Why should you use the Thirsty Ear?
The Thirsty Ear offers a highly-reputable beverage catering service to the MIT community. Our bartenders are MIT graduate students, experienced bartenders, and familiar with the MIT guidelines. All are licensed under the Cambridge Licensee Advisory Board, and many are additionally T.I.P.S. certified. Catering through the Thirsty Ear also provides protection under the MIT insurance policy.
If you would like to have the Thirsty Ear Pub cater your event, please email us at ear-info@mit.edu or call us at 617-258-9754.
Rates
The Thirsty Ear offers highly-competitive rates to the MIT community for its catering services.
For events where the Thirsty Ear provides both bartenders and beverages:
- bartenders are billed $25/hour
- there is a 4-hour minimum
- there is a $100 setup fee
- if beverages are hosted, there will be a 15% gratuity added.
For events where the host prefers to provide beverages:
- bartenders are billed at $30/hour
- there is a 3-hour minimum
For all events, one bartender is required for every 75 guests over the age of 21.
Please provide an estimated attendance when booking your event. If more than half of the beverages brought to an event must be returned to the Thirsty Ear, a 30% restocking fee will be applied to the amount returned and included on the invoice. This works out to about $1 per bottle of beer and $5 per bottle of wine.
We require at least two weeks’ notice to book an event. If less than two weeks is given, staff availability must be confirmed before the event can be guaranteed.
Also, if your event requires ice, the Thirsty Ear will bill directly from Brookline Ice at $6.50 - $7.50 per 30 lb. bag.
The Thirsty Ear provides plastic glasses for its beverages. If the host would like to serve glassware instead, our bartenders will gladly utilize any provided glassware.
Catered Beverage Menu
The Thirsty Ear provides catered beverages at very reasonable prices! We can serve either wine or beer at an event, and beer may be served by the bottle or from a hosted keg.
| Domestic Bottles | |
|---|---|
| Miller Hi-Life, Miller Light | $2.00 |
| Sam Adams Lager, Sam Adams Light, Sam Adams Cream Stout, Sam Adams Black Lager, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sierra Nevada Porter, Harpoon IPA, Harpoon UFO, Wachusett Blueberry, Magner’s Cider | $3.00 |
| Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Colt 45 | $4.50 |
| Import Bottles | |
|---|---|
| Molson Lager | $2.00 |
| Amstel Light, Bass, Corona, Dos Equis Lager, Heineken, Smirnoff Ice | $3.00 |
| Dunkel Dark HefeWeizen | $5.00 |
| Wine | |
|---|---|
| Beringer Pinot Grigio, Beringer Shiraz, Fu-ki Plum Wine, Fu-ki Sake | $3.50 |
| Kegs | |
|---|---|
| Pabst Blue Ribbon | $190.00 |
| Sam Adams Seasonal | $250.00 |
| Newcastle | $280.00 |
| Guinness | $300.00 |
Event Registration
Both on-campus and off-campus events where alcohol will be served must be registered with MIT, and the Thirsty Ear Pub requires a copy of the alcohol license prior to servicing any event. Departments may register with the Conference Services, Events, and Information Center (7-121, 253-4796), and residence halls and student organizations may register with Residential Life and Student Life Programs (W20-549, 253-6777). You can find out more about event registration and the MIT guidelines at http://web.mit.edu/alcohol/www/events.html.
The Thirsty Ear Pub provides information and assistance in event registration.
Cancellation Policy
We request two weeks’ notice for cancellation of an event. If notified less than two weeks before the scheduled event, a $100 cancellation fee will apply.
Printable Brochure
You may download our printable catering brochure (requires Adobe Reader).
Last update: September 3rd, 2007 –