by Mark
by Mark E. Lasbury for Indiana On Tap
What things are critical to a great experience at a craft brewery? Beer that is at least good, good conversations, good environment for big groups and small – these are all crucial. I would add one more, a beer server that adds to the experience, not detracts from it. A craft beer drinker, whether experienced or new, shouldn’t have to work for a good time by overcoming a server’s deficiencies – they should enhance your time there.
Being a great beer server isn’t easy, and I fully realize that turnover in taprooms makes it hard to keep a high level of knowledge behind the bar at all times. We love being able to discuss beers with servers, but I realize that it isn’t always possible for many reasons, so we always have empathy for servers and realize that most are doing the best they can.
So let’s break this down into categories, so that we can define the minimal training a server should have to be a positive in your experiences, then we can discuss things that go a bit beyond the minimum. Once again, this is coming from an enthusiastic taproom drinker with the best intentions.
Things beer servers should definitely know:
1. When a server comes on shift, they should know the names and styles of the beers on tap. The bigger the tap list, the harder this is, but this is minimal knowledge to have. Some people order by name, some by style. I like to order by style to see whether they know what styles their own beers are, and this gives me a quick appreciation what kind of interaction I am likely to have. Don’t know the styles of your own beers? – then I’m less likely to ask other types of questions. Between styles and names, it’s definitely more important to know the styles, since a name doesn’t really tell you anything about the beer (except in rare cases, like when a brewer holds to the -ator tenet for dopplebocks).
2. A beer server should know what every beer on tap is supposed to look like, for two reasons. First, mistakes in pours do get made, either by a bartender misreading a ticket or pulling the wrong tap, through mistakes where a beer is mislabeled on a tap or the hooks are incorrect, or two similar looking beers going to the same table get mixed up. All of these can lead to confusion, and can hurt the thoughts about a brewery. You get a beer expecting one thing and what your drinking is completely different from what you expected – is it your mistake, or did they pour you the wrong beer?
Second, a beer on tap can have issues that lead to poor pours. If a beer is supposed to be brite (clear), and brisk, but comes to your table as hazy or full of particulate, is it your mistake about the beer, a brewer’s choice to vary the style, or is the keg about to blow and you’re getting all the stuff that had settled to the bottom of the keg? How about what the collar looks like? Some beers should have big heads, with small bubble foam and the resulting creaminess is meant to add to the experience, but that same beer comes out flat because of a bad pour or a new keg, or losing gas, your beer will not reflect what the brewer was going for.
In all above cases, a server knowing what a beer should look like will enhance your experience, or at least prevent a negative experience. Server training should include a good look at each beer for color, haziness, foam, head retention, etc. to ensure the beer presented to the customer is what the brewer intends, and represents the best effort to give the customer what they want (even if they don’t know that’s what they want).
3. A server should know how to properly pour a beer. True, sometimes bartenders pour beers for servers and even in this situation, a server should be able to tell if it has been poured correctly. This isn’t a difficult task to master, with a tilt and pour from below the tap (don’t let the tap faucet get into the beer), pour a proper head. Yes, a beer should have a head on it – people who believe that they are getting ripped off if the glass isn’t full of liquid need to be educated, not coddled in their delusion.
The head on some beers might be knocked down by additions to the beer (fats, oats, barrel aging, etc). A server doesn’t need to know why these things reduce head or head retention, but they should know that it happens and how the individual beer should look.
4. A beerslinger should most definitely recognize a dirty glass and a defective glass. A novice beer drinker may think that the bubbles on the inside of the glass represent good carbonation, but it actually means that the glass is dirty. A server should see this and get a new pour right away. Yes, some beers that have higher carbonation or are made with a champagne yeast (these most often have a higher target carbonation level), but that’s different than having bubbles develop on the side of glass – that’s dust or crud.
Likewise, a server should always be on guard for a cracked or chipped glass. Besides being dangerous, these are places that make it dang near impossible to get a glass completely clean. While inspecting a beer for correct color, correct pour, proper head, proper briteness, they should definitely know to look for defects in the glass. If they are pouring the beer themselves, this inspection is even better done BEFORE the beer is poured.
5. Less about the beer and more still about being a good server, your beerslinger should know if it’s happy hour, what the deals are, whether there is a discounted beer for the day or week, and if there are combos on offer. Stating these things before someone orders lets them know that a server is there to help and make their experience the best on all fronts, including fiscally.
Likewise, if a brewery participates in a local membership/discount program, a server should know about it, how to administer it, and know enough to be able to perhaps offer it to patrons. Once again, it communicates that a server is looking to improve your experience at all times, and that reflects well on the brewery.
Things beer servers should probably know:
1. A good server should have tasted each of the beers they are selling, and have a good idea of how to describe what tastes/flavors/feels are there. This is true in all cases except for situations of health (pregnancy, recovering alcoholic) or religion. Even if one of these is the case, a good server will still be able to talk the beer. Having more information to give to the patron is always better than having less.
A good server may/should have an opinion on a particular beer, and it’s great to express that, as long it is backed up with some information. Have a particular aspect to describe that they really like or that isn’t their favorite, while still acknowledging that taste in beer is always subjective. Just saying that there are all great is the best way to communicate that a server either doesn’t know the beer or doesn’t care about your experience enough to give you specific information.
2. Being able to differentiate between styles or within a general style makes for a great server. It may take longer to accumulate enough knowledge to tell a London Brown from a Northern English Brown, or why a Baltic porter is different from a robust porter, but it really will let a drinker know that they can trust a server with their experience.
If a patron asks about a certain style and the brewery doesn’t have it, it would be great if a server can explain how what they have is different or similar to that style (or a particular beer, even harder to become familiar with, there are a lot of beers out there). All correct knowledge imparted by a server makes the brewery look good, and while it may not sell beer, it certainly won’t sell less beer.
3. A good server recognizes what size of pour a beer is likely to be sold in. Mistakes in this aspect often cost the brewery rather than the patron, as it is much more likely that an imperial stout will be mistakenly poured as a pint instead of 12 ounces rather than a beer will be poured in too small a volume. But in another sense, over pouring a big BV beer by mistake is likely to result in fewer beers purchased, costing the brewery more money and the patron a fuller experience at the establishment.
In a similar fashion, if a brewery offers different styles of beer in different glassware, the server should know that and present the beer, again, as the brewer intends. It might be a small thing for most drinkers, but different glassware does make a difference in aromas, appearance, and experience. A great server realizes this at some level, even if the nuances escape them….. except for a dimple mug… I think every beer taste better in a dimple mug.
4. Finally, a server will be well served by knowing which beers are new, which are about to blow, which ones are on their last keg, etc. Having that little bit of extra knowledge can influence a craft fan’s choices, often selling more beer than normal. Plus, many beer tourists are looking for things that are new, might soon be unavailable, or are rarer. Once again, giving them more information is better than less (if they seem to want the information, see below).
Similarly, knowing when to show up at a table or bar position to suggest/ask if they would like another beer is a great skill for a server to acquire. Too soon is pushy and drives them away, too late results in fewer beers purchased overall.
Things that beerslingers can learn over time:
1. It takes longer and more dedication to learn the characteristics of all the styles of beer and the ways that brewers can riff on styles. This is more of a personal desire for knowledge, but it will help a server interact with the patrons.
2. As a server works longer and interacts more with the craft beer community in their locale, they will be able to talk to patrons, especially beer tourists, as to places nearby that they may enjoy, places that have different styles of beer, as well as those that have specific amenities that people might be looking for. It is a community after all, and being able to send more business to your local colleagues helps everyone.
3. Finally, knowing how much information a patron is looking for is a next level server characteristic. Not being able to, or being unwilling to, talk about your product or craft beer in general will diminish an overall experience if that is what the patron is looking for. However, it is just as important to recognize when people don’t need/want to know about the newly recognized hop that is used in this particular beer, what’s experimental designation was, how it differs from the latest New Zealand hop, etc. Meeting the craft beer drinker where they are is important. Leave them not necessarily wanting more, but certainly not wishing for less.
