The schooner invasion: Victorian pubs are embracing the northern beer glass

“Pot or pint?” was for decades the default response when you ordered a beer at a Victorian pub. But increasingly you’ll be asked if you’d like a schooner instead, as the preferred glass of NSW finds its way behind more bars.

One of Melbourne’s best-known pubs, The Espy in St Kilda, has phased out pots and now serves only the larger glasses.

“We are serving schooners and pints at The Espy as they have been the more popular sizes,” says venue manager Ben Burgess, declining to clarify when the change was introduced and when sales of pots began to decline.

In Australia, tap beer is served in sizes based on the imperial system. A pint is typically 570 millilitres, a pot (or a middy) is half that at 285 millilitres, and a schooner sits roughly in the middle, measuring 425 millilitres.

Victoria has long been a pot and pint state, while in NSW you’re hard-pressed to spot a pint in a front bar. That state-line distinction is being increasingly blurred, at least on the southern side of the border, with three different glasses racked up behind the bar at more Victorian pubs.

Schooners are now the biggest seller for The Orrong Hotel’s tap beers in Armadale.

“Pots are on the smaller side; a pint’s a bit too large. The schooner sits in the sweet spot,” says venue manager Nathan Thompson, a New South Welshman. He says the pub has been serving schooners since at least 2022.

The Orrong joins a growing number of other pubs offering schooners. Some, like the Ascot Vale Hotel, have added on the 425-millilitre glass. Others, like the Builders Arms in Fitzroy, have dropped pints.

“The schooner sits in the sweet spot.”

New neighbourhood bar-restaurant Daphne in Brunswick East opted to go with schooners and pots for its tap beers.

“Schooners stay colder for longer,” says Sam Peasnell, who created the drinks list. “Schooners make up 85 per cent of our sales. If we offered pints, I’m sure the numbers would dip slightly, but schooners would still outsell them.”

The Great Northern Hotel in Carlton North doesn’t serve schooners but customers ask for them often, according to venue manager Dale Giroud. He can see why.

“I think it’s a good size. A pot’s pretty small. [And] with our warmer weather here, a pint can really go warm before you finish it,” he says.

A cold beer fresh from the tap is always going to taste better, which gives pots and schooners an advantage over pints, especially on a hot day.

But drinking pots requires more trips to the bar, which can be a hassle when a venue’s busy.

Venues will no doubt be happy to sell more beer more efficiently: schooners replacing pots means fewer glasses to be washed and less time serving customers.

On the other hand, pints may be less attractive to price-conscious consumers after years of beer prices climbing.

James Smith, editor of The Crafty Pint website, says he often hears customers aghast at paying $18 for a pint. He’s noticed craft brewers switching to four-packs of beer rather than increasing the price of their six-packs. He believes the schooner may play into similar psychology.

“There’s a price ceiling. Even though you’re getting less, you don’t feel like you’re getting hit with a big hit,” he says.

Typically, pots of Carlton Draught cost between $7 and $8.50 in Melbourne pubs. If venues were to set their schooner price against this, a schooner should cost between $10.50 and $12.75 (or 1.5 times the price of a pot).

In fact, a price check of tap beer at eight Melbourne pubs found they were charging between $10 and $12.30, numbers that will keep consumers on side if pots continue to increase in price.

Smith doesn’t think the pot will go away, but believes Victoria will continue with a three-glass system.

“We’re all fussy now, aren’t we? I’m not surprised to see schooners increasing in popularity, whether it’s about price or just the experience.”

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