An entirely different song, "The Brown Jug," is found in British Isles broadsides from around 1820 (Bodleian Library), claimed by some to have been composed in 1791, and to have given the Toby Jug its name. The jug is filled with 'mild ale.'

No one seems to have found an older version of "Little Brown Jug," as composed by Winner in 1869.