MdV: Merchant
du Vin beer e-newsletter – Wednesday May 18, 2005: Buying,
Selling, Pouring and Serving Beer
Ayinger
Brau-Weisse, the world benchmark for Bavarian wheat beer, is now pouring on
draft throughout the
http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/ay_brau_w_draft_3_15_2005.pdf
Look
for a new addition to our portfolio of fine beer, by the end of May . . .
Beer
in the press; beer dinners in
http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/news.html
Beer
Chat from the
There’s
plenty of information in the beer world about brewing – photos, history,
recipes, tours. Likewise, tasting,
describing, ranking, and rating beers is a topic well-covered. But we don’t seem to hear as much about the
decision to purchase a beer, or how it’s actually served.
Buying beer to go:
Known as “off-premise” sales in the beer trade, this usually means
bottled beer chosen by the consumer from a store selection, with or without
help from the staff.
>>>Buyers:
When you are shopping, be aware that you may know more about beer – even about
the specific beer – than the person working at the store. A courteous query, like “Do you know anything
specific about this beer?” or “Are you
willing to let me try a question on you?” is a delight to the staff: it allows
them to answer if they know, or to give a good retail answer like, “Not much,
but maybe I can find out,” or even to say “I don’t know much about it – can you
tell me?”
A
store worker greeted with “Is this further attenuated than that one?” or “Does
this one have a strong brettanomyces character?” is likely to feel panic or
discomfort if they don’t know. If you
are an experienced beer taster, buy the beer based on your knowledge. After tasting it, next time you see the store
clerk you can say, “Hey, I tried that beer I got last week. Would it help you if I gave you my opinion on
it?” Then, the store worker can help the
next customer even better: “I did have
one other customer who seemed to know a lot . . . he told me it tasted like . .
. . “
>>>Sellers: Read about beer, try a lot of different
beers, and talk to other beer tasters.
Ask people who know for terms that describe flavor – some of these terms
are actually objective. If it’s legal in
your state, hold a consumer tasting. You
might even be able to get a distributor or supplier representative to
attend. Rotate your stock – i.e., fill
shelves from the back, or pull every bottle out before putting new ones in back
– even though it makes far more work for you.
Even if you don’t know a thing about beer, your customers will
appreciate it and you will be a better retailer. Keep your stock out of high
heat, and always out of sunlight.
And
never, never, never fake an answer to a customer – never. If you haven’t tried it, say so. If you don’t know, say so.
If
you are working in a cashstand, don’t say, “$12? For a bottle of beer?!?!?” to a customer, even if you always thought
beer was expensive at $5.99 a
sixpack. You are showing
unprofessionalism and maybe making the customer embarrassed if you do so. Also, because many bottles of fine beer are
bottle-conditioned, they have a layer of yeast on the bottom inside the bottle. You are safest if you keep the bottle
strictly upright, and put it in the bag upright: turning it sideways can stir
the yeast up, which is likely to be against the customer’s wishes. As always, say “thanks,” to your valuable
beer customer – they provide wonderful sales volume, and beer is one of the top
impulse buys at any retail store.
Buying beer at a bar or restaurant:
“On premise,” a beer consumer gets a table, a glass, and an opportunity to talk
to the seller while consuming a beer.
>>>Buyers:
A friendly attitude will be appreciated by any server. It is valuable to have a server that knows
the selections intimately and can talk about them – patronize these
places! But if you get a server without
much knowledge, work to make them feel comfortable and ready to learn more. (Imagine you were waiting tables, and someone
asked you to characterize the $200 ’86 Chateau Xyzabc . . . and you’d never had
it.) It’s usually safe to ask a server
if other customers have made comments about a particular beer. If they do give an answer, say “thanks,” and
don’t go to war with them over an error.
You can always consider bringing it up politely later.
If
the bar has two brass rails, that means: “keep this area between the bars free
for the servers working on the floor.”
So stay out, or at least ask the bartender if you can be there.
If
you get an excellent bartender or server – one that knows a lot, has a great
sense for when to show up, and treats you with courteous, friendly respect –
tip extravagantly. We want those people
to stay in the business. If you get poor
service, tip less but be aware that “no tip” is usually perceived by the server
as “jerk customer” instead of “my bad service.”
If you get poor service, it is appropriate to courteously tell the host
on duty, or to write a courteous note and mail it. Be specific, as well as courteous.
>>>Sellers: There is never, ever any excuse for failing
to acknowledge a customer at the bar or at the door. If you are busy, make eye contact and say
“one moment,” or at least raise your eyebrows.
The job of a server or bartender is to interface with a customer
professionally and follow the customers’ wishes: servers and customers are
*not* repeat *not* peers or equals.
If
a customer asks for something specifically, assume they know what they
want. Say thanks and move on. If they ask a general question about a beer,
try and have a brief three-to-five-word description ready for each beer: “Rich, roasty; big beer.” “Pale, effervescent, floral hop finish.” “Extreme bitterness.” Pin a beer menu back in the service area with
notes on it – you can refer back if you need a refresher.
Make
bar service as available to customers as possible. Have enough staff to take orders before
glasses are empty, and if your layout allows a spot for customers to order from
the bar, implement that option.
Remember
that fine beer has nuances of flavor.
Keep your cooler at 45 deg F, and fine beer will taste better because super-low
temperature hides flavor and aroma. Keep
your taps and beer lines clean. (If you
have access to the lines, you could even change them every six months – beer
line is cheap compared to the cost of serving beer through a dirty line.) Use a clean, appropriate glass, and if
pouring draft beer, open the tap fully and manipulate the glass to get the
proper head for the style of beer. Big
bubbles – sometimes called “fisheyes” – are not desired in the head. Offer a full measure: if you call it a pint,
don’t serve it in a 14 oz. glass. When
pouring from a bottle, keep the bottle upright from cooler to tray to table and
never pour half a bottle into the glass then set the half-full bottle down next
to the glass: if the beer was bottle-conditioned, you just stirred the yeast up
into the half remaining in the bottle.
Pour it all tableside, smoothly and at once, leaving behind the yeast
sediment in bottle-conditioned beer. Or,
put the bottle down next to the glass and ask “Would you like me to pour?” Leave the bottle, even if you already filled
the glass, at the table with the front label pointing toward the customer.
Do
all you can to learn about beer: Use your time with your beer sales reps to
learn about new products, and maybe even what the competition is doing. Ask beer questions that you came across since
the last time you saw your rep. Set up
tastings. Think about your order and
analyze your sales before you see your beer reps. Order your own quantities, not necessarily
what your rep has a special promotion on, because your time spent with reps is
best spent collecting information, not sending them into the depths of your
cooler to shake kegs or making deals for tricky promotional items. Look at beer sites in the internet for
questions . . . read the archive of this e-newsletter! http://www.merchantduvin.com/pages/1_about/enews_archive.html/
When
the customer is finished and has paid cash, always bring them their change with
a smile – if you ask, “Do you need change?” they might feel bad saying “yes.”
And
even though you did the work – you professionally provided an excellent beer
selection; you knew how to describe the beer; you served it properly in the
correct glass at the right temperature – remember the server-to-customer
relationship: the consumer paid your salary with their trade, so thank them for
coming in.
Merchant