Dixon said their research showed festival-goers’ least favourite measure was a pint, and half-pint tankards had also proved unpopular. Drinks will still be served in pint glasses but they will be marked with a line at a third and two-thirds full.
Simon Jenkins, Yorkshire Evening Post beer writer, said: “I understand why some people might be unhappy that beer will no longer be served in pints or half pints but a third of a pint gives people the opportunity to try a beer before deciding whether to commit to a larger measure – plus the chance to try lots of different beers at the festival.
“I think it is a very positive and interesting way forward.”
The three-day festival, which kicks off on March 14, boasts 200 Real Ales, plus traditional real cider and perry from around the country. The theme is the Top 20, to mark 20 years at its current venue and the list of beers includes distinctively named tipples such as Black Death Porter; Ragged Robin and Sleeping with the Fishes.
The Global Beer Bar will feature US craft beers and there will be performances from local musicians plus food and a tombola. Entry ranges from free to £5. It is free for CAMRA members except on Friday evening, £3.
HISTORY OF A PINT POT
Until the end of the Victorian era, pub-goers mostly drank out of pewter tankards, which hid the sediment floating around in their beer.
The first mass-produced beer glass, the 10-sided, handled pint mug, arrived in the 1920s.
After the war, the dimpled beer mug came into favour.
In the 1960s, the dimpled mug went into terminal decline with brewers claiming drinkers preferred a lighter, straighter glass.
The UK Government introduced two-thirds pint glasses in 2011 in a bid to curb binge drinking.
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