Starting bartending in a week - what do I need to know??

[sourceninja]

Most good beers taste a lot better about 10 degrees above a fridge temperature in my experience, which is vast.

I keep my keezer at 48F as I find it's the perfect balance of cold enough to be refreshing and warm enough to keep the beer tasting like beer.

/this i hate it when i get a beer WITH NO FUCKING HEAD..bah!

learn to pour a fucking beer!

Quite often that's a dirty glass or a glass that all the soap wasn't rinsed out of. It's hard to pour a beer and not get head. Also in many cases the style of beer simply won't hold a head (like high gravity beers).

 

[Mandres]

Forget about memorizing drink recipes and focus on techniques. You need to be able to accurately measure, pour, mix, handle cash, prep, etc. while keeping your station clean, and your energy/personality turned on.

I think you need to make it very clear to your co-workers that you have zero experience working behind a bar. They'll either help you or get you fired, depending on whether they like you or not. Make sure you arrive early and stay late every day and are eager to learn and help.

 

[ThePresence]

Its a fun job and a fun lifestyle but it isn't always so easy. Long and tiring shifts sometimes, no insurance (usually), no guaranteed paycheck, no guaranteed hours. You can have a manager that loves you leave, only to be replaced by a manager that hates you.

No guaranteed Steam games either.

 

[JoeyP]

I've never worked at a bar, but these come to mind for success:

Keep busy cleaning glassware, picking up napkins, clearing tips after people leave, anticipating refills, maybe smalltalk if things slow a little, getting ice, etc. Nobody likes to see a bartender just standing there looking bored.

Know your beers. Some people may be open to suggestions, so knowing the differences between an IPA and a scotch ale are important. See if you can give out a shot glass sample.

Learn to read lips, and say it back. Especially in a loud place with crowds. I've often ordered drinks/pitchers without even saying anything.

Smile! You'll get lots of tips if you make good drinks and serve with a smile.

 

[Ruptga]

Find out what kind of things that bar normally serves, then memorize a couple of items in that drinks category, for everything else keep a cheat sheet until you learn through practice. Also, go to their bar a time or two and look how they have things organized. You will save yourself a lot of time hunting for things if you can memorize their speed rack's layout. Last, learn how to use a pour spout and jigger without making a mess; you ought to be able to look up the basics of that on the internet.

 

[davmat787]

Learn how to snicker properly when someone orders a vodka "martini".

 

[Printer Bandit]

can't wait till the day bartenders are replaced by machines.

 

[Maverick2002]

Thanks for the tips guys, had training last night. Made a few drinks, got familiar with the setup, still need to play around with the POS system more, of course made a few mistakes but no biggie. I'm going to be working the service bar Saturday night and I'm pretty excited about it. It'll give me an idea of the rush and see how the main bar operates without actually working it quite yet.

Standard pour at this place is 1.5oz and they have 0.75oz stop pours so I don't have to worry about the right amount. How does a larger standard pour affect other ingredients/mixers? Or does it not?

Another random question - what are good black pants that are not denim but still comfortable/acceptable? Obviously I can't wear gym pants but dress pants might be a little much given that I'm wearing a tshirt/polo and sneakers.

 

[IronWing]

Another random question - what are good black pants that are not denim but still comfortable/acceptable? Obviously I can't wear gym pants but dress pants might be a little much given that I'm wearing a tshirt/polo and sneakers.

Get a pair of cotton BDU pants and dye them black.

 

[ReggieDunlap]

Or just get some good black kahkis, or dickees and just make sure to wash them in cold water. Dont use too much fabric softener (if any) and that should keep them from fading too quickly over time.

Standard pours can vary. Years ago when I tended, a 1.5oz pour would go for mixed drinks and 1.75-2 for on the rocks. Depends on how low the house wants to keep the liquor costs. In my time, depending on bar or top-shelf pours, we were getting $3.5-$4 for mixed and $4-$4.50 for on the rocks.

Service bar is a good way to start. You get comfortable mixing drinks and pouring, you get a good sense of what the clientele is ordering and you can really get your speed up. Then the transfer to bar service becomes more about working the register and meeting your customers.

 

[Maverick2002]

Thanks for all the advice guys. After a couple training days, Wednesday my manager let me run the bar by myself and I was on stage last night (Friday) with a couple other bartenders. It was hectic but fun. You're right - you learn something new every day. I've picked up everything necessary to run solo, now just need to work on memorization and additional recipe knowledge and generally speeding things up. This is a restaurant/bar as well so people sit down to eat at the bar, so I get some experience taking food orders too.

 

[TallBill]

Congrats man, it can be a super rewarding job. I had an impromptu party of 100 walk into my bar today. Sold 3k by myself with no barbacks plus did server tickets lol. Made just stupid money.

 

[Maverick2002]

^ I'm hoping for that day. Don't know if it'll be in this place. We're still in soft opening for almost the entire month of October, after which it should pick up. Monday night shift was super dead. Hopefully it will pick up once we're 'open open'. I am looking at other places to fill in the empty days though. I would love to do this as my 9-5, but I guess you have to build up to it?

 

[Iron Woode]

bartenders here need to know several things, but first among them are the liquor laws.

Serving someone who is visibly drunk is illegal.

Checking ID. Don't just rely on the doorman. Underage drinking is a serious offense here.

Police regularly patrol our bars as well there are undercover cops and undercover Liquor Inspectors. Anyone of these can pull the bar's license and shut you down. Many bars here went out of business because of lax practices.

It ain't easy running a bar here.