The perfect pint has a head of precisely nine millimetres, is served in a proper pint glass, at 5.30pm on a Saturday evening, in a beer garden with your other half.
This is according to a new study which claims to reveal the formula for the perfect pint drinking experience. What’s more, the pint should be accompanied by a packet of crisps, a good catch-up with your other half, and with mobile devices out of sight.
The perfect setting is a country pub, with a beer garden, and it should take exactly 28 minutes to enjoy.
The study, commissioned by St Austell Brewery’s Proper Job IPA to mark Cask Ale Week, also found that 43% of British beer fans want to be on friendly terms with the bar staff, and — in homage to the sitcom Cheers’ theme tune — 16% want to go where everybody knows your name.
More than six in ten beer aficionados feel strongly that great taste is a vital component to the perfect pint, and 65% said the food you eat to accompany a beer was crucial to the enjoyment of the drink, with crisps, a curry, a burger, and peanuts among the top food selections to partner with a pint.
Yet 23% of Brits said they hardly ever drink a faultless pint, with almost a third (32%t) claiming the temperature is always wrong.
Nearly three in ten (29%) claim loud music always ruins their drinking experience, and 38% say that their pints are spoilt by being served in dirty glasses.
Just over a quarter of Brits (26%) complain that many pubs and bars offer a poor selection of beers and four in ten bemoan the cost of a pint.
‘A perfect, proper pint’
A spokesman from representing the Proper Job IPA brand, said: “With our research, we wanted to shine a light on what makes a perfect, proper pint.
“At Proper Job we believe that everything should be proper, and for Cask Ale Week we wanted to find out what British beer aficionados say makes a proper pint. Our research reveals that there are many important factors, ranging from who you’re drinking it with, where you’re drinking it and at what time of the day.
“Taste is key for the majority of beer lovers, and what you eat with your beer is also really important. We hope this study will help Brits enjoy a proper pint during Cask Ale Week.”
According to the research, 22% of British adults think it’s become harder to get a decent pint in the last decade. And yet, 45% described a pint as vital to Britain, claiming it was part of our national character.
Beer writer Roger Protz said: “In Britain, beer is so much more than just a drink. It’s about the overall experience — good taste, ideally suited food pairings, served in proper pubs by landlords who are obsessed with beer quality and doing things the right way when it comes to the conditioning. There are many things to consider when it comes to the essential ingredients of a perfect pint.
“It’s reassuring to see that Brits are more passionate than ever about the doing things properly when it comes to enjoying beer.”
