/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>16729338
do a taste test, just taste a little of every beer and make a little footnote on how it tastes and always ALWAYS say "that in your personal oppinion" if they ask of a recommendation of any sort

>>16729338
>"Oh, yeah, I think [Second Most Expensive Drink] is great!"
>"Hey, have you ever tried [Random Closest Drink]?"
>*turn to other guy at the counter* "What do you think, [Random Drink]?"

>>16729343
Doing that already, but a solid tip nonetheless. Thanks.

>>16729348
Like I didn't know that already.

>>16729364
The greentext is all you need, if people know what they want they'll tell you

>>16729338
Find out what styles of beer you offer. Get a book and read up on those styles. Drink what you have on tap. Understand that there are only two types of beer and everything else falls under those umbrellas.

>>16729338
Just be honest and say you’re still learning. Trying to pretend like you know shit is gonna bite you in the ass quickly.

>>16729514
Sorry, I misread the op. I’m gay and retarded.

>>16729338
if you dont know something just ask people around you questions. otherwise you have to do the research on your own time. watch youtube videos, read books, take plenty of notes.

>>16729338
Dude it's an industry, talk to your boss about courses you can take. My mum used to manage an off license and took wine tasting lessons so she could sell more to her customers. She always used to aim for getting people to buy more than what they came in for.

>>16729338
Group them by type and then create subgroups by origin within those types. The general characteristics of the type will carry through in most cases. The origin helps determine noticeable deviations from that standard. Knowing just these two pieces of information will go a long way when suggesting beers or chatting. The next step after that is to taste test within each group and choose a favorite or two - even if that particular type is not your thing. This allows you to up your banter a bit and develop preferences that can guide you towards other beers that share flavor profiles with those you enjoy. Over time, your knowledge will grow and you'll be able to speak confidently on all things beer. This method also works for wine.

>>16729338
before i starting making my own beer i would go to the boutique beer shop and buy 2-3 bottles of similar styled beer at the end of each week to work out the similarities of the style and the differences between each beer type.

You could also join a beer judging course. Over the course of 10 weeks you try multiple different styles and go over the guidelines of how the style would be judged in a competition. You get to have 10 small samples of different types of that beer by the end of the night. I know that mine only cost $180 AUD but considering the quality of the beer and the amount I got to drink over 10 weeks it was a bargain for the price.

>>16729338

Drink them all and see what you like and what you don't. Simple as

when you clock out go and sit at the bar and try to drink one pint of each

Here's a good trick where you don't need to learn anything. Offer free samples to customers and ask them what they think. Whatever they say just agree with it and tell them they're right. Because you're a professional they'll think they know what they're talking about. Then you can sell them more pints.

>>16729338
Taste test like others have said but group them . Think of the inventory like a series of venn diagrams.

For example. I'll use reddit spacing but for a reason.

>Draft
>Bottles

>Foreign
>Domestics

>IPAs
>Blondes
>Reds
>Stouts
>Porters
>Ciders
>Lagers
etc

>Cheap
>Expensive

>Local Brewery
>Nationally known

I am a beer snob and usually ask which IPAs are on draft.

>>16729338

>>16729343
this, with a touch of research into the beers themselves - because there's usually so little that goes into beer, a little insight into the ingredients can give some big insights into any flavours you can't quite nail down (like a bunch of roasted wheat in a stout).

Learn about the different types of beers and their qualities and then taste,look at and smell the different beers that best exemplify that type of beer.

>>16729338
95% of your orders will be
>the standard, cheapest local beer that literally everyone drinks
>G&T
>Rum n coke
>Whisky highball
Once in a while someone might be feeling spicy and order a Long Island or a Jaegerbomb but that's about it.

>>16731829
Is it autistic to order a red headed slut?

>>16729338
There are several good books out there that break down styles, go into history of beer, serving recommendations, etc.
I like The Oxford Companion to Beer because it’s comprehensive. The Complete Beer Course is good, as well.
The best thing to do is to pick a style and taste beers in that style. Try to get a general sense of what that style is about and then pick a couple that you like so that you can recommend them if someone asks.

>>16731829
>go to a bar, get a table with friends
>waitress comes to take orders, they order a moscow mule and, shityounot a White Russian
>I ask for "A G and T"
>A what?
>A G'n'T?
>...You want, a tea? Excuse me?
>A gin and tonic? thank you etc.
>friends proceed to mock me for using some obscure backward anachronistic slur for a "gross" drink
Fucking. I wasn't wrong! That girl had the fattest butt but by Lord SHE WAS IGNORANT

>>16729338
You have to try everything you have on tap, and do it again whenever the taps change.
As for the bottles you're just going to have to learn about the different categories of beer such that you can pick one that has been mislabeled (like APA), or one from an adjacent category (so a stout or dark ale instead of a porter).

>>16729703
Origin is pretty irrelevant. Even in a very well stocked liquor store, international beer is quite the minority.

>>16730134
Exactly. I was too lazy to list out the types, but same process. Nice.
>t. anon who posted >>16729703.

>>16732255
It is absolutely relevant lol. You clearly have not sampled enough beers.

>>16732273
Maybe a thousand.
Maybe 50 of those were international.

>>16732380
You're either lying about your drinking or about there being no difference between different origins. Very easy example: Blue moon is not the same as a German witbier. In fact, I dont know of any domestics that really compare.

>>16729338
Begin with the color of beer, that usually can tell you a lot about it.

>Lager
Super pale, crushable, and a soft malty taste. Basically the water equivalent of beer.
>Blonde Ale
Light and still not bitter, but the malt is a little more noticeable. Midway between Lager and Pale Ale.
>Hefeweizen
German beer style, very yeasty and wheaty.
>Pale Ale
Malt and some hops, which opens the door for a lot of new flavors. A nice, balanced beer with a blend of flavor, but significantly more bitter than the two above.
>IPA
Generally a pale ale with a lot of hops, extra bitterness, and a higher alcohol content. Very popular brew style where I live.
>Amber
Hoppy and malty, but with more texture and a caramel-like aftertaste. Considered the midway point between light and dark beers.
>Red
Amber, but with toasted malts and a much higher degree of bitterness.
>Brown
Caramel and toffee flavored, with a significantly darker malt.
>Porter
Almost chocolatey, with a very deep color. Not great for newbies to try out first.
>Stout
Blackest you can get, almost burnt with a coffee and chocolate/caramel aftertaste. Can give people a bad first impression with beer.

Then the rest of the knowledge is knowing the individual tastes of the beers on tap. The most important characteristics are flavor profile, bitterness, drinkability, and composition.

>>16732438
That's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying is that 950 of my 1000 beers had the same origin, so being able recognize the witbier (which I will instantly recognize) isn't that useful. I could just always say for every beer I drink "classic aussie profile" and it'd be really accurate a claim.

Results may vary in Europe where borders are looser, or USA if beers are identifiable by state (I've not noticed this).

>>16732533
Ah, so my choice of aussie dude was weirdly accurate - I see what you mean. They vary by state for sure, but moreso it's regional. Lot of IPA's on the west coast, more lagers towards the middle, then darker heavier stuff on the east side. Kinda maps to the early settlers, the middle and east anyway. Germans brought the lager, Irish/Scots go for the darker. But I guess like you said, Australia kinda doesnt give a shit in regards to variety as far as I'm aware. HOWEVER, you guys do have one of the greatest drink along movies of all time: Wake in Fright.

>>16732518
>>Lager
>Super pale, crushable, and a soft malty taste. Basically the water equivalent of beer.
A doppelbock is a lager and doesn't fit that description.

There are only 2 types of beer lagers and ales, with lambics being sort of the red headed step child, everything else falls under those two categories.

>>16733238
Based typology autist

>>16729338
Best I can recommend is learn the broad types, which are often very different. Sours vs. IPA. vs. Red Ale vs. Wietbier, etc. Those are pretty different usually.

>>16733264
Worked in a brewery for a few years and hated when we had several lagers on tap and customers would ask "whats the closest thing to a lager you have?" when what they really meant was whats the closest thing to a coors light on tap.

>>16729338
First of all familiarise yourself with the different types of beers.
Then I would seek to taste the 3 most popular beers from selected countries.
Canada, Mexico, Britain, Ireland, France, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Italy, India, China, Japan.

>>16731973
plenty of them on tinder
or join a local art class, lots of redhead slut art-hoes in those

>>16732018
cool blog, boring story though, 3/10

>>16732915
>doesnt give a shit in regards to variety
What a load of shit.

>Lot of IPA's on the west coast, more lagers towards the middle, then darker heavier stuff on the east side.
Not quite what we were talking about. Having a different kind of IPA on the east and west coast would be regional variety. In that case it becomes useful to know where it came from. Or if an English IPA is different from an American IPA (which is the case).

But here If I want to tell an American Indian pale ale from an Australian American pale ale (I shit you not) the only tell would be the better one probably didn't circumnavigate the world. Or a German hefeweizen from and Australian one (and in this case it's even harder since we actually have Germans, unlike the APA which is likely being imitated by aussies).

>>16733647
>Not quite what we were talking about. Having a different kind of IPA on the east and west coast would be regional variety
I never said the other areas lacked those types, but instead heavily implied they excel in making those types. So yes, east coast has IPA (sweetwater in Atlanta, which I've visited personally), but because they dont specialize in them they are generally shit. This is what I mean by origin. If I went in blind to a collection of beers I've never tried, but were given the type and origin it would be a lot easier to filter out ones likely to suck. Maybe they offer me the choice of a lager, a stout or an IPA all sourced from Michigan. I'd choose the lager every single time knowing that region is very weak in regards to the other two. Simple as.

>>16733958
> Maybe they offer me the choice of a lager, a stout or an IPA all sourced from Michigan. I'd choose the lager every single time knowing that region is very weak in regards to the other two
You clearly don’t know shit. Michigan has had one of the best brewing scenes for decades, including some great IPAs and stouts.
>stout
Bell’s Expedition and Black Note
Founder’s Breakfast and KBS
Dark Horse Plead the 5th
New Holland Dragon’s Milk
Odd Side Rye Hipster Brunch
>IPAs
Bell’s Hopslam and Two Hearted
Blackrocks 51k
Old Nation M-43 and Boss Tweed
Kuhnhenn DRIPA

>t. Ohioan who grudgingly admits that Michigan can at least make good beer

>>16729338
Speaking as a bartender, go to your bar after your shift or on a day you are off. Ask your coworker in their time off to chill a couple dozen shot glasses. After that, order 4 different samples of beer at a time, and write down reviews on each of them in your phone. This isn't for showing to other people, this is for you to remember what you think of them. After that, do the same for all of the liquors, liqueurs, wines, and any other fuckball things that happen to be in the bar.

This is the same course I tell every prospective bartender to do in my bar, because it's the same thing I did immediately as I became a bartender. It makes your ability to talk about the bar far better than an average piece of shit off the street. Cocktails can be ignored and learned on the job, but knowing what is on tap and what is available to be up-selled is far more important.

>>16734322
Is me
>>16729703
>>16729753
These are good once you learn past the basics of your bar, the same as I've done. Knowing the industry is great for talking to customers, though not really important in the short term to succeed.
>>16730134
This is good once you know what you are serving.
>>16731829
Correct.
>>16732518
Good for the first month or so, but deeper knowledge than just looking at the fucker is required. Description of what a beer tastes like is required to ask and tell a customer what they are looking for.

>>16734264
>using specific outliers as evidence of superiority
Yeah you're fucking dumb, man. Do you understand what heuristics are and how to use them? I'm sure I could find a few black people in the UP, but I would not say they have a lot of black people. Stop getting upset with knee jerk responses and actually read what I am saying.
>t. grew up in Gwinn with family in Akron

>>16734382
I did read it, and this post too. And they’re both wrong. I just listed a few examples, but there are literally dozens of great stouts and IPAs made in MI. There are a lot of great stouts and IPAs from FL. And TX. And ME.
10 years ago you’d probably say, ‘there’s no good IPAs made in New England, so don’t order any’. Now some of the best IPAs come from New England.
I guess my point is that you can’t just reject an entire state’s or region’s beer production wholesale. Its constantly changing and there are great brewers and beers everywhere.