Where to get a 20 oz pint of beer in Calgary

Find 20 oz Pints in Calgary

A pint of beer in Canada is 20 fluid imperial ounces. Anything less than that is cannot legally be sold as pint, otherwise the business can face fines from the government (I’ve heard $50k). They can, however, call it a pint if they put the volume beside it, so, for example, a “14 oz pint”. Yes, it’s ridiculous to do that, but it’s pretty common. For some reason, the word ‘pint’ has become synonymous with any/all sizes of beer pours, and it’s not very often a server will let you know you’re not getting a pint if it’s less than 20 oz, unless you specifically ask. A pint is a unit of measurement.

• Canadian/British Pint = 568 ml or 20 fl oz (Imperial) or 19.2 fl oz (US)
• US Pint = 473 ml or 16.7 fl oz (Imperial) or 16 fl oz (US)

Imagine you go into a craft pop poppery and you order 1L can of of their finest pop, and they bring you a 355 ml can, what would you say? Would you be able to contain your rage? I don’t know if I could man. Why is it okay to do this with beer? A pint is a pint is a pint. There’s nothing wrong with serving up other sizes, just don’t call them a pint. It would also be cool if you didn’t charge the same prices as places that do serve up 20 ounce pints but ¯(ツ)/¯

Why Do Some Places Have Smaller Sized Pours?

To play devils advocate, there are some legitimate reasons why you might not find a 20 oz pint pour at a business. Here are some points to consider:

• Glassware can be more expensive for the larger sizes
• Smaller sizes means less alcohol going into your system
• Larger sizes of drinks can overwhelm your pallet if you’re into really tasting beer
• Producing locally made smaller batches of craft beer can cost more than mass-produced beer from the Molsons and Budweisers
• Opening an independent brewery is very expensive and they need to recoup their investment as best they can

Whatever the reasons, that’s not what this blog post is about! Let’s celebrate local businesses that DO serve up a full 20 ounces of beer! Yay! Below is a list of those that sling full, glorious, legal Canadian pints.

Bars, Pubs, Restaurants

Each of the establishments below do a 20 ounce pour, but they might also do smaller sizes. Please drop a comment in at the bottom if there’s a place missing!

• Atlas Pizza & Sports Bar Address: 6060 Memorial Dr SE
• Bear and Kilt Address: 110 8 Ave SW
• BLANCO Cantina Address: 723 17 Ave SW
• Bull & Finch (Stella, Heineken,  Guinness  only)
  • Address: 11520 24 St SE
  • Address: 10233 Elbow Dr SW
  • Address: 2335 162 Ave SW
• City Pub Address: 2835 37 St SW
• Civic Tavern (used to be called Hop In Brew Pub) Address: 213 12 Ave SW
• Coach and Horses Ale Room Address: 150 Millrise Blvd SW
• Dixon’s Public House Address: 24 – 15425 Bannister Rd SE
• Fox on 6th Address: 708 8 Ave SW
• JOEY Chinook (Guinness only) Address: 6455 Macleod Trail SW
• Joyce on 4th (imported only) Address: 506 24 Ave SW
• Juliet’s Castle Sports Lounge Address: 440 16 Ave NE
• Kensington Pub Address: 207 10a St NW
• Kilkenny Irish Pub Address: 3630 Brentwood Rd NW
• King Eddy Address: 438 9 Ave SE
• Limericks Traditional Public House Address: 7304 Macleod Trail SW
• Leopold’s Tavern
  • Address: 1201 1 St SW
  • Address: 6512 Bowness Rd NW
• Mad Rose Pub (Royal Oak) Address: 15 Royal Vista Place NW
• Murdoch’s Bar & Grill Address: #60, 1935 37 St SW
• Palomino Smokehouse Address: 109 7 Ave SW
• Pig & Duke
  • Address: 1312 12 Ave SW
  • Address: 503 4 Ave SW
• Posto Pizzeria & Bar Address: 1014 8 St SW
• Rose & Crown Pub (Guinness only) Address: 1503 4 St SW
• Schooners Neighborhood Pub Address: 6416 Old Banff Coach Rd SW
• Scotsmans Well Address: 12024 Symons Valley Rd NW
• Side Street Bar & Grill Address: 1167 Kensington Crescent NW
• Social Beer Haus Address: 220 8 Ave SW (Stephen Avenue)
• Southland Yard Address: 135 Southland Dr SE
• Stavros Pizza & Sports Bar Address: 5 – 7750 Ranchview Dr NW
• Stockmans Restaurant & lounge Address: 300 Pine Creek Road SW
• Swigs Pub & Grill Address: 11213 30 St SW
• The Cat n Fiddle Pub Address: 540 16 Ave NW
• The Dog & Duck Pub Address: 5340 2 St SW
• The Ship & Anchor Address: 534 17 Ave SW
• The Tommyfield Gastro Pub Address: 920 – 19489 Seton Crescent SE
• The Unicorn Address: 223 8 Ave SW
• Toad N Turtle
  • Address: 2475 27 Ave NE
  • Address: 5155 130 Ave SE
  • Address: (Airdrie) 1900 Market St

Breweries

• Annex Ale Project Address: 4323 1 St SE
• Banded Peak Brewing Address: 119 – 519 34 Ave SE
• Citizen Brewing Company Address: 227 35 Ave NE
• Elite Brewing & Cidery Address: 1319 Edmonton Trail NE
• Goodmood Brewery Address: 2123 – 4416 64 Ave SE
• Half Hitch Brewing (Cochrane) Address: 10 Griffin Industrial Point 
• Legend 7 Brewing Address: 4025 9 St SE
• Mill Street Brewpub Address: 219 17 Ave SW
• Railyard Brewing Address: 121 – 10301 19 St NE
• Toolshed Brewing Address: 801 30 St NE
• Trolley 5 Address: 728 17 Ave SW
• Village Brewery Address: 5000 12a St SE
• Wild Rose Brewery Address: 4580 Quesnay Wood Dr SW

20 oz Calgary Beer Map

Layers for NW/NE/SW/SE, and breweries. If I’m missing anything please drop it in a comment below! Thanks!

File A Complaint With Measurement Canada

If you find a business advertising a ‘pint’ and they bring you something that isn’t 20 ounces, you can file a complaint with the government. They’ll send someone to the business to investigate and maybe they’ll catch a fine. The easiest way to tell what size the glass is, is to ask your server.

If they advertise a 20 oz pint and serve it to you in a 20 oz glass, you’re probably getting a little bit less than 20 oz, due to the foam/head. The pint measurement specifically does NOT include the foam/head. Some places will use glasses that are larger than 20 oz, but will have a 20 oz fill line, or the size of the glass printed on the side. That is the proper way of serving a pint.

Pints of draft beer:

• A pint contains 20 fluid ounces (568 milliliters) in Canada.
• The limit of error for 20 fluid ounces is 0.5 fluid ounces (15 milliliters).
• The foam (head) is not included in the measurement.

You can submit a complaint here.

Conclusion

I like beer. Not being served beer in a 20 oz pint is not the end of the world, I’d just like to see beer pouring equality across Canada. Mmm beer.

crackmacs

Blogging in Calgary.

Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Join the Calgary Discord Server!