Principles of Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Controls, Ninth Edition

 Serving Alcoholic Beverages  Alcoholic beverages refer to those products which are meant for consumption as a beverage, and where a significant amount of ethyl alcohol content is present.  Alcoholic beverages are generally classified as:  Beers (lager beers and ales)  Wines (red, white, rose)  Spirits

 In moderate doses, ethyl alcohol is a mild tranquilizer; in excessive doses, it can become toxic.  While the special requirements surrounding the service of alcohol are many, controlling beverage costs is similar to controlling food costs.

 Beer is a fermented beverage made from grain and flavored with hops.  Wine is a fermented beverage made from grapes, fruits, or berries.  Spirits are fermented beverages that are distilled to increase the alcohol content of the product.

 Varietal: named for the variety of grape that predominates the wine.  Brand Name: known primarily by the name of the producer.  Geographic: named for its place of origin, can be as large as a region or a district or as small as a vineyard, Fr. Chateau.  Generic: named for a well-known wine producing region, but not produced there. i.e. “California Burgundy”

 Sparkling wines: Champagne, Asti Spumanti, sparkling burgundy  Fortified wines: wines with a small quantity of spirits or brandy added; Port & Sherry  Wine coolers: blends of wine and fruit juice  Blush wines: “pink wine” combination of white and red grapes, light and sweet

 Fermentation: Natural, chemical process by means of which sugars in a liquid are converted to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide  Distillation: Process by means of which alcohol is evaporated from a fermented liquid and then condensed and collected as a liquid

 Coffee, Tea or Milk  Carbonated  Non-carbonated  Mixers ◦ Other ingredients  Garnishes, Cream, Lemon & Lime juice

 Controls must be modified to meet the characteristic and inherent increased responsibility created by the sale of alcoholic beverages.  There are two primary classifications of establishments that serve alcohol: restaurants that use it as an accompaniment to food, and those locations whose primary offering is alcohol.

 To maintain an appropriate supply of ingredients for producing beverage products.  To ensure that the quality of ingredients purchased is appropriate to intended use.  To insure that ingredients are purchased at optimum prices.

 Frequency with which management chooses to place orders  Storage space available  Funds available for inventory purchases  Delivery schedules set by purveyors  Minimum order requirements set by purveyors  Price discounts for volume orders  Price specials available  Limited availability of some items

 License states: States in which beverage wholesalers (and sometimes manufacturers and distributors) are allowed to sell alcoholic beverages directly to foodservice establishments  Control states: States in which the state government actually sells some or all alcoholic beverages through its own network of stores, thus exercising complete control over prices

 Dramshop laws, passed in many states, shift the liability for acts committed by intoxicated individuals from the individual to the server or operation that supplied the alcohol.  In all states, the sale of alcoholic beverages is regulated either by the licensing of establishments that are allowed to sell alcoholic beverages (license states) or by direct control and sale of the products by the state (control states).

 While food products only require one level of quality per item, several qualities are chosen for alcoholic beverages.  Beer is the most highly perishable of beverage products, with a pull date of only a few months. Operators must, therefore, carefully select brand and packaging methods.  Generally, clientele, ambiance, and menu help determine what beer product will be selected.

 Beer is typically sold in cans, bottles, or kegs.  Draft beer (beer from kegs) is often the preferred choice and cheaper for operators to serve. However, special equipment is required.  The shelf life of keg beer is the shortest of all packaging types, ranging from 30 to 45 days for an untapped keg, that is, one that has not yet been opened by the bartender, and even fewer days for a keg that has been tapped (opened).

 Wine must also be selected according to product and packaging.  Operators generally sell wine by the glass, bottle, and split or half bottle.  If wine is also purchased for cooking, it will be bought from the beverage wholesaler also, but generally not of the same quality as that purchased for drinking.

 As a good manager, you will build a wine list, the term used to describe your menu of wine offerings, that fits your own particular operation and guest expectations.  In developing a wine list, operators must offer choices for guests who want to spend a lot or a little.  A vintner is a wine producer.

 However, avoid the temptation to offer too many wines on a wine list.  Wait staff should be trained to be knowledgeable but not intimidating to guests.  Generally, if operators are having trouble selling wine, the difficulty lies in the delivery of the product rather than with the product selected.

 Distilled spirits have an extremely long shelf life; therefore, a wrong purchase is not usually a disaster.  Quality levels are most pronounced with spirits.  Packaging is not a particular issue when dealing with spirits.

 Call liquors are those requested by brand name; extremely expensive call liquors are sometimes referred to as premium liquors.  Operators generally charge a higher price for call and premium liquors. In general, operators will select spirits in two major categories, well and call. Well liquors are those spirits that are poured when the customer does not specify a particular brand name.

 Remember, just because a customer is price conscious and orders a well liquor, does not mean that he or she is not also quality conscious.  Quality spirit products at fair prices build customer loyalty. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2009