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  • Beer training course for serving staff

    I've been charged with the task of formualting a beer appreciation training course for our brewpub serving staff. I'm wondering if anyone else outhere has done something similar? Just curious if anyone has any tips on how to get through to a staff that is sometimes made up of 18-22 year olds with very little practical beer info.

    Any advice/tips are greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Cheers,
    Mike Roy
    Brewmaster
    Franklins Restaurant, Brewery & General Store
    5123 Baltimore Ave
    Hyattsville,MD 20781
    301-927-2740

    Franklinsbrewery.com
    @franklinsbrwry
    facebook.com/franklinsbrewery

  • #2
    Yeah, its tough to keep their attention, that's for sure. I would do it in small groups of maybe 5 at a time, to help keep it a bit more focused. Otherwise, it tends to get out of hand in a hurry.

    In the past, I've used the Beer Sellers Guide from the BA. http://www.beertown.org/craftbrewing/beer_sellers.html It breaks down the various beer styles. And I've also had them taste my beers with similar styles from other breweries so they get an idea of the style and where my beer fit within that style.

    And, above all, patience. Hope this helps a little at least.

    Cheers

    Steve
    Steve Donohue
    Brewmaster
    Santa Clara Valley Brewing

    Comment


    • #3
      Hello kind brewing folks,

      Over the years we developed a program through which we would put all new staff, which would be supplemented by a biannual staff review.

      I would also recommend keeping the groups small, five or a few more does work best to hold everyone's attention, yet offers enough breadth to bring out interesting questions.

      New staff would receive a hand out (roughly four to five pages) that we had developed detailing (in simple easy to understand language) the brewing process, major beer styles, and the particulars of our house beers. They were encouraged to read this before "Beer Training" proper.

      "Beer Training" day would begin with a tour of the brewing facilities, given by the Head Brewer, detailing brewing ingredients and process in general terms and the specifics of our brewery. Basically the grain to glass walking tour. With some good questions, plan to spend 45 min to an hour.

      Then we would move onto beer appreciation, description, and (in some ways the most important part) selling. We would sit down (new staff and Head Brewer) with samples (for those 21 and over) of all the house beers, taste them, talk about what we had just learned about the brewing process, and how it impacts what we are now tasting (people really start to "get it" after tasting some roasted malt and rubbing hop cones followed later by tasting stout and hoppy pale ale), and talk about the best, quickest, easiest ways to describe and sell them to our guests. Plan to spend at least two to two and a half hours in all. But the time is definitely well spent.

      Within the next day or so, new staff would need to pass a "beer exam" (among others) before hitting the floor.

      The way staff moves in a restaurant, we would run a beer training session almost every week. All existing staff had an open invitation to join in, provided they weren't scheduled to be on the floor of course.

      The all staff biannual was run more as a lecture format, with a few poster type aids, and a tasting, question and answer session. This was usually shorter, maybe an hour to hour and a half, and was mostly to refresh with seasoned staff the best ways to describe and sell beer, as well as answer specific questions they may have come up with, but not yet had a chance to ask. This session was again headed up by the Head Brewer.

      A little work, but well worth the effort!

      Hope you don't mind public speaking!

      Cheers,
      Ron
      Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

      Comment


      • #4
        Awesome post, Ron -- I'm working on my materials for my "Beer 101" class for our new hires; similar format with a material packet for them to read before the actual class, then the class and an exam.
        I'm skimming the internet for the basics, then adapting them to our specific brewpub/system/beers -- I think the ability of all the staff at our brewpub to be able to answer at least basic queries about or ales is key to instilling customer confidence in their experience and repeat visits

        Cheers!

        Rob
        "By man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world" -- St. Arnold of Metz

        Comment


        • #5
          Thank you Rob,

          Good luck with your training materials. I would add, try to keep the material as short and to the point as possible. Remember, your staff may be starting with very little beer knowledge, and many have very busy lives, whether in school, or just being young and social, and they will not in most cases spend a lot of time with whatever you give them. So make every word count!

          Also, make it work for them. While the smallest detail of fermentation / yeast management and hop breeding may be of interest to us, they.... well they may just want to sell some beer, make some money and go home (or "out!" as the case may be) So help them. Give them very clear and easy strategies and specific ways to easily describe and sell beer.

          "Oh, our stout! A nice dry Irish style stout, jet black with the prominent flavor of roasted malt, and a smooth dry finish. Delicious!"

          And keep it fun! Tasting, drinking, and talking about beer should be fun. And it helps hold the attention!

          Cheers,
          Ron
          Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales

          Comment


          • #6
            We are lucky and our company includes beer training as part of every front of house team member hired. You cannot get on the floor without spending at least one hour with the brewer! (usually more because once I start talking about beer...) Most of our servers are in this age group you are dealing with (college district, mostly college kids working for us). This is good because they are always interested in the beer, even the ones that don't like beer (or are not old enough to legally drink it). I think the key is to keep it simple, get them involved, and keep it upbeat and fun. I always include a quick 10 minute tour of the facility. I like to make sure that they know the big thing out back is a malted grain silo, the shiney things in the brewery are fermentation vessels, and that we don't actually add alcohol into the beer, and nobody has to peel 100 pounds of bananas to make the German style hefe.....and dark beer does not mean (by default) that it is strong. I give every server the BA guide to selling beer, a great resource that says everything that a server needs to know. I really like the fold out style guide, it is something that inspires more detailed conversation after/during beer class. Word of advice, don't schedule the new recruit (if they are 21 or over) to work the floor after beer class! That being said, make sure your new employee is truly 21! The last thing you need is a manager pulling you aside and telling you that your new server who claimed to be of age truly was not (Did not happen to me, but happened!). We also require all of our managers to have a more in depth version that last two days. I get the new manager in the brewhouse during a brewday. They get dirty, they grain out the mash, and I give them more info than they even wanted to know about beer and the process. The second day we do cellar work, draft system training, tasting panel, and go over my management duties like taxes, budgets, vendor relations, training, marketing, managerial accounting, promotions,ect. At the end of the day(s) the new manager has a respect for the brewery (WoW! It's not as easy as it looks!), knows how to change kegs, change from keg to tank, fix basic draft issues, answer guest inquiries, and keep the brewer from coming in on the weekend because someone did not connect the CO2 to the serving vessel.

            Comment


            • #7
              Once, again, an awesome post by another fine Probrewer Message Board member! I am sure to take these hints to heart when training our brewpub staff! Thanks!

              Rob
              "By man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the world" -- St. Arnold of Metz

              Comment


              • #8
                Thank you everyone who has responded, as always this site is a great tool, keep 'em coming if you have any thoughts on this subject.

                Thanks again,
                Cheers,
                Mike Roy
                Brewmaster
                Franklins Restaurant, Brewery & General Store
                5123 Baltimore Ave
                Hyattsville,MD 20781
                301-927-2740

                Franklinsbrewery.com
                @franklinsbrwry
                facebook.com/franklinsbrewery

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Greenbrewmonkey

                  "Oh, our stout! A nice dry Irish style stout, jet black with the prominent flavor of roasted malt, and a smooth dry finish. Delicious!"
                  Delicious and is great when paired with our Death by Chocolate brownie. Always give the server an up-sell point, it's how they make the jack.
                  Cheers & I'm out!
                  David R. Pierce
                  NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
                  POB 343
                  New Albany, IN 47151

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    I wonder about the possibility and efficacy of including serving staff from other local establishments where your beer is sold in the beer training program. I mean for production breweries and brewpubs that distribute their beers off-premises. Would it be cost-effective? Would bar/restaurant owners go for it? I realize there are breweries and distributors who offer beer training seminars at the bars/restaurants where their beers are sold. But perhaps a brewery could bring those seminars to the brewery itself. Maybe bar/restaurant owners wouldn't want to mandate the training for their staff, but perhaps a brewer could offer a short, informal seminar, a quick tour of the brewery, and a minor beer tasting session for owners, managers and staff members who would volunteer to participate. It would certainly be less intensive and focused than a training session with five or six servers at a time and a beer exam afterwards, but it might be a big help in educating your retail clients' serving staff. If you show them a good time and let them in on a bit of the "magic" of the brewing process, they may also be more inclined to push your beers on their customers.

                    Just a thought.

                    Tsewong
                    Mike Hiller, Head Brewer
                    Strangeways Brewing
                    2277-A Dabney Road
                    Richmond, VA 23230
                    804-303-4336
                    www.strangewaysbrewing.com

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      We offer beer school to any retailer of our products. Our Beer Pimp will bring a bar/server staff in on brew day, give them a brewery tour then tasting. It has proven to build goodwill toward our products if not a general knowledge of the process.
                      Cheers & I'm out!
                      David R. Pierce
                      NABC & Bank Street Brewhouse
                      POB 343
                      New Albany, IN 47151

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I do a one hour one on one training session with each server. I have each bartender do one brew day. I have managers give beer tours, supervised at first.

                        Then I have a group of employees called the "Quality Control Department". It consists of one bartender, one server, one hostess, my assistant and myself. Usually a random manager will stop in as well.

                        Once a month we take all of the samples of a particular style, say Amber Ales, and we taste them blind and write notes. We also read the BJCP style guidlines for the style as well. Hidden in the tasting is one of the house beers. Each person is also required to brew with me one day a month. They then are responsible to train thier departments. We also will visit other breweries as a group.

                        This is what is working for us but I hear that BJCP is working on a server certification program and I am very excited about incorperating it into my training. Perhaps if you are interested you could e-mail the BJCP requesting a server training program.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          what do you have that's like.....

                          i generally do that usual packet/tour/questions and answer session/verbal test to the new employees but what really worked, actually, was having them write down the questions that people ask about the beer itself.

                          we have eighteen on tap (alright, one being rootbeer) at all times so it's intimidating for a new server (especially if they either a: don't care about beer or b: can't legally drink it) to know and understand the differences about each beer. Over the years i've overhead and listened to our customers asking questions about the beer as i've been doing office work/research etc...

                          so i wrote up another packet (and completely minimized the wording in the process one) explaining possible answers to common questions that they (the servers) might have about a possible choice.

                          it makes me cringe like the feeling of wet carboard but i've including the obigatory "What do you have that's like Sam Adams?" or "What do you have that's like Budweiser?" and possible suggestions of our own beers that might please their palates....

                          since our bartenders have all been here for years i find that i only have to hand these packets out at the beginning of each summer (our busiest tourist season) and arm the staff with answers....

                          some might not care but when i explain to them that their tips go up with more knowledge about the establishment (and then, sometimes, actually show them) they start to get the point....

                          then again i've heard the question "What do you have that's like Guiness?" to which the server turned to me and asked me....i told him that our Stout just might be the right choice....

                          and when they ask about the closest to Bud, i always suggest that they bring the customer a glass of soda water....

                          kind of a ramble but it's a different perspective....
                          k. m. kerner

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Beer Ed. 101

                            Hey all.

                            One thing that I might shed a little light on here is server education.

                            I've just spent the last year doing an M.Ed. pureluy for when I my place opens I'll have the skills to improve the overall product.


                            So,

                            Try this.

                            EDIC Explain Demonstrate Imitate Critique (military aviation training method)

                            Explain - What's a wit vs. a weizen.
                            Demonstrate - Hoegard vs. Erdinger - with apropriate langauage, definitions and science.
                            Imitate - Get the server to role play the situation
                            Critique - Critically Reflect (learning theory shows that it is necessary to reflect on the whole process, critically, to fully absorb the information transmitted)

                            Hope that this might help give a loose template to your questions.

                            Specific training manuals, I have issue with, as for one are they relevant to your students, (who as you say are 18-22) and all you really need is a quick demo or instruction 5-Mins. Those who are worth putting the effort into, by all means spend and reap.

                            If I can be of any assistance with Education Q's please shout. I do pop in on occasion.

                            (and, if anyone corrects my spelling - lol! )
                            Founder of London Brewers' Alliance | European Craft Sales Manager for SimplyHops.com | BrewWharf 2009/11 | Writes CAMRA's Homebrew Column | Opened Breakwater Brew Co | Get me @phillowry

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