500ml vs 330ml

On Boxing Day we were over having dinner with family, and my uncle had bought in some bottles of Hobgoblin which is always a reliably decent beer.  Rather than the normal 500ml bottle, though, it was the smaller 330ml bottles - indeed it was the first time I've seen Hobgoblin in this size of bottle.  It got me to thinking - having a bottle of beer at home, do you prefer a 500ml bottle or a 330ml bottle?

Rightly or wrongly, I've always assumed that the 500ml bottles tend to be the domain of what you would class as 'real ale' whereas 330ml bottles tend to be for 'craft beer'.  Lagers too, for that matter, but let's not get into that now!  The lines seem to be blurring now, however, with Wychwood offering Hobgoblin in a downsized bottle, and I'm sure I read somewhere that Harviestoun are considering using smaller bottles (sorry, can't find a source for this!).

Personally, I'm all for smaller bottles - perhaps due to my fondness for strong Belgian beers and suchlike.  If I'm having a beer or two at home of an evening, I'll tend to take my time over it.  With a 500ml bottle that sometimes means that the last few mouthfuls are a little warmer and flatter than I'd prefer.  A 330ml bottle, on the other hand, seems to work out well for me.

The same goes when I'm out and about; if there's a good selection of beers, I'd much rather have half-pints of half a dozen different beers rather than pints of only three different brews.  Variety being the spice of life, and all that.

Buy hey, that's just my preference - I'm sure others will have their own viewpoints on this (not so) thorny debate!