Rich Higgins
Consultant à la Bière
Restaurant Industry Services
A Beer Quiz
- Do your beer offerings complement your menu and hospitality?
- Could you be losing customers because your beer menu is unflattering to your image?
- Do you offer beers simply because a distributor promises they sell well at other restaurants?
- Do you offer your guests a duplicative or scattershot beer menu? (If you offered five selections on your wine menu, would the choices be four sauvignon blancs and one petite sirah?)
- What are IPAs, Belgian beers, and sour beers all about? Should you be selling some?
- Are all lagers light? Are all ales bitter and heavy? Is beer only good with burgers and pizza?
- Are your beer draft lines cleaned often enough? Can you taste the difference?
- Is it a good idea to stack or chill your beer glassware?
- Even if beer is just a small part of your beverage mix, could you be making better margins on your beer sales?
- Do your bartenders and servers enjoy beer off the job? (If so, they may already be good beer ambassadors.)
- Do you take your beer program seriously?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, or you’re not sure how they affect your business, you may be losing sales, customers, and press to the contemporary breed of restaurants that take their beer programs seriously.
The Growth of Artisanal, Local, Sustainable, and Authentic
Craft beer is a hot product that is an important part of any beverage portfolio. Craft beer is produced by small, independent brewers using traditional methods (1), and is the fastest growing product in the US adult beverage market (2). Its sales by volume have grown by an average of 10% each of the last six years, and increased a whopping 15% in the first half of 2011 (3), even while overall beer sales declined in 2009 and 2010. Beer sales are affected the least by an economic downturn, and wine sales are affected the most (4).
These trends mark increasing
consumer appreciation for taste and authenticity, and they are mirrored
throughout the food industry. Artisanal, local, sustainable, and
authentic are the keys to a relevant restaurant operation, and they are
also the very core of craft beer.
The Proper Beer Menu
Too many beer menus are “on autopilot,” lacking direction and profitability. I can help you source beers you want to sell. My beer menus will enhance your food and image, complement your wine program, boost your beer sales and add to your bottom line. And don’t worry: I’m not on a quest to implement lengthy beer menus featuring rare bottlings and cellared, barrel-aged beers for one and all. A focused, efficient beer list is often more appropriate and cost-effective than a lofty, wide-ranging menu.
A Passion for Pairing: A Beer for Every Food and a Food for Every Beer
Beer pairing is a long-underappreciated art in this country, but now that there is great availability of and consumer interest in quality beers, it is time to expose people to what brewers and chefs have known for a long time -- that beer is fantastic with food. Craft beer offers such a vast range of tastes, aromas, and mouthfeel that beautiful pairings with any food are always possible. There truly is a beer for every food and a food for every beer.
Consider your passion for fantastic food, wine, and cocktails and
how they're mixed and paired together. If beers has been a second
thought, then allow me to make it my first thought.
4. As found by Nielsen and stated in the press release, “Americans
are Thirsty for Craft Beer: Dollar Sales Up 11 Percent for First Half
of 2008,” Brewers Association, July 28, 2008.
SAMPLE RESTAURANT SERVICES
Menu Design: beer that adds to your bottom line- Evaluation of beer menu
- Comments on beers present and absent
- Assessment of beer cost, sales, goals, and identity
- Adjustment of beer menu
- Development of strategies with beer distributors
- Potential future consulting and training for seasonal and trend relevance
Staff Training: support, serve, and sell your beer
- Evaluation of beer menu
- Training of service staff on the beers offered, including how to sell and present the beers
- Delivery of Beer Bible with tasting notes and style backgrounds for each beer
Beer Pairings: enhance your cuisine
- Evaluation of beer menu
- Development of beer and food pairing suggestions, either with beers already on menu or new additions
Beer Dinners: incorporating beer into the full dining experience
- Designing a special menu of dishes with beer pairings for each course
- Guest Cicerone/Sommelier service to introduce and serve the beer pairings
- Assistance with event promotion