Magazine of the Campaign for Real Ale British Columbia
Volume 19 No 5
Sept - Oct 2009
Drinking Less, Drinking Better By Jim Anderson As sound an argument now as it was when first published, Jim Anderson’s advice is reproduced with permission from Restaurant Report - an industry standard publication for savvy owners. A generation ago, who would have thought that we’d have a TV screen on our desks that would allow us to talk to people on the other side of the planet? Or that we’d have a box in our kitchen that we could put frozen food into, press a button, and be eating moments later? Or be talking about gourmet beer? That’s right, lots of things have changed in the past several years, and now that we’re in the cost, calorie, alcohol, freshness, quality, health and flavour-conscious 2000s, better beer comes up as a winner all around. How so, you say? Let me count the ways. COST - Ounce for ounce, even the most expensive beer is the alcohol world’s best value, which means it’s also good for profits. For the price of the worst wine on your list, you can sell the finest beer in the world in the same size bottle - for at least 15% more profit. And at that price, Inside: maybe your customers will stay for more than one. And among highNotes From NHC 3 end beers in individual Time to Campaign 8 servings, there’s typically for $3.00 profit per Out & About 6 bottle - twice that of a bottle of common, indusUllage & Spillage 10 trially-brewed beer. CALORIE - DeCalendar 12 spite its bad reputation in the calorie department, What’s Brewing
beer is typically in the 130-170 range per 12oz. serving, the same as 6oz. of wine. Owing to a low alcohol content, most of the calories in beer are from carbohydrates, which are more easily burned off (within a certain time of consumption) than calories from alcohol. ALCOHOL - Beer is definitely today’s drink of moderation, as most beers weigh in at between 4.5 and 6% alcohol by volume. An with liquor legal liablility as preposterous as it is some jurisdictions, you should much rather see your customers with an empty beer bottle in front of them than an empty Goldschlager glass. FRESHNESS - Beer, like most foods, is perishable. And since, like most foods, fresher is better, the numerous craft breweries and brewpubs around now give you the opportunity to provide your customers with the equilvalent of locallygrown produce - it’s a great selling point, and reminds everyone that you support local business. QUALITY - And speaking of craft breweries and brewpubs, the only reason they exist in the first cont. page 11 ...