‘An insult to our intelligence!’ Pub owners in Stamford, Spalding and Grantham respond to calls to ban pints

Calls to ditch pints in pubs have been labelled ‘ridiculous’ and an ‘insult to our intelligence’ by one pub owner.

Other landlords have welcomed the idea of making smaller glass-sizes more readily available… but only if we can keep our traditional measures too.

A Cambridge University study has suggested Britain’s boozers do away with the much-loved pint for health reasons, replacing them with 2/3 pint measures known as schooners.

“What a ridiculous idea,” said Mick Thurlby, owner of Stamford pubs Tobie Norris, The Crown and Paten & Co.

“It’s an insult to our intelligence really isn’t it? If you normally have two pints you’re going to have three schooners aren’t you?

“It’s bonkers and I can’t see how it’ll ever happen.”

The study argues changes to how we consume our booze could help the battle against health issues linked to heavy drinking, including several cancers, after a trial found a 10% drop in consumption after ditching pints.

However, Mr Thurlby believes such a move would hit pubs in the pocket but not deter drinking.

Also: Local pubs added to Good Beer Guide 2024

“Are they going to make every tin in the supermarket smaller as well? That tin of Stella you get on a Friday night from the supermarket, that’s 440ml,” he said.

“Are they going to reduce the size of that as well if it’s all about you cutting down drinking? Surely they’ll have to reduce the size of the vessel in your house as well?

“More alcohol is served through the supermarket trade than it is in pubs, so why do you want to put further cost burdens on regulating pubs - we are losing 50 a week - and let supermarkets carry on selling alcohol for a loss?

“If they sell you a slab of Stella when the football’s on at a loss they don’t pay VAT. They make their money on the crisps and the rest of the stuff you buy in there.

“If I have to sell you a Peroni for £6 I’ve got £1.20 VAT in there. That can’t be right.

“Why do you want to hammer the pub industry even more by putting more reform in on selling lesser quantities, which will cost less money, so you’ll probably take less money and more pubs will shut down.”

Some publicans are in favour of offering the additional measure.

“Good luck getting hold of the glasses. I’ve been trying to get them for years,” laughed Eddie Pimlott, landlord at Grantham’s Nobody Inn.

“I’ve looked at getting schooners. In the summer it’d be better as your drink gets warmer and you can get it down quicker.”

Mr Pimlott also believes the 2/3 measure would prove a hit with some drinkers.

“We get quite a few ladies come in and a half’s not enough and a pint’s a bit too much,” he added.

“And the younger ones these days don’t drink like we used to. I’m in my 50s but we used to go out with the lads, have 10 or 12 pints, and it was a good drink.

“You tend to notice it more at Christmas, but 12pm until 7pm when our age groups are out they’re all drinking pints. You get to 7pm and the younger ones are all drinking spirits.

Read our pub reviews from the Secret Drinker here.

“I don’t think they’ll scrap a pint though. They should give people the choice.

Charlie Rawlings, who co-owns the Prior’s Oven in Spalding suggested that ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’.

“I thought it was just completely nonsensical,” he said.

“Generally we’re pint drinkers here, stuck in our ways and uncomfortable with anything modern. Any health advice is frowned upon.

“If our customers were told they couldn’t have a pint I think they’d laugh. They know we’d be the last people who tried to conform and tell them what they should and shouldn’t be doing.

Mr Rawlings also questioned whether drinking pints in pubs is the major cause of alcohol-related health issues in the UK.

“Is beer drinking in a pub a concern regarding alcohol consumption countrywide?” he asked.

“I’d be more concerned about drinking at home alone, without socialising, drinking spirits and wines.

“Generally beer drinkers, if you’re drinking higher volumes at lower strength alcohol, I’d think that’s got to be a beneficial thing. Socialising is also a benefit to mental health.

“Drinking shots in a nightclub late at night is probably worse, I’d have thought.”