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A focus on
quality breathes
new life into the
beer market.
II III
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Barmen. We have very precise criteria
for the perfect service, and the jury
judges the candidates' ability to meet
those criteria."
To make the tests as close to the real
staff-consumer experience as possible,
jury members take part in role-plays.
"They pretend to visit a bar and the
candidate has to greet them, ask them
what they would like to drink and then
provide the perfect service experience,
for example ensuring a clean bottle, the
correct glass, a good head of foam and so
on," Amel explains. "Sometimes the jury
will push them further by beginning the
role-play with a dirty table and checking
the candidate's reflex to clean it before
starting the service."
Tastes of Beers
A similar scenario is acted out in a
restaurant setting. "For the beer and food
association test, we give the candidate a
hypothetical menu and, depending on the
meal choices the jury makes, he or she has
to suggest a complementary beer."
During the blind test, candidates have to
describe two beers without knowing what
they are. "It's not so important to identify
the brand; we work with our own products
so that could be quite easy!" says Amel.
"What's more important is how they talk
about the product - the colour, smell,
foam density, etc."
In the semi-finals, candidates have to
make a perfect Despejito, a cocktail made
with Desperados® beer. For the final,
however, candidates are asked to invent a
new cocktail based on a list of ingredients.
They can choose between two beers,
Heineken® or Desperados®, a liquor
such as vodka or whisky, and a liqueur or
syrup. "They have to respect some rules,
but ultimately the cocktail is their own
creation," says Amel.
40 World of HEINEKEN Autumn 2011
