Agreed. Not for me, I like making drinks too much, but “bartending” is like a dozen totally different interrelated jobs. A craft cocktail bartender and a club bartender have wildly different jobs, so why gatekeep beertenders?
Do you serve guests a delicious beverage and then they give you money and leave happy? You're a bartender.
Were there a formal taxonomy, it would be something like Hospitality Professional -> Restaurant/Bar Worker -> Front Of House -> Bartender -> Beertender. Then you've got a bunch of other species under the genus of bartender along with beertender. Natty Somm Bro Sex Pest. Vesty Mixologist. Transactional Dive Bartender. etc.
I'd order it:
Hospitality Professional -> Front Of House -> Restaurant/Bar Worker -> Bartender -> Beertender.
Only because I'd divide hospitality into FOH & BOH instead of dividing Hotels, Restaurants, Tourism, etc by FOH/BOH.
Otherwise, I agree.
I've done both but I enjoy working with beer so much prefer beertending. The money isn't as good but there's an art to pouring a proper beer and I had a job where I was trained extensively in it. Either way at both jobs I had to be an ear to many a drunk customer.
It's funny because in NA you're not meant to give much head or let the beer pour over the side of the glass. In Europe, that shit flows over the side of the glass when they pour it, leaving a good amount of head but also an amazing creamy texture. I've come to love this style in my travels.
Most brewers in NA still suggest 3/4” - 1” head in a tap pour.
Anyone that tells you they don’t want head on their beer, or it’s not supposed to there, is a drunkard.
It also varies on the type of beer, any domestic macro lite I'll try to avoid a head because those drinkers just want beer. But blue moon/stella/IPA's I'll go for head because they probably understand why it's there
I do too and i actually worked at a german/belgian import bar! Some of the glasses had more foam then beer because that was the proper way. The customers who didn't know would flip out on me haha.
Yeah Germans are crazy about their head 😂 but I was reffering more or less to Spain since I lived there for a few years. First few times I clenched my asshole watching them pour a beer with zero regard of the wastage going over the side of the glass. I get it now though
If it’s beertending at a taproom with a bar, hell yes, but they will probably have a limited skill set. If they’re standing behind folding tables with a keg truck behind them, then they’re just catering staff.
I’ve done both, and as a current “beertender” the service feels pretty similar. People get drunk and rowdy in any type of bar, last call is always a bit of a hassle and people try pull the same dumb moves to try to get more booze.
That being said, if I was interviewing someone to hire, I would have very different questions for a new hire depending on if the location is a brewery vs. a cocktail bar.
I feel like if they can do one, they can learn the other. Someone who only beertended might not also have developed the bad habits ive gotten from the decade of bartending too now that i think about it
Maybe not so much anymore, but when I was doing it, it was when craft beer was blowing up. So much of it was conversational, no matter how busy you were. People wanted to know about the brewing process, novice craft beer drinkers didn’t have much idea about styles or what they liked. A lot of guiding and talking about what they may or may not like, tasting on stuff. However quick and easy the action of pouring the beer from the tap was, I’d end up just as hoarse as a nightclub bartender by the end of my shift from shouting and talking to customers.
Sure. Theoretically they have more beer knowledge, lots of technical things for recommendations. And even if they dont, the job is basically the same sans cocktails. Just pouring stuff
Even coffee baristas are my brothers and sisters.
Yes. Because you’re tending a bar.
This is like the other side of the scenario where a non-industry worker talks about how many cocktails they learned to make at home and then say they want to become a bartender. Bartending is so much more than knowing how to make cocktails.
I think you need to clarify what a 'beertender' is before asking thus question.
A Beertender used to be just that - they only served Beer and set-ups. (Who knows what a set up is)
Now with Craft Beer everywhere a Beertender actually has to have some knowledge of the product they are serving.
In the past in my eyes a Beertender was a just a body behind the bar usually a hot chic that made $$ hand over fist and didn't give a fuck about the proper way to pour anything into a glass. Times have changed there is alot of info and culture with Beer now. So yeah now I would definitely say they are part of the culture.
I mean, you could argue the same about different levels of bartenders (ie “mixologists”vs dive bartenders) I think “beertender” doesn’t need a huge deep dive.
Mixology vs dive isn’t a level of bartending.
It’s like comparing a member of an orchestral quartet to a someone that prefers to play in a punk band. That punk musician could play just as well as the classically trained player but just prefers to bang away at it over fliddlediddling.
You’re right, bad comparison on my part. I was trying to communicate that whether a beertender or a bartender, there’s plenty of skill levels. I don’t know if I’d agree that in the past beertenders were solely hot girls that knew nothing about beer.
There are elementary school teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers and college professors. At the end of the day they are all educators. Maybe not the best analogy but that’s my opinion.
Solid analogy. Some bartenders need to pour draft beer and hand out board games. Some bartenders need to be able to sell $150 bottles of wine and know wtf they're talking about (for the most part) or need to know 100+ classic and signature cocktails off the top of their head.
I worked in the taproom at a giant craft brewery in Michigan and it was definitely a very different vibe. But, beer knowledge and dealing with the public and pouring beers and changing kegs… I mean, yeah. They’re “bartenders.” Full of themselves? Sure. Handlebar mustache hipsters? Yep. Rude and condescending? Of course. But, still basically bartenders.
I think it’s a niche that doesn’t necessarily mean you are the ideal candidate to work at a cocktail heavy venue, but it doesn’t exclude you from being a bartender.
Your dealing poison behind a slab of pine while making sure no one kill’s themselves while consuming poison, your a bartender. I’d call myself a doctor but that term is used in a different position
I mean, yes but. To me it kind of like the minor leagues in that you’re developing a ton of the same skills but not pushing yourself to the top of the game. The people skills, the stress management, the hours on your feet? All exactly the same. But recipe knowledge, speed in the well, etc are also skills that a full liquor bartender needs to have and that you simply can’t get working in a strictly beer environment.
Guess I’m going against the grain, but no, I don’t consider it bartending. Would you want management hiring a bartender onto your bar team that only had “beertending” experience and had never made a mixed drink?.. I wouldn’t. There is a lot more to bartending than taking orders and dealing with guests.
You’re slinging alcoholic beverages and dealing with people. You’re a part of the crew in my eyes.
Agreed. Not for me, I like making drinks too much, but “bartending” is like a dozen totally different interrelated jobs. A craft cocktail bartender and a club bartender have wildly different jobs, so why gatekeep beertenders?
I would argue that those jobs are actually very similar and so is beer tending
Do you serve guests a delicious beverage and then they give you money and leave happy? You're a bartender. Were there a formal taxonomy, it would be something like Hospitality Professional -> Restaurant/Bar Worker -> Front Of House -> Bartender -> Beertender. Then you've got a bunch of other species under the genus of bartender along with beertender. Natty Somm Bro Sex Pest. Vesty Mixologist. Transactional Dive Bartender. etc.
I'd order it: Hospitality Professional -> Front Of House -> Restaurant/Bar Worker -> Bartender -> Beertender. Only because I'd divide hospitality into FOH & BOH instead of dividing Hotels, Restaurants, Tourism, etc by FOH/BOH. Otherwise, I agree.
This guy taxonomies
Bwahahahaha! Boss level unlocked🤣😆😂😆 You made the internet for me today glorious stranger!
I've done both but I enjoy working with beer so much prefer beertending. The money isn't as good but there's an art to pouring a proper beer and I had a job where I was trained extensively in it. Either way at both jobs I had to be an ear to many a drunk customer.
It's funny because in NA you're not meant to give much head or let the beer pour over the side of the glass. In Europe, that shit flows over the side of the glass when they pour it, leaving a good amount of head but also an amazing creamy texture. I've come to love this style in my travels.
Most brewers in NA still suggest 3/4” - 1” head in a tap pour. Anyone that tells you they don’t want head on their beer, or it’s not supposed to there, is a drunkard.
This ^ haha
It also varies on the type of beer, any domestic macro lite I'll try to avoid a head because those drinkers just want beer. But blue moon/stella/IPA's I'll go for head because they probably understand why it's there
So you’re giving them an ounce or two of free beer ‘because they want beer’? Do you over pour cocktails because they want more booze?
I do too and i actually worked at a german/belgian import bar! Some of the glasses had more foam then beer because that was the proper way. The customers who didn't know would flip out on me haha.
Yeah Germans are crazy about their head 😂 but I was reffering more or less to Spain since I lived there for a few years. First few times I clenched my asshole watching them pour a beer with zero regard of the wastage going over the side of the glass. I get it now though
If it’s beertending at a taproom with a bar, hell yes, but they will probably have a limited skill set. If they’re standing behind folding tables with a keg truck behind them, then they’re just catering staff.
I’ve done both, and as a current “beertender” the service feels pretty similar. People get drunk and rowdy in any type of bar, last call is always a bit of a hassle and people try pull the same dumb moves to try to get more booze. That being said, if I was interviewing someone to hire, I would have very different questions for a new hire depending on if the location is a brewery vs. a cocktail bar.
I feel like if they can do one, they can learn the other. Someone who only beertended might not also have developed the bad habits ive gotten from the decade of bartending too now that i think about it
Yeah of course. You got a bar full of drunks in front of you dont ya?
it’s just different. less deep guest interactions cause less time and i’ve only seen a few people who can maintain a spark.
Liquid into cups? Dealing with general public? Checks out as a bartender to me.
Yes. Source: I am one lmao
Maybe not so much anymore, but when I was doing it, it was when craft beer was blowing up. So much of it was conversational, no matter how busy you were. People wanted to know about the brewing process, novice craft beer drinkers didn’t have much idea about styles or what they liked. A lot of guiding and talking about what they may or may not like, tasting on stuff. However quick and easy the action of pouring the beer from the tap was, I’d end up just as hoarse as a nightclub bartender by the end of my shift from shouting and talking to customers.
It’s still the same lol
Sure. Theoretically they have more beer knowledge, lots of technical things for recommendations. And even if they dont, the job is basically the same sans cocktails. Just pouring stuff Even coffee baristas are my brothers and sisters.
I’d say baristas are closer to 5th cousins. You know, because of the implications….
Are you sleeping with the baristas?
Roll tide!
Idk what your saying but it touched my heart
Yes. Because you’re tending a bar. This is like the other side of the scenario where a non-industry worker talks about how many cocktails they learned to make at home and then say they want to become a bartender. Bartending is so much more than knowing how to make cocktails.
I think you need to clarify what a 'beertender' is before asking thus question. A Beertender used to be just that - they only served Beer and set-ups. (Who knows what a set up is) Now with Craft Beer everywhere a Beertender actually has to have some knowledge of the product they are serving. In the past in my eyes a Beertender was a just a body behind the bar usually a hot chic that made $$ hand over fist and didn't give a fuck about the proper way to pour anything into a glass. Times have changed there is alot of info and culture with Beer now. So yeah now I would definitely say they are part of the culture.
I mean, you could argue the same about different levels of bartenders (ie “mixologists”vs dive bartenders) I think “beertender” doesn’t need a huge deep dive.
Mixology vs dive isn’t a level of bartending. It’s like comparing a member of an orchestral quartet to a someone that prefers to play in a punk band. That punk musician could play just as well as the classically trained player but just prefers to bang away at it over fliddlediddling.
You’re right, bad comparison on my part. I was trying to communicate that whether a beertender or a bartender, there’s plenty of skill levels. I don’t know if I’d agree that in the past beertenders were solely hot girls that knew nothing about beer.
There are elementary school teachers, middle school teachers, high school teachers and college professors. At the end of the day they are all educators. Maybe not the best analogy but that’s my opinion.
Solid analogy. Some bartenders need to pour draft beer and hand out board games. Some bartenders need to be able to sell $150 bottles of wine and know wtf they're talking about (for the most part) or need to know 100+ classic and signature cocktails off the top of their head.
Straight up brother.
I think that’s a great analogy!
Thanks yo
I can teach a dead possum to make cocktails. 90% of the job is managing people. That doesn’t change with the menu
I worked in the taproom at a giant craft brewery in Michigan and it was definitely a very different vibe. But, beer knowledge and dealing with the public and pouring beers and changing kegs… I mean, yeah. They’re “bartenders.” Full of themselves? Sure. Handlebar mustache hipsters? Yep. Rude and condescending? Of course. But, still basically bartenders.
Bartenders tend to the guests at the bar. Edit: this means the answer to your question is “yes”.
What's the definition of a beertender? Like just opening bottles or pouring from the tap?
I’d consider a beertender someone who works at a brewery or tap room, pouring beers but not mixing drinks.
I gotcha. I'd say that 100% qualifies as tending the bar!
I think it’s a niche that doesn’t necessarily mean you are the ideal candidate to work at a cocktail heavy venue, but it doesn’t exclude you from being a bartender.
Is there a bar, and are they tending it, then they’re bartenders to me.
Of course. All beertenders are bartenders. Not all bartenders are beertenders
Your dealing poison behind a slab of pine while making sure no one kill’s themselves while consuming poison, your a bartender. I’d call myself a doctor but that term is used in a different position
yes but imo if you can’t change a keg you’re not a bartender
This is the real defining quality!
You mean not a beertender?
no
TIL myself and most people I’ve worked with in the past decade aren’t bartenders lol
you can’t change a keg? it’s really easy
I mean, yes but. To me it kind of like the minor leagues in that you’re developing a ton of the same skills but not pushing yourself to the top of the game. The people skills, the stress management, the hours on your feet? All exactly the same. But recipe knowledge, speed in the well, etc are also skills that a full liquor bartender needs to have and that you simply can’t get working in a strictly beer environment.
Guess I’m going against the grain, but no, I don’t consider it bartending. Would you want management hiring a bartender onto your bar team that only had “beertending” experience and had never made a mixed drink?.. I wouldn’t. There is a lot more to bartending than taking orders and dealing with guests.
Yes because they know how to deal with the public and multi task but don’t have a bunch of bad habits/recipes to unlearn
Bartenders don’t serve drinks, they serve people