Heady debate over the perfect pint

British beer-lovers are debating how much froth should be on top of each pint

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British are a nation of beer drinkers, divided over their pint.

In pubs up and down the country, debate has raged for years over exactly what this icon of British life should look like.

It may be a little hard to understand at first, but it's an issue of how much head, or froth, should be on top of a proper pint.

The current legal requirement for a pint of bitter is about 90 percent beer and 10 percent head. On the other extreme is a 100 percent full pint of beer without any head. It may not look very appetising, but it's what many people in Britain have been campaigning for.

A happy medium has been proposed: a 95 percent pint, with just 5 percent head at the top.

The government announced the compromise this week in the House of Commons -- and was met with immediate criticism by full-pint campaigners.

"These latest proposals are absurd. Beer drinkers are already losing out to the tune of £1 million a day. ... If this becomes law what right-minded publican would give customers a full pint?" said Mike Benner of the Campaign for Real Ale.

But Patricia Hewitt, secretary of Trade and Industry, defended the move: "Pulling a pint is not a precise science but at the moment the worst offenders are consistently giving consumers a short measure. This change will give consumers better value for money."

This may sound like a pint-sized controversy. But it's something a lot of people in Britain care a great deal about.

Take "Pint of Bitter" Dave, as he's known at his local pub. A beer drinker for 40 years, he thinks the new rule could ruin his favorite pastime.

Any change to the law could have economic implications for pubs

"A pint without a head goes flat pretty quick," says Dave. "A head does tend to seal in the flavour. And that's how I like it. Take the head off a pint of Guinness and see what the Irish do, because that's what they are trying to do to us. Leave the head on my beer, please."

But what about the beer drinkers equally demanding a full pint every time, like Terry, who says 95 percent is just one sip too little. Why does he want a full pint, brimming over with beer?

"Number one, for the price I'm paying, I want a full pint," Terry says. "And personally, I know a lot of lager drinkers that do not want to be drinking through 5 or 10 percent of a frothy head. They want to be drinking the beer straight away."

There are economic implications. A few drops either way makes a big difference when you consider 27 million pints are served in Britain every day. And despite the new rules, this frothy debate is set to continue over what makes the perfect pint.