# Beer Bottles

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 17, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071 "2003-10-17T18:56:17Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tast1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/91b2a8/32.png) [@tast1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tast1)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/1 "2003-10-17T18:56:17Z")

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Anyone out there know why a bottle of beer in the US is 12 oz. and a pint is, well, a pint?

Any history on the emergence of those standard sizes would be greatly appreciated . . .

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**Author:** ![NeSBiT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@NeSBiT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeSBiT)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/2 "2003-10-17T21:01:56Z")

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I don’t know any of the history, but a pint is simply 16 fl oz.

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**Author:** ![tobeylee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ea924/32.png) [@tobeylee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tobeylee)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/3 "2003-10-17T23:45:42Z")

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I don’t know what the deal is with the 12oz vs. Pint. I would guess the answer is along the same line as feet vs. meters. But anyway, has anyone noticed the new Miller Lite bottles? Is this a seasonal thing or what?

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**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/4 "2003-10-18T00:06:44Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by NeSBiT \*  
> \*\*I don’t know any of the history, but a pint is simply 16 fl oz. \*\*

Well, not so simply – in the UK and Ireland, and at plenty of faux-Irish pubs in the US, a pint is 20 ounces. And both ounces and pints are non-metric measures, so the feet vs. meters thing isn’t really comparable.

No clue how 12 and 16 ounces got to be the “standard” beer sizes in the US, sorry.

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**Author:** ![Qburn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/bc79bd/32.png) [@Qburn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qburn)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/5 "2003-10-18T00:08:37Z")

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Beer & soda was first dispensed on tap. Beer was dispensed in pint and quart sized glasses(hence the phrase 'mind your P’s & Q’s).

In 1892, the crown cap was invented, allowing easy bottling. The bottling of sodas really took hold in the 1920’s with the marketing of ‘Home Paks’, the first 6-packs. The soda industry first used 6 ounce ‘split’ bottles, then 8 ounce, and larger & larger. 12 ounce bottles are used for their convenience of size & weight in 6 packs, and for their compatibility in bottling machines and bottle dispensers(soda machines).

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**Author:** ![gentle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gentle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gentle)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/beer-bottles/208071/6 "2003-10-18T01:04:46Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Qburn \*  
> … **(hence the phrase 'mind your P’s & Q’s).**

Maybe, [maybe not](http://www.quinion.com/words/articles/psandqs.htm).