By Sarah Whyte
ORDERING a beer was once a simple task. You either ordered a schooner or a middy - or for the lay person, a big or a small beer.
But with the pony, the schmiddy, the half pint, the tulip or the chalice, it's easy for the average beer drinker to feel bamboozled, as more Sydney bars and pubs embrace a new era of beer sophistication.
Tasting ''paddle'' ... Tom King and Sarah Carpenter at the Riverview Hotel in Balmain.Credit: James Brickwood
City bars are moving away from the traditional middy and schooner glass sizes for more boutique beer sizes, beer appreciation consultant Kirrily Waldhorn said.
''Beer is becoming a drink to be appreciated, rather than just guzzled,'' Ms Waldhorn said.
''Specialist beer venues are coming into Sydney and are more focused on promoting craft beers.''
But not everyone is happy. Regular patron at the Riverview Hotel in Balmain John Dorahy, 36, a sales representative from Rozelle, said he thought the schmiddy - a 355ml-size glass, between the middy and the schooner - was ''overpriced''.
''I hate it. I've grown up as a schooner drinker and I have to pay a lot more in the city, but I get less beer,'' he said.
At the Opera Bar, only schmiddies are sold, with prices ranging from $6.50 to $9.
At Cargo Bar, popular with young workers, it's also only the schmiddy. ''Any reduction in choice is not favourable,'' said Ingrid Just of consumer group Choice spokeswoman. ''But in other bars it's almost as if beer is the new wine.''
While some may complain about the smaller, ''lady-like'' schmiddies, women are now flocking to the once male-dominated beverage, Ms Waldhorn said.
''In city venues, they have more sophisticated glasses, which is taking beer drinking to a level of sophistication we haven't seen. The presentation needs to reflect the trend of better beer.''
Publican Tim Condon, the licensee at the Riverview Hotel, said it was the growth of craft beers - distinctively flavoured beer that is independently brewed - that was driving the variety of beer glass sizes.
''There is a wider variety of beers and more people are experimenting … it's going berserk in the US,'' Mr Condon said.
''More beers have a flavour profile. We have a citrus and passionfruit beer, which is very popular with women.''
The ''pony'' glass, at only 140ml was once used at the racetrack to quickly drink before the next event. Now it is used on a ''tasting paddle'' for patrons to taste different beer flavours, similar to a wine-tasting.
Yet some bars are resisting the lure to introduce such fancy sizes.
Manly Wharf Hotel on the northern beaches likes to keep things simple. ''We always have the option of a middy or schooner, just to give people a bigger or smaller beer,'' a spokesman said.
However, Australian Hotels Association president Sally Fielke said consumers were largely demanding more choice and the industry was responding.
"With the introduction of small bars and beer cafes, along with a greater popularity of boutique and craft beers, there has been an increasing trend towards different shape, style and size of glassware,'' Ms Fielke said.
Travelling drinkers should note, however, that in Melbourne a middy is a ''pot'', in Adelaide it's a schooner and in Hobart it's a ''ten''.