Why is it called a "pot" of beer

[GMCbris]

Hi all

Trying to find out why us Qlders call a middy a pot

Anyone know the origin?

Cheers

G

 

[Bribie G]

It's also a pot in Victoria. So I take it you are in NSW.
There are heaps of regional differences around Australia with ponies and other weird stuff in the Southern States.

For example Schooners were not available in Queensland and Victoria until only around 20 years ago and in some states our schooner is called a pint, which is a total ripoff obviously.

In NSW a longneck (750ml bottle) is called a Tallie in QLD.

I live in Kyogle NSW that is a bit of a QLD colony just South of the border and they will happily sell you a Tallie and serve you a pot but will also sell you a longneck and a middy. Confusing. Also silver beet is labelled silver beet in the supermarket. Go further south and it's spinach.
Not that silver beet is true spinach but that's the cockroaches for you as the QLDrs would say

 

[mstrelan]

It's all too confusing, I just ask for a small or large these days.

 

[manticle]

Similar but I just ask for a large.

Would be ok if at least it was consistent within each state but now some places do schooners as the largest, some do pints.

I wanna ******* pint.

Of Rochefort 10.

 

[Lionman]

I think it might have originated to mean a glass with out a handle and has just morphed into meaning a certain size glass, but I might be misinterpreting this.

At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, beer in New South Wales was retailed in glasses of three different sizes: 20 ounces (pint), 13 ounces (369ml) , and 9 ounces (255ml). There was also a schooner glass, but this seems then to have been a pint measure, differing from a normal pint ‘pot’ by its lack of a handle.

https://www.brewsnews.com.au/2011/01/schooner-wars/

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Its a F^%^&%^ Middy.....Period

 

[manticle]

Pot is easier to say when you're hammered.

I will have a pot of beer please, my sweet barkeep and a packet of arse bandits as well.

 

[manticle]

 

[Mardoo]

I've a bit of an American accent remaining, even after 20 years here. Every bugging time I say pot, they pour a pint, and for the life of me I can't figure out how to change my pronunciation to get the right thing.

Where the hell did schooner come from? It looks nothing like a boat.

 

[Tropico]

Just ask the bar-person for a stubby, saves all the confusion and misunderstanding

 

[unwrittenlaw]

A pot is a pot and a middy is a mid strength

 

[yurgy]

middy or pot still falls out me hand.

 

[Brewno Marz]

middy or pot still falls out me hand.

You need to go to NT...it's a handle...

Then there's the "schmiddy" where pubs serve you something a wee bit bigger than a middy (pot/half/handle/SA schooner) and charge the same price as a schooner (SA pint).

There's also bars getting cute and selling "pints" at about 470ml - what the? Apparently it's a US pint - just a bit bigger than a schooner.

 

[Jack of all biers]

middy or pot still falls out me hand.

What about a butcher. Sneeze and it's empty.

 

[malt junkie]

hey no where near as bad as south OZ, was doing another coast to coast in a flash (3 days with the kids) type run to Perth from Sydney. Bloody hot long run to Port Augusta, pull in to what seemed to be a good spot for lunch and a beer. Order a pint of what ever was cold, was handed a 425ml glass of beer, now lets be straight here $12 (6 years ago). I almost got on to weights and measures on the phone, freaking bloody joke!!

 

[Batz]

What about a butcher. Sneeze and it's empty.

Butcher comes from the glass shape, butchers had fat on their hands and dropped straight sided glasses. Well that's what I was told once..no soap in SA?
Pony is smaller than a butcher too.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Bit of a long shot, but is it possible that very early on - glazed clay pots (cups) were used to serve beer in addition to glasses? Bendigo ginger beer was sold in glazed clay bottles.
More likely though as said above by Lionman, just derived from a glass without a handle.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

Reminds me of a mate of mine, only been in Melbourne a few weeks and we went to Sydney and he asked for a pot of VB the barman told him he only had schooners so he said well just give me a pot of schooners.

 

[Nullnvoid]

Me: Can I have a <insert tasty beer name >
Bartender: What size?
Me: Biggest glass you have please.

 

[mstrelan]

In Canada, or at least BC, you can order a pint or a sleeve. A pint could be either Imperial 20 oz (568mL) or US 16 oz (473mL). Not sure about a sleeve but it's smaller than a pint. Who knows what you're getting?