Study Shows Shrinking Pint Size Reduces Beer Consumption, Boosts Wine Sales‌ ‌

Shrinking the pint would slash the amount of beer Brits drink, according to a new study. JOSH OLALDE VIA UNSPLASH

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Shrinking the pint would slash the amount of beer Brits drink, according to a new study.

When 13 English pubs sold “pints” two-thirds of their normal size for four weeks the amount of ale sold plummeted by almost 10%, say scientists.

However, the Cambridge University study also saw a surge in wine sales when the smaller “pints” were being served.

The research team say their findings, published in the journal PLoS Medicine, indicate that serving smaller “pints” in pubs would be an effective way of reducing overall booze consumption.

The study was conducted after previous research found that when wine by the glass was offered in smaller servings, the amount sold decreased.

But similar studies had not investigated the effect on other alcoholic drinks.

Cambridge University Professor Theresa Marteau and her colleagues approached hundreds of pubs, bars and restaurants and asked them to remove the pint serving size and instead offer two-thirds of a pint as the largest ale option for four weeks, with four-week non-intervention periods before and after as a comparison.

The team said that although customers did not complain, fewer than one per cent of the venues approached agreed to participate and, in the end, only 13 establishments took part.

The researchers found that removing the pint reduced the daily mean volume of beer, lager and cider sold by 9.7%.

But there was a 7.2% in the amount of wine purchased, with one pub contributing to half of the increase in wine sales.