Pub pours under the microscope as drinkers miss out
A federal government spot check has found plenty of Aussie pubs aren’t pouring a full drink.
Almost a third of venues tested failed to deliver a compliant serve, according to a recent audit by the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, which sent “secret shoppers” into 436 licensed venues nationwide last October. The timing isn’t great for pubs either, with parliament weighing up laws to freeze draught beer excise for the next two years.
Inspectors checked everything from schooners and pints to nips and shots, along with glassware, bar tools and automated dispensers. The pass rate came in at 68 per cent, while 84 per cent of venues were found to be using the correct measuring equipment.
Issues flagged in 130 non-compliance notices included unapproved glassware, incorrect standard measures and beer lost to spillage during the pour.
Industry Minister Tim Ayres said the results showed pubs were mostly doing the right thing, but there was still work to be done.
“Keeping the price of a schooner down is good, but so is keeping the level of the schooner up,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“Most pubs pass the pub test, but if 68 per cent of ‘secret shopper’ drinks are fully compliant, that means some people are paying schooner prices for middie vibes.”
The Daily Telegraph also ran its own informal pub test this week, dropping into several Sydney venues on a hot Thursday afternoon. The house beer was ordered at each stop and service was quick across the board, ticking the box for first impressions.
But when it came to what was actually in the glass, results were mixed. Only about one in three drinks passed the paper’s test. Some schooners were topped with thick, lingering heads that ate well into the pour, while others appeared underfilled, with the foam sitting noticeably below the rim.
Differences in head size, liquid level and overall volume raised questions about how consistent pours really are from venue to venue.
Australian Hotels Association chief executive Stephen Ferguson said the findings still showed strong overall compliance.
He said it was pleasing “the vast majority of members and pours were compliant”.
“However, it is a difficult process where they measure in the microlitres,” he said.
The compliance debate comes as Labor moves to pass legislation later this year to freeze indexation on beer excise for drinks sold in pubs, clubs and restaurants. The proposed change is backdated to August 2025, with excise on mid-strength beer currently sitting at about $43.49 per litre of alcohol.
Industry groups, including Spirits & Cocktails Australia and Diageo, are also lobbying for the freeze to cover tap spirits and ready-to-drink products served on premises.
For Sydney Park Hotel’s Will Middlehurst, the perfect pour is as much about presentation as precision.
He said a standout beer needed a “nice bit of dome on the head” of around 1cm to 2cm, so the glass looked “nice and full and just coming over the rim of the glass”.
“If we see a beer that’s been pulled wrong, we’ll stop that and we’ll make sure the customer gets that perfect pour and train the staff how to do it properly,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“There can be variation from pub to pub, but it comes down to the training.”
The message is simple: keep an eye on your glass — because not every schooner is created equal.
Jonathan Jackson, 9th February 2026
