What is Cellar?
The Cellar is a centralized storage area that stores all kinds of alcoholic beverages in a hotel. The cellar protects the valuable stock from theft, maintains the quality of the stock by storing them at an appropriate temperature, and monitors the movement of the stock.
The Cellar is the main source for the supply of alcoholic drinks to various outlets in a hotel for sale. Each organization may have its own format designed to suit its needs.
The Cellar is managed by a Cellarman who is responsible for all the stock under his custody.
The main responsibilities of a Cellarman are the following:
- Stock the cellar with an adequate supply of wines, beers, and liquors to ensure uninterrupted supply to various bars.
- Store the alcoholic drinks at an appropriate temperature to prevent them from spoiling.
- Issue the required drinks to the various bars or sales outlets against the authorized requisition.
- Update the records of the cellar.
- Protect the stock from theft and other malpractices.
- Fermented.
- Distilled.
Fermented drinks must be handled and stored carefully. Most demanded fermented drinks are wines and beers and these should be stored at an appropriate temperature as they are very sensitive to changes in temperature, humidity, light, and vibration. Extremes of these conditions can spoil fermented drinks. Distilled alcoholic beverages are not as sensitive as fermented drinks.
The most important aspect of a cellar is to limit access. Unauthorized persons should not be allowed to enter the cellar for any reason. Also when the cellar doors are open, the Cellarman or Cellar in charge must be present there.
If the cellarman wants to leave the cellar even for a short period of time, the cellar doors must be locked and they should never be left open unattended. The duplicate key to the cellar should be kept in the safe. It is advisable to change the lock if someone who handled the cellar key resigns.
Cellar Control Book and Records
The Cellar control book is very important as it stores more valuable stock and fetches more percentage of profit. It also tempts dishonest staff to indulge in malpractices. Therefore, it is very important to have a foolproof system.
Types of Equipment Required in Cellar Storage Area
The following pieces of equipment are required in a beer storage area where draught beers are served:
1. Electrical Impelled Pumps
These dispense the accurate amount of beer into the glass when the barman presses the button.
2. Beer Cleaning Bottles
These are used to clean the beer pipelines. The assembly head is fitted into a two-gallon cleaning bottle containing a cleaning agent.
3. Deep sticks
These are used to check the level of beer in the cask by inserting it into the cask through the shave.
4. Filters
These are used to return the good quality beer to the cask by inserting it into the cask through the shave.
5. Shives and Spiles
Shives are hard pieces of wood placed in the bunghole of the cask in the brewery after filling. The hole is completed by punching it out with a wooden mallet.
6. Stillions
They are wooden racks or platforms to hold the beer cask or barrel.
- Read next: 5 Free Wine Training Classes Online
