Mildly Infuriating @lemmy.world uhmbah @lemmy.ca 8 mo. ago

Et tu, Guinnéss?

500ml to 440ml?

Edit: the 440 on the right, is the last of a can that I bought in a four pack. The 500 on the left, is one of three I bought as singles.

Packaged Guinness comes in 440 milliliters. Single cans of Guinness come in 500 mL.

Apparently, that's how Guinness does it here in Canada.

And apparently, I lazily avoided any attempt to research or apply any level of critical thinking before posting.

86 comments

That is not new though? I am fairly certain I bought both sizes at various places all over Europe. I guess the 440 is meant for the british market while the 500 is intended for civilised countries.
- Yeah, this is not new and not shrinkflation… here in Canada the 440ml has been around for over 20 years in multi-packs, and the 500ml is available as individual cans.
- Germany has the 440, Belgium has(had?) the 500.
  
  My local Aldi had the 500ml cans here in Germany this week so I guess you could get both.
- In Britain lots of beers come on both sizes, and it makes comparing prices #mildlyinfuriating. Is 6x500ml at £7.99 better than 4x440ml at £4.50? What if there's an 12 pack of 330ml stubbies for £15, but it's Buy One Get One Free?
  
  Purely curious myself, I asked GPT4 for you. This is the response:
  
  Here’s how the prices compare per liter:
  
  • 6x500ml at £7.99: £2.66 per liter • 4x440ml at £4.50: £2.56 per liter • 12x330ml at £15 (Buy One Get One Free): £1.89 per liter
  
  The 12 pack of 330ml stubbies (with the Buy One Get One Free offer) offers the best value at £1.89 per liter.
- 440ml is a UK variant. No one has a confirmed explanation for its existence alongside 500ml.
  
  However 440ml of water would be 0.44kg which is just under one pound imperial weight (0.45kg). Presumably the fluid plus the aluminium can would weight about 1lb which may explain the odd volume measure (given transport costs and possibly even how customs costs may have used to work?).
- An imperial pint is 568 ml.
  
  A pint in the American customary unit system is 473 ml.
- Why would the 440ml be for the UK specifically?
  
  I always thought it was because 440ml is a round number when you convert it from metric to medieval units (not a pint though, which is 568ml), but a quick google shows me there's another reason:
  
  One reason for the popularity of the 440ml size is its convenience for calculating alcohol units. A 440ml can at 4.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) equates to exactly 2 units of alcohol, making it easier for consumers to track their alcohol consumption
  
  Permanently Deleted
- Beer in the UK is usually sold in pints, 1 pint = 538ml https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310651734
  
  P.S. I'm wrong, a pint is 568ml. Shrinkflation for real!
  
  A pint is 568ml.
  
  Edit: the extra 30ml might be accounted for with the patented Guinness widget, a little ball of nitrogen gas that ruptures and forms a foamy head when the can is cracked.
This is not shrinkflation.

440ml is a UK variant. No one has a confirmed explanation for its existence alongside 500ml, but it's been around for decades.

However 440ml of water would be 0.44kg which is just under one pound imperial weight (0.45kg). Presumably the fluid plus the aluminium can would weigh about 1lb which may explain the odd volume measure (given transport costs are often by weight and possibly even how customs costs may have used to work?).
- Guinness in the UK is sold in pints, like any other beer and ale (and milk) https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/310651734
  
  1 pint = 538ml
  
  P.S. I'm wrong, a pint is 568ml. Shrinkflation for real!
  
  In a pub yes. But in cans both 500ml and 440ml are common sizes and have been for a long time. Pint sized cans are sometimes available but are much less common and I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them in a big multipack
I always wonder how far companies will go with this. Do they stop at 300ml? 200ml? Are we going to see 100ml cans of Guinness?
- Guinness is owned by diageo a company know for having no bottom, toptier shit heads. They'd charge you full price to spit in your mouth if they could.
  
  Also unpopular oppionion don't drink this mediocre beer. Support local brewery's there is probably one with a porter on nitro (guiness is barely a stout).
  
  Sorry Irish people your cultural touchstone is a bit shit.
  
  Fun fact. Arthur Guinness was a staunch Unionist.
  
  Any famous beer that is associated with a country is usually shit.... Like molson canadian, fosters, or bud light
  
  It took me a while to realize guinness falls firmly into this category as well
  
  They'd charge you full price to spit in your mouth if they could.
  
  TIL Guinness is owned by dominatrixes...? Dominatrices?
  
  I did local-ish. Then they were bought out and shrinkflated.
  
  https://lemmy.ca/post/11674959
  
  Was drinking Guinness til I found another.
- While I agree with the general sentiment, these are both standard sizes for Guinness and the 440ml 4 packs and 8 packs have been around for well over 20 years. Here in Canada, the 440ml are available in the multi packs while the 500ml are sold as individual cans. I’ve seen the same in the states. I think OP just saw the smaller volume can next to the slightly bigger one and jumped on the shrinkflation hate train without checking.
- shot cans. by germany's definition, cus that's only 20 ml.
- Do they stop at 300ml? 200ml? Are we going to see 100ml cans of Guinness?
  
  Speaking purely for frozen vegetables, there doesn't seem to be a bottom. I was buying packs that were 1.2 or 1.3kg, then it went down to 1kg, then 750, now 500g... seeing a 500g package at MORE than what 1KG was selling for is hilariously infuriating. Not to mention, it uses twice the plastic to get the same amount of food.
  
  I curse any company that does this.
  
  Shrinkflation is the worse. Not only is it a sneaking price hike, it's like the company is trying to gaslight you into thinking it was always that size.
Good one to cross post here: https://lemmy.ca/c/shrinkflation
- Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !shrinkflation@lemmy.ca
  
  On that note, I'm kind of annoyed that the Threadiverse doesn't have a standard way to link to a post or comment in a cross-instance way, just to a community.
6 pack bottles used to be 12 fl. oz. and they changed to 11.2. This was 5 or more years ago though.
- Dafuk is a floz
  
  About 0.000124 hogsheads
  
  A unit of measurement they use in Florida.
  
  Fantasy ounces, I think it's used in D&D. What's an ounce, though? Beats me.
  
  fluid ounces
  
  Guys, he made the joke!
  
  Fluid ounce.
Imperial weight, thank the Brits.
- An imperial pint is 568 mL.
  
  A pint in the American customary unit system is 473 mL.
  
  I don't think anything is 440 mL.
  
  I think that beer on the right is 440mL.
  
  The 440ml beer + can weight is an imperial pound.
  
  440ml = 440g + 14g can weight
I'm astroturfing, but: https://lemmy.ca/c/shrinkflation :)

Edit: someone already linked it apparently, oops
- Hi there! Looks like you linked to a Lemmy community using a URL instead of its name, which doesn't work well for people on different instances. Try fixing it like this: !shrinkflation@lemmy.ca
Not only in Canada. My wife just commented that she has never even seen a 500ml Guinness can, both single and multipack come in 440ml here.
Happened here in the states about a year ago. So now the usual pint glasses look weird. But they have the new smaller 14oz ones. Dumb.
I just bought dog food today. What was 50 lbs is now 40. The next size down used to be 35 lbs. When it gets down to 35, will they reintroduce a 50 pound bag or will I need to buy two 35 now?
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