SUBJECT: HOTEL MANAGEMENT

Paper : FOOD & BEVERAGE SERVICE (F & BS)

TOPIC – BEVERAGES

ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES –
WINES
SPIRITS

INTRODUCTION

Alcoholic beverages are potable and contain ethyl alcohol. Any beverage is termed
alcoholic, when it contains 0.5% of ethyl alcohol. This is made by fermentation of material
containing sugar, when the yeast reacts on the sugar to form ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Sales of alcoholic beverages to adults below the age of 21 is illegal, and it is the
responsibility of the bar staff to follow this regulation strictly.

In this module we will be reviewing the manufacturing methods and different types of the
following alcoholic beverages:-

1. WINES
2. SPIRITS
3. BEER
4. APERITIF & COCKTAIL
5. LIQUEUR

Definition :-

Any potable liquid which contains 0.5% of ethyl alcohol by volume is defined as ‘alcoholic’
beverage.

The two main manufacturing processes by which alcoholic beverages are classified:-

1) Fermentation :-
Sugar in any product (fruit or grain) is converted to ethyl alcohol by the action of yeast.
The by-product is carbon dioxide gas.
For the manufacture of all alcoholic beverages, fermentation of the raw material is the
first step.
2) Distillation :-
This process is carried out after the fermentation is completed. The fermented product is
distilled, when the alcohol along with the flavouring agents present, evaporate at a lower
point than boiling water, which is collected and condensed.
I ) WINE :

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made by the fermentation of freshly gathered grapes.

MANUFACTURE OF WINE :

1) FERMENTATION
Immediately after plucking, grapes are pressed to extract the juice. The unfermented
grape juice known as ‘must’, is kept in vats to ferment. During fermentation, the yeast
converts the sugar in the must into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

2) RACKING

This is the process of clearing wine of all the sediments. These sediments known as
‘lees’, settle at the bottom of the casks. Racking is the procedure of transferring the clear
wine, after the sediments have settled, to another cask.
3) FINING

‘Fining’ refers to clarifying the wine of the impurities which do not settle as sediments. For
clarifying, ‘fining’ agents are added. ‘Fined’ / ‘Clarified’ wine is brighter as no floating particles
are in the wine.

Chemically treated fining agents are:-

- white of egg

- gelatine

- isinglass, which the bladder of fish

Once the fining agent settles at the bottom with the impurities, the clear wine is – ‘racked’, i.e.,
transferred to another cask.

TYPES OF WINES

1) RED WINE

This variety of wine is always made from black grapes. The grapes are crushed, with the skin,
pips and stalk. The juice extracted is fermented.

2) WHITE WINE

This is made from white grapes and also black grapes.

When black grape is used, then the skin, pips and stalk are removed, before the flesh of the
grapes are crushed to extract the juice.

The extracted juice is fermented.

 3) ROSE WINE / PINK WINE

The colour of this type of wine, as the name suggests is pink / rose.

SPARKLING WINE

This wine is bottled with the carbon dioxide gas, produced during fermentation. The gas in the
wine gives the frothy, effervescence.

4) FORTIFIED WINE

This is a wine to which brandy is added to increase the alcoholic strength, as brandy is a spirit
made from grapes also, therefore this spirit is added to the wine to increase the alcoholic
strength.

5) SWEET WINE

Sweet wine is obtained when all the sugar available in the grape juice (must) is not converted
into ethyl alcohol, by the yeast during the fermentation process. The unfermented sugar
remaining in the wine gives the sweetness.

6) DRY WINE

This is a wine in which all the sugar has been utilised to be converted to ethyl alcohol. As a
result the wine does not have any trace of sweetness and is referred to as dry wine.

7) VINTAGE WINE

This term is used for wines from France.

II ) SPIRITS :

All spirits are classified as ‘distilled alcoholic beverages’. Distillation is a process of separating a
mixture of two or more liquids which have different boiling points.

DISTILLATION

Spirit distillation is the separation of ethyl alcohol along with congeners from the fermented
product.

The distillation of alcoholic spirits depends on three factors

1. The principle of distillation is that ethyl alcohol vaporises at a lower temperature than
water.
2. Along with ethyl alcohol, congeners and small quantities of water also vapourise.
3. The ‘congeners’, which are the compounds that give the distinctive characteristics to the
alcoholic beverage.
 4. The equipment used is called the ‘still’. This apparatus allows the separation of ethyl
alcohol from the fermented products.

The distillate is condensed to get a mixture of ethyl alcohol, water and congeners. If it is
continuously distilled for more than three times, then pure ethyl alcohol is obtained without any
trace of water and congeners.

a. BRANDY

France is famous for the best quality wines and brandy. The best brandy produced in France is
“COGNAC”, from the city of the same name.

- The juice of grape is fermented.

- As soon as the fermentation of the grapes is complete, distillation commences in the
equipment called ‘pot still’.

b. RUM

Rum is a spirit made from ‘molasses’ – a by-product of the sugar industry.

Freshly cut sugarcane is crushed in mills to extract the juice. This sugarcane juice (liquid sugar)
is heated to boiling point and cooled to extract the impurities.

c. GIN
d. VODKA

Vodka, the national drink of Russia.

III )BEER :
Steps in the manufacture of beer:-
1. Barley grains are ‘malted’. To call the barley grain ‘malt’, the barley is steeped in water
to germinate. After three days it starts to sprout. The water is drained and the grains are
dried in the kilns.

2. The dried ‘malt’ is crushed and mixed with hot water. The maltose present in the malt
dissolves in the hot water to be called ‘sweet wort’.

3. To this sweet wort is added ‘hops’. Hops is a herbaceous, perennial, climbing plant. Only
the cone of the female hop flower is used. The oils and resins from the hops impart a
bitter flavour and aroma and also serves as a biological preservative preventing microbial
spoilage. Once the hops is added it is called – ‘sweet hopped wort’.
4. Yeast is added to this mixture for fermentation. The strain of yeast to be used depends on
the final product of beer to be made. In beer making two types of yeasts are used :-
 a) Top fermenting yeast:- The yeast clusters on the top surface of the beer, slowly
fermenting the sugar in the liquid and converting it to ethyl alcohol.
b) Bottom fermenting yeast:- Yeast settles in the bottom of the fermenting vessels, and
slowly converts the sugar in the liquid to ethyl alcohol.
In both the methods, during fermentation, yeast converts the sugar in the liquid to ethyl
alcohol and carbon dioxide.
5. The fermented beer is ‘racked’ – to free it from impurities the beer is changed from one
barrel to another barrel so that the particles settle at the bottom, and can be removed.
6. After removing the impurities, calculated amounts of ‘priming sugar’ is added. This
priming sugar is a mixture of calculated quantities of sugar and hops.

7. The beer obtained is clarified by ‘fining’. ‘Fining’ is a process in which chemically

treated milk, egg, or bladder of fish is used. This fining is poured on top of the cask
containing beer. While it settling down to the base of the vessel, it drags all the floating
particles along with it to the bottom of the vessel.

8. Beer obtained is clear, which is filtered and stored.

9. Storage of beer is in cold tanks to improve the keeping quality. The filtered beer is
carbonated (carbon dioxide is added) and filled in casks, bottles and cans. Beer is
pasteurized to ensure that remaining yeast does not ferment the beer in the containers to
turn it cloudy.

TYPES OF BEERS
1) Draught beer
2) Stout beer
3) Porter beer
4) Lager beer

Service of Beer

Beer is stored chilled at around 8 degrees centigrade.

During service, the beer is usually served such that while pouring into the glass from the
bottle, the carbon dioxide gas is agitated and froth forms resulting in a ‘head’ formation
in the glass.

On the other hand, if the preference of the customer is “without head”, then the bottle lip
is positioned in such a way that the beer is poured slowly into the side of the tilted glass
without agitating the beer. This way the gas in the bottle is not disturbed and the froth is
not formed.
IV ) APERITIF & COCKTAILS :

An ‘APERITIF’ is an alcoholic beverage taken before a meal to sharpen the appetite,

therefore it is referred to as the ‘pre-prandial’ drink. These drinks were assumed to possess
medicinal properties and referred to as tonics or digestifs.

In France, sweet alcoholic beverages are preferred.

In England, fortified wines - dry Sherry or Port are appreciated.
In America, cocktails are the favourite.

Generally, aperitifs are aromatised wines which are also referred to as ‘flavoured wines’.
It is preferred ‘chilled’, as it leaves a ‘dry’ taste in the mouth.

The popular aperitifs are

i) Wine based aperitifs

a) Vermouths – white (dry) and red (sweet), Cinzano, Martini, Dubonnet, etc.

ii) Spirit based aperitifs

b) Bitters – Angostura bitters, Campari bitters, Pernod, Toni Kola, etc.

The ‘flavouring agents’ which contribute to its unique characteristics are fruits, herbs,
roots and barks of different plants. Some examples of flavouring agents are coriander, bitter
orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, fruits, gentian, orris, etc.,

The flavours are introduced by

i) suspension of crushed ingredients in the proportions specified
or
ii) by passing vapours of the heated alcohol through these ingredient

COCKTAILS
In the U.S.A. cocktails became popular during the days of prohibition, when production and
sales of alcoholic beverages was illegal. Americans started mixing alcoholic beverages with fruit
juices and aerated beverages to camouflage their drinks. These drinks with mixers became
popular as many combinations of ingredients came to be used.
The base alcoholic beverage is usually one of the spirits – vodka, gin, rum, whisky or brandy –
but sometimes wine or liqueurs are used.
The most common ingredients used as flavour contributors are fruit juices, syrups of different
types, egg, cream, bitters, etc.,
The three basic styles of cocktails are :-
1) shaken – when one or more ingredients do not mix easily – such as egg, cream or fruit
syrup
2) stirred – when the ingredients are easily mixed
3) layered or floating – liqueurs of different specific gravities are used. The liqueur with the
high specific gravity is poured first, and lighter ingredients are poured on the ingredients
with heavier specific gravity, thus layers are formed.

TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL COCKTAIL MAKING

1. All ingredients used must be fresh.

2. Ice is always used as cocktails are enjoyed chilled. Ice should be clean and clear, so that the
appearance of the drink is not spoilt. Plenty of ice is used to chill.
3. The cocktail should be made as quickly as possible such that ice does not melt and dilute the
cocktail.
4. Do not fill the glass to the brim as space is required for stirring.
5. Glasses must be handled by the base and not the rim.
6. Do not over decorate, as it spoils the appearance.

DIFFERENT FOOD ITEMS USED IN THE BAR

Cherries, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco sauce, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pearl onion, eggs,
cream, mint, orange, lemon,
different sugars – cube, castor, demerara,
syrups – gommes, grenadine, citrus
olives – green and black
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR BAR
Wine baskets, ice crushing machine, ice shavers, ice pick, swizzle sticks to stir the cocktail, etc.

CLASSIC COCKTAILS
Most of the popular cocktails are made from one of the spirits as the base alcohol. Some of the
classic cocktails :-
1. VODKA BASED
a) Bloody Mary
Ingredients :- Vodka, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, dash of lemon juice, dash of
tabasco sauce, touch of celery salt and cayenne pepper and ice.
 Method :- stir the ingredients in a highball glass, decorate with mint and celery stick

b) Screwdriver
Ingredients:- vodka, fresh orange juice and ice
Method :- add ice, vodka and top with orange juice

2. GIN BASED
a) Gimlet
Ingredients:- gin, lime juice and ice.
Method:- shake the ingredients with ice, strain in a cocktail glass and decorate with slice
of lime

b) Dry Martini
Ingredients:- gin, dry vermouth and ice.
Method :- stir all the ingredients in a mixing glass, strain into a cocktail glass and
decorate with an olive

3. RUM BASED
a) Planter’s Punch
Ingredients:- dark rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, fresh lime juice and ice.
Method:- Stir all the ingredients with ice in a highball glass. Garnish with orange slice,
lime slice and cherry
b) Cuba Libre
Ingredients:- white rum, lime juice, cola and ice.
Method:- in a highball glass add rum, lime juice cola and ice. Decorate with slice of
lemon.

4. WHISKY BASED
a) Highball
Ingredients:- whisky, ginger ale and ice
Method:- In a highball glass add ice, whisky and ginger ale, decorate with lemon peel
b) Whisky sour
Ingredients:- whisky, lemon juice, castor sugar, egg white and ice
Method:- Shake all the ingredients. Strain into the cocktail glass, decorate with slice of
lemon.
5.BRANDY BASED
a) Brandy smash
Ingredients:- brandy, castor sugar, mint soda water and ice
Method:- crush mint with sugar in the glass, add brandy, soda water and ice, decorate with sprig
of mint
b)Brandy Alexander
Ingredients:- brandy, crème de cacao, cream and ice
Method:- Shake all the ingredients with ice, strain in a champagne glass, sprinkle nutmeg

V ) LIQUEUR :
Liqueur / Digestive / Cordials, is a ‘post – prandial’ drink defined as “sweetened and flavoured
alcoholic beverage”.
Alcohol is an essential ingredient in all liqueurs. Any one of the spirits is generally used as the
base alcohol. Liqueurs are characterized by their flavourings. Flavourings were introduced to
make a crude spirit more palatable or to impart medicinal qualities to the drinks.
The ingredients used are spirits and the flavourings. Flavourings are classified into three groups:-
1. Herbs and spices
2. Seeds, flowers, peels and plants
3. Fruits
The flavours are obtained by:-
1. Maceration:- The flavouring ingredients are crushed and then soaked in alcohol.
2. Percolation:- This is done by continuously passing hot or cold spirit through the
flavourings. or
3. Vapourising:- The alcohol is heated, and the vapour passes through the ingredients
absorbing the flavours.
Examples of Liqueurs
1. Abricotine
Apricot flavoured and brandy based liqueur.
2. Benedictine
Most widely renowned liqueur. It is highly aromatised and very sweet. It is also popularly
known as:-
a. Half & Half:- half Benedictine and half brandy. This mixture is also known as
‘B&B’.
b. D.O.M.: – On the label are these initials. They stand for ‘Deo Optimo Maximo’ –
Dedicated to God who is most great.
3. Crème de Cacao
A very sweet liqueur, with a strong cocoa – cum – vanilla flavour.
4. Cointreau
Orange flavoured liqueur and is colourless.
5. Crème de Menthe
Liqueur flavoured with peppermint and sweetened.
6. Curacao
Sweet liqueur, made in Curacao, Dutch West Indies. Flavour of bitter
orange. Colours sold in are – white, red, blue, green and orange.
7. Drambuie
Liqueur from Scotland, flavoured with ‘heather honey’.

8. Grand Marnier
Golden brown liqueur flavoured with orange.

CONCLUSION
From time immemorial alcohol has been an important source of bonding among people in
any form of social gathering. At the same time, it is the most sought after item among the
customers and staff of any food and beverage sales outlet, leading to many mishaps.

Therefore, a lot of caution has to be imposed while dealing with such products.

One of the most important regulations is to refuse sales of alcoholic beverages to people
below 21 years of age. Also, it is duty of the bar staff to refuse sale of alcohol to people
who are not able to withhold themselves after consuming quantities above the limit of
tolerance.
It is a sales yields good profit to any food business. Therefore, with appropriate controls
in place this product can give good results.