Beverage Purchasing Control

Beverage Purchasing
Control
Copyright © 2006 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved
Alcoholic Beverage
Classifications
• 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
Alcoholic Beverages
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.
Wines
• 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”
Additional Wines &
Beverages
• 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
Alcohol Production
Processes
• 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
Nonalcoholic Beverages
• Coffee, Tea or Milk

• Carbonated
• Non-carbonated
• Mixers
– Other ingredients
• Garnishes, Cream,
Lemon & Lime juice
Types of Establishments
 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.
Purposes of Beverage
Purchasing Controls
 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.
Factors Used to Establish
Quantity Standards for Beverage
Purchasing
 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
Two Types of States for Purposes
of Beverage Purchasing
 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).
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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).
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
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.
Purchasing Beverage
Products
 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.

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Beverage Purchasing

In moderate doses, ethyl alcohol is a mild

• Coffee, Tea or Milk

 License states: States in which beverage

•In general, operators will select spirits in two major

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