Does Australian Beer Cause Confusion?

You don't have to be a foreigner to be confused by the names of Australian beer servings.

As Napoleon's metric invasion didn't reach Oz until 1972, the hidden backbone of our beer servings remains the fluid ounce. There are glasses which are 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 15, and 20 fluid ounces. Of course nobody mentions fluid ounces anymore, but those old numbers are under the lot like skeletons in the cupboard or a dead language.

In Hobart you call a 4-ouncer a 'small beer', in Melbourne you call it a 'foursie', while in Perth it is a 'shetland'. In Sydney we just call that one a 'why bother'.

In Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth you call a 5-ouncer a 'pony', while in Melbourne you could call it a 'horse'. Typical Melburnian oneupmanship!

In Melbourne you call a 6-ouncer a 'small glass', in Hobart it is a 'six', and in Perth it is a 'bobbie'.

In Darwin or Hobart a 7-ouncer is a 'seven', and in Adelaide it is a 'butcher'. In a triumph of literalism, in Melbourne and Perth they call it a 'glass' and in Brisbane a 'beer'.

Confused? It's the beer! Tomorrow we will look at the more serious serving-sizes.

DRIVEN MAD BY LOCAL USAGE?
PETER THE PROOFER IS MR FIXIT!