Well served

Whether it’s the glass or its contents, are pubs and restaurants making the most of their drinks and providing customers with the perfect serve? John Porter reports.

The prospect of walking into a bar and asking for a ‘two-thirds of bitter’ instead of the standard ‘pint’ or ‘half pint’ may fill traditionalists with horror. Even so, it will soon be perfectly legal to serve beer and cider in a two thirds of a pint measure, one of a range of imminent changes to Weights & Measures regulations.

Although the small matter of a General Election, with a less than conclusive outcome, has delayed the implementation of these changes, confirmation is expected once the Coalition Government works out whose job it is. How important is the size or shape of the receptacle used to serve a drink? Surely the quality of the liquid in the glass is paramount?

In fact, the two go hand in hand, according to Jamie Stephenson, former World Bartending Champion and founder of the Bar Academy training business.

“A great drink is just as much about the presentation as it is about the quality of the drink – selecting the right glassware and accompaniments is very important. In a bar, the customer is paying a premium for their drinks and wants to know that it’s been made with real care and attention.” While Stephenson has produced his share of complex cocktails, he’s all for simplicity when it matters.

Having devised signature cocktails for the range of drinks distributed by Hi- Spirits, for premium gin brand No.209 his choice is a gin and tonic. “It’s a simple drink but there are a lot of very poor G&Ts served – the ability to make one well is a great test of a bartender’s skills.”

Britvic has also recognised the importance of getting these basics right. This year has seen the soft drinks supplier revamp its mixers range, develop a new range of branded glassware for brands such as Pepsi and J2O, and launch its Excellence training programme.

Initially running in managed pubs, the training focuses on serving spirits and mixers in the right way, as well as on soft drinks. Business unit director Paul Linthwaite says: “Getting the basics right is key to a good experience for any consumer. If a drink does not have the right amount of ice, correct amount of mixer or even a clean glass, it’s seen as an automatic fail and you will potentially lose any possible repeat purchase.”

With one million new glasses distributed for J2O alone, bespoke glassware is increasingly important. “Consumers expect it with beer and lager, so why wouldn’t they expect the same standard from a soft drink? The perfect serve is becoming increasingly more important to consumers for both their alcoholic and soft drink experiences – 77% of consumers who get the perfect serve are more likely to buy a second drink,” he adds.

The right serve can also help to attract new customers. The BitterSweet Partnership, set up by brewer Molson Coors to encourage more women to drink beer, has conducted research which shows that glass style plays an important role.

Kristy McCready, marketing manager for Bittersweet, says: “Currently women account for just 13% of beer sales in the UK, significantly lower than in the US and other European countries, but providing more choice in UK pubs and bars should help redress this issue.

“We know that the beer serve is key to women – research tells us that a quarter of them would consider beer if the glassware was changed. But it’s not just the size of a pint that puts women off, it’s the whole design; women like to order a drink that looks good. Almost a third [30%], go for something that is served nicely, has the right image or is something that their friends drink.

“As well as new measures we’d like to see manufacturers starting to take a cue from the Continent, where different shaped glasses are used to serve beer. Interesting to know that while many women don’t like to drink beer in the UK, a fifth do drink it on holiday.”

Linking a niche product with an unusual serve can also help a business to stand out. Bensons Totally Fruity is a family owned business based in the Cotswolds producing wholesome natural fruit juices.

Anna McNicholas, brand manager at café chain Coffee #1 which has 12 outlets across the south west, says: “We’re very particular about the brands we stock, there has to be a story attached in terms of the quality of the product. Bensons Totally Fruity started out at about the same time as we did and has always been very supportive of our business.

“The standout product for us is their apple and cinnamon, which we serve warm. It’s an unusual product, certainly none of our competitors has anything like it, and it’s very popular.

“It’s obviously a great Christmas drink, but we serve it all year around. There are always customers looking for dairy free hot drinks for health reasons as an alternative to a latte.”

Coffee is big business, and JD Wetherspoon’s success serving well over half a million coffees a week across its pubs shows that it’s not only the specialists who can make a success of hot drinks.

Martin Thorpe, head of the dispense beverage business unit at Nestlé Professional, says: “We’ve seen a move towards pubs adopting a more café style environment during the day which is showing signs of being a real profit driver. Pubs often lay dormant in the day so optimising staff that are already in work and setting up for the day, turns downtime into a profit making opportunity.”

The two most popular coffee serves are cappuccino and latte, but “for general bar staff, it’s just one more job when they have quite enough to do already and the reality is they don’t need to know how to do this,” says Thorpe.

“The demand from customers in bars and pubs is quite different to a café. Pub customers want a consistent, quality cup of coffee but it doesn’t have to be barista quality, nor have the associated price tag.”

The company’s Nescafé Milano machine doesn’t require trained barista staff, “providing a consistent serve, great presentation and no need for expensive and time consuming staff training”.

Words John Porter

This article originally appeared in Eat Out magazine www.eatoutmagazine.co.uk

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