Home > Alcoholic Beverages & Non-Alcoholic Beverages

The term “beverages‟ refer to all kinds of potable drinks which have thirst quenching refreshing stimulating, and nourishing properties. Beverages are consumed mainly to quench thirst, compensate loss of body fluid due to perspiration, feel fresh and active, as rituals, during social gatherings, and during and after eating.

Food service operators deal with a wide range of beverages to satisfy the requirements of guests before, during and after meals and at any time of the day.

Beverages are broadly classified into the following:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Non-alcoholic beverages

Alcoholic Beverages:

A potable (meaning drinkable) liquid containing ethyl alcohol or ethanol of 0.5 percent or more by volume is termed as ‘alcoholic beverage’. Alcohol is mobile, volatile fluid obtained by fermenting a liquid containing sugar.

The word ‘alcohol’ is derived from the Arabic al – kohl. Pure alcohol is colourless, clear liquid with a burning taste. It derives its colour from the wood of the cask in which it is matured, and / or from the caramel which may be added during its maturation or bottling.

How is Potable Alcohol (Alcoholic Beverage) obtained?

All alcohol or alcoholic beverages are obtained by a process called fermentation. It is concentrated or increased in strength by distillation. The percentage of alcohol in a drink varies from 0.5 – 9.5%, depending on the method by which the alcohol is obtained.

Fermentation is the process in which the yeast acts on sugar and converts it to ethanol and gives off carbon dioxide. The fermented liquid has 3-14% alcohol and it can be concentrated up to 95% by a series of distillations.

Distillation is the process of separating elements in a liquid by vaporization and condensation. In the distillation process, the alcohol which is present in the fermented liquid (alcoholic wash) is separated from water.

Classification of Alcoholic Beverages

Alcoholic beverages are classified as Fermented beverages, Distilled beverages and Compound beverages.

Fermented Beverages

Fermented beverages can be divided into two groups, wines and beers, broadly defined. Wines are fermented from various fruit juices containing fermentable sugars. Beers come from starch-containing products, which undergo enzymatic splitting by diastase, malting, and mashing, before the fermentable sugars become available for the yeasts and bacteria. In short, wines are fermented and beers are brewed and fermented. (Fermented Beverages Other Than Wine And Beer, n.d.)

Examples – Wine, Cider and Perry

Wines can be defined as alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice. Wines can be classified on the basis of following aspects –

Nature / Characteristics – Still, Sparkling, Fortified, Aromatised, Tonic, Organic

Colour – Red, White, Rose

Taste / Degree of sweetness – Dry, Medium, Sweet On basis of alcohol content – De – alcoholised wine (max 0.5% ABV), Alcohol free or No Alcohol (max 0.05% ABV)

*ABV – Alcohol by Volume

Cider – An alcoholic beverage made from fermented juice of cider apples. 25% of pear juice can be used while manufacturing cider. Cider is popular in countries like United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. In USA, non – alcoholic cider is termed as ‘sweet cider’ and alcoholic cider is termed as ‘hard cider’.

Perry – An alcoholic beverage made from fermented juice of pears similar to the way cider is made from apples. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in the Three Counties (Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It is also made in parts of South Wales and France. It is also manufactured in Commonwealth countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Brewed and Fermented Drinks

It is similar to fermented drinks but the only difference is that the base ingredient, which is usually malted and crushed cereal, is brewed in hot water to extract maximum soluble sugar from the malt. It is then cooled, and allowed to ferment with the addition of yeast.

Example – Beer and Sake

Beer is classified on the basis of type of fermentation – Top or Bottom. Top fermented beers are known as Ales while bottom fermented beers are known as Lagers.

Sake – Sake, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice and originates in Japan. Sake is light in colour, is noncarbonated, has a sweet flavour, and contains about 14 to 16 percent alcohol.

Distilled Beverages

To obtain any alcoholic beverage fermentation is required and the strength of alcohol is increased by application of distillation. These drinks are distilled from a base of a fermented liquid and have a high percentage of alcohol compared to fermented drinks. Newly distilled spirit (young spirit) is raw, sharp and harsh in taste. These drinks are aged in wooden barrels to mellow and to make them flavourful. Examples are as follows –

Spirits – Whisky, rum, gin, vodka, tequila, and brandy Other spirits – Arrack, Toddy, Feni, Slivovitz

Compound Beverages

Compound alcoholic beverages are defined as a mixed beverage, which is blended or composed carefully by extracting flavour, colour and sweetness from various fruits, herbs, plants, and nuts. Such beverages include: Liqueurs, Cocktails.

Definition – Liqueur – A liqueur is alcoholic beverage, which has a base of spirit (grain spirit, neutral spirit) which is flavoured with fruits, herbs, spices, flowers, seeds, plants and are sweetened and can be coloured or colourless. They are also termed as Digestif / Digestive. Liqueurs are not usually aged for long periods, but may have resting periods during their production to allow flavours to blend. Liqueurs can be further categorised as – fruit liqueur, cream liqueur, coffee liqueur, chocolate liqueur, schnapps, herbal liqueur, depending upon the flavouring agents used.

Cocktails – A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink, which is either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as fruit juice, flavoured syrup, or cream. There are various types of cocktails, based on the number and kind of ingredients added.

Examples of Classic Cocktails – Martini, Margarita, Mojito, Whiskey Sour

Non-Alcoholic Beverages:

The term non-alcoholic beverages cover drinks that are either totally free from alcohol or that have less than 0.5 percent alcohol by volume (abv). It includes a gamut of drinks from hot to cold and from simple to exotic. Some of these drinks are made in the still room while some are made in the dispense bar. In an establishment where dispense bar is not available, the drinks may be collected from the still room. Every sector of the food service industry serves one or more type of non-alcoholic drinks. Establishments need not have a license to sell non-alcoholic beverages. It should be noted that water, is not covered by the term beverage.

The following are the categories of non-alcoholic beverages:

• Coffee
• Tea
• Milk-based drinks- chocolate,
• malted drinks, milkshakes
• Aerated drinks, squashes,
• Juices
• Natural mineral waters (minerals), syrups

Tea

It is defined as a universally drunk beverage made by infusing the leaves of and evergreen Asiatic shrub called “Camellia Sinensis”. There are two main types of the tea plant 1. Indian and 2. Chinese with numerous varieties and hybrids.

Best teas are cultivated at an altitude of 200 mts. The tea producing areas are located between 40 degree North and 41-degree South. The regions where good tea is cultivated generally have a hot and humid climate and a winter, which is neither very dry nor very cold.

Manufacture of Tea

There are five main stages in the manufacture of tea:

1. Withering the leaf: -On reaching the factory, which is usually close to the plantation, the plucked leaves are first weighed. They are then spread out evenly and thinly on special racks (slatted). At this stage, they lose 50% of their moisture by evaporation. This stage takes 24 hours, depending on the surrounding temperature and the humidity in the air.
2. Rolling the leaves: – The leaves are put through rolling machines that break up the leaf cells, thus releasing natural juices and bringing them into contact with air. At this stage, the finer leaves are separated from the larger coarser leaves and are then further separately processed.
3. Fermenting the leaves: – This isn’t really a true fermentation, but the oxidation stage. Tannin, which is the astringent substance in the tea leaf, is oxidized and leads to development of aroma, flavour and colour of the leaf. The leaves are spread out in a cool but humid room under controlled conditions, on racks for approximately 3 hours, during which they turn a coppery colour by the absorption of oxygen.

Coffee

Coffee is the highest drunk beverage in the world after water. The coffee plant is native to Sudan and Ethiopia. A fierce red coloured fruit called as cherry contains the seed or the coffee beans. The word coffee has originated from the Italian word “Caffe” which in turn has originated from the Turkish word “Kahve” which originates from the Arabic word “Qahwah”.

• Coffee Arabica
• Coffee Robusta

Coffee Arabica: – It contains beans which are flat, elongated and oval in shape, mild and aromatic and considered to be the best in the world. They are grown in India, Ethiopia, Arabia and Brazil along with Mexico and Costa Rica.

Coffee Robusta: – It contains beans which are small, irregular in shape, and contains 2.5 times more caffeine than the Arabica beans. They produce a strong and bitter infusion. They are grown in Zaire and Ivory Coast.

Processing of Coffee

When the berries are ripe, they are picked by hand and taken or exported to the processing plant. The berries are about the size of a small cherry and consist of an external red skin, a layer of pulp, a tough parchment like inner membrane, a thin silver skin and finally two beans – rounded on one side and flat on the other – with the flat sides pressed against each other. Depending on the country where the processing takes place, either one of the following methods will be used:

1. The Dry Method: – It is used in the country which don‟t have abundant water supply or where the value of cured beans doesn’t warrant the extra costs of washing. The berries are spread out thinly in the sun and left till the pulp shrivels tightly onto the parchment and allowed to dry. The berries are then put through a hulling machine, which removes the parchment and the pulp in one stage. Very little sorting of the berries is done and some may carry traces of the silver skin and lack the appearance of the washed beans.
2. The Wet Method: – This method is used in countries which have sufficient water supply and where the quality of the bean grown warrants extra processing costs. The berries are put through a de-pulping machine to remove the fleshy part of the berry leaving the two seeds in their jackets. They are then placed in large vats and are allowed to ferment partially for 24-40 hours. This fermentation serves two purposes. It helps to develop the aroma of the cooked coffee and also helps to remove any adhering pulp. When the fermentation stage is complete, the beans are thoroughly washed and then spread out in the sun to dry completely. The next stage is the removal of the parchment by machines, to leave just the clean olive-green beans.
3. Grading of Coffee Beans: – The coffee beans vary with the country of origin, with letters or sometimes with the numbers used. It is usually accepted that the largest normal shaped beans are best quality and possess a fuller flavour, aroma and body than the other beans.

Non-alcoholic bar beverages:

The drinks covered in this section are “non-alcoholic‟ and contain no alcohol. These drinks are also often referred to as “soft drinks‟ with alcoholic drinks sometimes being referred to as “hard‟ drinks.

Non-alcoholic dispense bar beverages may be classified into five main groups:

1. aerated waters
2. natural spring/mineral waters
3. squashes
4. juices
5. Syrups

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