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.

  • JrockwarEnglish
    23·
    10 months ago

    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

    • nilloc@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      7·
      10 months ago

      Nice sleuthing, I was just checking it against non metric volumes and closest is a US pint (437.1…ml).

      We all (maybe) learned something new today.

      • JrockwarEnglish
        7·
        10 months ago

        The UK measures alcohol in units to track total amount consumption, as it’s not easy to track with percentage in volume. A unit is 10 ml of pure alcohol, and cans/bottles/etc have the total units printed. That way it’s supposed to be easier to track how much alcohol you drink e.g. if you drink a beer, then a wine - now that’s 4 units.

        I’m not British so I’m not used to units, but at least that’s the theory.

      • Z4rK@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        10 months ago

        A non-standardized amount of grams of alcohol in a standard drink.

        Each country have their own definitions, usually between 8-14g somewhere, and then each country use that to create their own health rules of how many standard units of alcohol can be part of a healthy nutrition guidelines / low-risk consumption guidelines.

        https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/health-promotion-knowledge-gateway/national-low-risk-drinking-recommendations-drinking-guidelines_en

      • Hawk@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        3·
        10 months ago

        It’s a simplified version of ABV that the UK invented to easier track alcohol consumption

    • elucubra@sopuli.xyzEnglish
      22·
      10 months ago

      I guess it translates to one of those units used in the US and UK, that you divide by twentyeleven, then multiply by two large fries, and you get the result in football (which is actually hand-egg ball) fields.