How To Become A Beverage Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a beverage manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A perfect dining experience is not complete without the beverages that complement the meals; this area of service is the specialty of a beverage manager. They are a hospitality and tourism expert in charge with the planning of beverage orders, supervision of the beverage inventory, and preparation of liquor supply reports for a hospitality company.

Their glasses are always full, as they are tasked to concoct beverage programs and determine what types, mixes, and brands of drinks, both alocoholic and non-alcoholic, should be added and kept on the menu. They are the champions of the counter and to become one requires something beyond having a refined taste. They also have to be organized, customer-oriented, and capable communicators.

Bars, restaurants, catering companies, and cruise ships will not smoothly operate without beverage managers. Often working on a full-time basis, they are usually required to render long hours, especially in evenings and weekends when a great deal of customers usually make their visits.

ScoreBeverage ManagerUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,129

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.1

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.59%

Asian 8.43%

Black or African American 10.54%

Hispanic or Latino 17.56%

Unknown 5.60%

White 57.27%

Gender

female 31.00%

male 69.00%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

5.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.0

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a beverage manager

Explore beverage manager education requirements

Most common beverage manager degrees

Bachelor's

61.7 %

Associate

21.3 %

High School Diploma

8.2 %

Start to develop specific beverage manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Wine	17.63%
Customer Service	9.53%
BARS	9.22%
Guest Service	4.10%
Beverage Service	3.90%

Complete relevant beverage manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New beverage managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a beverage manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real beverage manager resumes.

Research beverage manager duties and responsibilities

Lead bartenders in everyday functions and assist with inventory control.
Work closely with management to develop departmental goals, product quality, and brand standards; assure department appearance and cleanliness.
Familiarize myself with bartending in a casual, fine, and banquet setting.
Adhere to local and government cleanliness restrictions in order to run a clean and health department abiding facility.

Prepare your beverage manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your beverage manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a beverage manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable beverage manager resume templates

Build a professional beverage manager resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your beverage manager resume.