If you would look for some information regarding beer in Wikipedia, it states there that: Beer is the world's most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and probably the oldest; if you watched the movie “Beowulf” then maybe you would agree; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. Beer is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal grains—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), and rice are widely used.
Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, though other flavourings such as herbs or fruit may occasionally be included.
Summer time is here!!! The Philippines is also known for its’ beers. We generally have 2 major beer companies: San Miguel Corporation and Asia Brewery. Well both would have almost the same line of products although the first one would have a little edge in terms of variety in my opinion.
I had the privilege of tasting beer when I was 8 years old I when my tatay would tease me that it was brown water and I would puke and scream after tasting it since it was bitter. When I went to highschool I was pressured to love beer since it meant being a man if one drinks this. And in college, I indulged in it having been trained in recent years. But when I became a bartender, I slowly began “appreciating” beer and its contents rather than love it. In fact, I can say that here in our country, since most of us like anything sweet, even the beers were tailored in that direction. I will not name a brand but well in the US this brand is very bland but strong, but here it has a touch of sweetness. Here’s the catch, beer can taste either, bland, bitter,malty or sweet, but NEVER SOUR like vinegar. I experienced this when I was working with Virgin Café ( it’s now the spoof of DOLCE). A certain ex-basketball player turned government official came upto us in our bar and almost poked a gun at us because we weren’t aware that we served him a bottle of sour beer 3 times. The following day we investigated and found out that some of our beers were exposed to the sun since there was no more space for storage. When exposed to the sun, since beer is fermented it is prone to further fermentation which can lead to being sour. This year, it was like dejavu, a friend of mine let me taste his beer when we went to one bar. It did have a faint touch of sourness. We changed it and still had the same result. But I am quite certain that this bar had no issues when it comes to storage. The next day, I was driving along the highway and I noticed a beer truck without any cover, all the beers were exposed in the heat of the sun. This made my eyes big and it made me think that this is the reason for the beer fault. I hope this blog reaches the proper distributors of our beers. Please make sure that the beers you deliver are fresh by covering them and making sure they are not exposed to sunlight. When your trucks are at a standstill during traffic, all your beers are exposed. And to the major beer producers, I hope you orient your distributors properly with regards to beer storage. Let us enjoy beers the right way. CHEERS!
If one will go to Google.com and search, ”What do I need to be a certified bartender?,” there is a link that would say that one must be at least 18 years of age since it is the legal age of drinking. There are some states that would say 21. It really depends on the law of each state. I also read that to get a certificate you must attend classes, in this case “bartending classes,” that go thru 8 sessions for 4 hours each, after which, you take a final exam and get a certificate.
Here in the Philippines, “Bartending” is part of the course Hotel and Restaurant Management. It is divided into lecture and lab parts and is better known as beverage or bar management which is usually taken by students in their 2nd or 3rd year in college. In this regard, we can say that we are following what other countries are doing in terms of following the legal age for drinking. If one finishes the course, one gets a diploma since a Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management is good for 4 years.
Although now, since I believe there is an Associate course which lets the student finish the course in 2 years, it is here they get a certificate.Another thing I know is that there are really “bartending schools” in some countries, not just short courses but schools. And the more credible schools do placements in establishments.
So after reading these I would say that so far I am a certified bartender based on the information I got. I searched another website and I would say that I need this training to be really certified:
(Taken from the link http://www.certifiedbartender.com)
Bartending Licenses
As a general rule most states do not require specialized training, certification or licensing for Bartenders, however, some localities (counties and cities) require Bartenders apply for a license to Bartend. It is strongly encouraged that you check with your local city hall to determine if one is required where you plan on working. The licensing fee varies but generally it it costs between $25 and $50 and takes less than 1 month to receive -- usually it can be processed in a couple of days. Most do require Bartenders to go through some sort of Certification program such as the B.A.I.'s Certified Bartender course.
What Is T.I.P.S.? Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol.
If you serve alcohol or employ people who do, more and more of our courts have a message for you. You've got to do more to stop intoxicated customers from driving drunk. To help you avoid that risk, and help save lives, there is a proven training program called TIPS (Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol). Generally your employer will provide this training to you either as an ethical choice or potentially to receive a reduction in liability insurance rates.
What Is L.E.A.D.S.?
The L.E.A.D.S. (Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs Alcohol Seller/Server Training Program) is a free, voluntary prevention and education program for retail licensees, their employees, bartenders and applicants. It began on January 1, 1991 with a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety.
Since February 1995, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has funded the program. Since 1991, the L.E.A.D.S. Program has trained over 100,000 people.
The curriculum is designed for licensees, managers, bartenders, and employees. There is no separate management curriculum. Program length is 3-1/2 hours, except for Fairs/Special Events Training, which is 2 hours.
Benefits Of L.E.A.D.S Training
Reduces risk of liability, including criminal (court action), civil (lawsuit) and administrative (ABC accusation).
1. L.E.A.D.S. Training can help reduce the risk of license revocation. 2. Possible reduced insurance premiums. 3. Provides ways to deal with difficult situations.
So you see, these 2 training programs are very important. I have asked this question before, how come we aren’t really strict in serving alcohol to minors? The answer I got from one mentor is because of our economic situation. This I believe shouldn’t be an excuse because we shouldn’t limit our learning based on what we have in our country.
When I worked on ships, serving alcohol to minors was strictly monitored and followed. One could lose a job right away when found out. I being in a situation where I was with a mother and daughter. The mom ordered a bottle of champagne from me and asked me to give her 2 glasses and pour champagne in them. Based on dramshop law, L.E.A.D.S. and T.I.P.S., what would you do?
I have been in the bartending profession for about 11 years now and I have been connected in the academe for about 5 years. When I arrived here n the country supposedly for my vacation, I was fortunate enough to have been invited as a judge in one in-school bartending competition. Upon conversing with some people from the academe I found out that it is now required for educators to take competency exams so they could teach aside from taking up a masteral course eventually. Wow! Actually, it is a good idea to be “certified” but at the back of my head, is it worth taking the exam? One will pay a fee and for what, to get a piece of paper which states that you are qualified to teach Bartending which here in the country, I believe there is really a need to certify educators into teaching bartending since not anybody can really teach this profession . And I have been in both academe and industry for what, more than what is necessary?
I had second thoughts but I figured since I wanted to go back to the academe again, then "let us do what the Romans do." After 2 weeks of delay I finally came to the assessment center with my picture, resume, and P900. I didn't study deliberately to see if I will pass or not based on mere stored knowledge.
After taking the exam which I would say lasted for about 2 hours since it contained written and practical exams, I would say I passed. As I write this blog I did pass! But here's the catch, I felt that I was shortchanged. I was expecting more since I paid P900, I didn't get what I paid for. I could have been happier if I found the exam hard and it would be easier for me to accept if I failed having known I didn't prepare. If there would be readers from TESDA, let this blog be an appeal, I am not mocking this exam but please make it more worth its fee. There were some instances that kind of affected my ego.
I took the same exam with a fourth year college student and we paid the same fee. I am not being arrogant or something but can't there be a level so there would be an appropriate exam for a certain bracket or group? I used to teach in TESDA Women's Center and I would think that the things that I have been teaching them to pass the NC s the same questions I answered. I only look up to a handful of people that I consider mentors in the area of Bartending, and none of those are connected with TESDA.
I paid for an exam which was photocopied poorly. with some misspelled and missing words, and some poor grammatically constructed questions. I believe that nobody's perfect. I have nothing against the assessor for he was just tasked to assess. I have nothing against the assessment center for the questionnaires I would think is centralized. TESDA is supposed to be highly regarded as the center of skills development. But where is the skill in developing a well thought of, well-produced exam?
We are talking about economic crunch, so why charge so much for something of low value? If I may I can help suggest making the exam a more dignified one and as I have mentioned a separate exam for the students and instructors. I think this goes back to what I have observed that the bartending profession here is very much taken for granted. I cannot blame them for there are really very few qualified and credible individuals who can teach the profession. It is not just flipping of bottles. Again, I call to all educators, with the COHREP's theme of MOVING FORWARD AND BEYOND, let us indeed do this in every little thing we do so we can teach our students to be globally competitive.
Ever since I started Pinoytender Management Consultancy, I was fortunate to have been invited to different colleges and universities from almost all over the country. The more I was exposed, the more I became determined to reach out to all the schools because I know that there is still room for improvement for some of the students for they might have been introduced to the wrong concept of bartending.
After a conversation with a friend, the idea of organizing a workshop in Boracay suddenly popped up. And why not? But behind my head I asked these questions: Is there still something I can teach to the students of Boracay? How is the bartending scene there? I have only been in Bora once in my life when I was the resident bartender for the Nestea Beach Volley back in 2003. Was it gonna be easy to have a workshop? I knew nobody from there so I will just have to walk in, ask around, and observe.
And so I went there together with my friend for an ocular. Man, it was a very costly ocular, but well worth it. We first had to look for a place to stay. We walked through the different stations until our attention was caught by a very hospitable bar waitress. Of course, we couldn’t refuse her so we decided to have a beer at the bar she was working in which was called Real Maris.
We were introduced to the manager on duty, Vivien Yaguel. After a good conversation she introduced us to Ces Gajisan, her F&B Manager who incidentally finished HRM in Manila. We had common friends and similar views so I opened up our intention for going to Bora.
At first she was hesitant but eventually she offered to help us achieve our goal. She said that there is really a need for a good bartending seminar. With that, I was very motivated to push through with this project.
We went bar-hopping so that I can observe how the bar scene is as well as how the bartenders are in Bora. After going to about 70 establishments, I said to myself that I can make it happen.
The only problem was the time--I only had 2-3 weeks to conduct it since I was going back to work on ships. Nevertheless, with Ces and Vivien helping me out, I was very confident. Ces introduced me to the head of Boracay’s bartending organization for he can help us with the mobilization of the bartenders as well as the information dissemination. His name was Bong Gelito. After breaking the ice with Bong, we came to terms on how to go about it.
Another fortunate twist in this event is that I didn’t know that the daughter of a high official in Bora was my former student. What a small world! It was like a reunion for us. She helped me in marketing the event. I even had airtime in their local radio station to help promote the event.
With everything set, the day came for SUMMER BARTENDING sa BORA. This was a 3-day event, with a 1 day lecture and 2 day practicals. Attendance wise, as expected, we didn’t meet the magic number because of the short notice, yet it was a successful event because all of the participants were very receptive and eager to learn.
Starting the seminar was the hardest part for almost all the participants were local residents and I was like from another planet. But that wasn’t really a big deal for we all had one common thing running through our veins … BARTENDING.
The highlight of the bartending seminar was the concept of free-pour, since no one really taught them how to pour properly.
After that we had basic flair which was also a success because not all bartenders had the knack for flairtending.
Here are some of the pictures of the event:
SUMMER BARTENDING in BORA doesn’t end here. Get ready for PART 2! Watch out for it!
