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Other notable fails included Mahony & Sons at Canada Place — which claims on its menu that “all pints are 20 oz. Mahony size!” — and yet served only 16 ounces of Goose Island Honkers Ale.

Yaggers on West Pender advertised a pint of Okanagan Spring 1516 Lager on its street sign but produced only 16 ounces, as did Malones on West Pender for a Driftwood Fat Tug IPA.

Even calling your bar The Pint doesn’t guarantee a legal pour. The Sun received less than 18 ounces of Red Racer IPA from the Abbott Street establishment.

The Sun surveyed only pubs that advertised “pint” sales on their menus or signs — or where servers verbally confirmed the sale of pints.

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Six bars poured at or near the legal requirement for a pint: Rogue on West Cordova, Charlatan on Commercial Drive, Caffè Brixton on East Georgia, Alibi Room on Alexander Street, Library Square on West Georgia, and the Whip on East 6th.

The law is not at all fuzzy-headed on the issue of a legal pour.

Michel Cimpaye, a spokesperson for Industry Canada, explained that pubs and bars are required by the Weights and Measures Act to “deliver the quantity of commodity that they are claiming to sell.” In Canada, a “pint contains 20 ounces” and Ottawa defines the “limits of error on a pint as 0.5 ounces (about one tablespoon) above or below 20 ounces, not including the head or foam.”

Almost nothing is done to crack down on violators.

Measurements Canada does investigate consumer complaints, but the office is so little known to consumers that it fielded just one B.C. complaint about beer servings last year. Once the federal Fairness at the Pumps Act comes into the force on Aug. 1, bars can be fined up to $2,000 for violations.