For ages now it seems like hard seltzer has been hot. Every year sales for cans of alcoholic fizz bubbled over the top.

But is that very same bubble about to burst?

Normally, summer signals the season of seltzer. Last year, analysts predicted that over the warmer months hard seltzer would dominate. And in all fairness everyone had a reason to be sunny.

Up to that point, the U.S. hard seltzer market was valued at over $4 billion according to data from Nielsen IQ. And while for comparison beer is an almost $88 billion market, it’s the growth pace of hard seltzer that has caused so much optimism.

For the last half-decade or so, hard seltzer grew exponentially. According to data from Nielsen, the category accelerated 226% in 2019 and 165% in 2020.

For that reason, every big (and small) beverage business and brewery (and their mother, brother, sister, and cousin) have attempted to cash in on the carbonation.

Brands like The Boston Beer Company (who makes Truly), Mark Anthony Group (White Claw), Constellation Brands (Corona Hard Seltzer), MolsonCoors (Vizzy), Coca-Cola (Topo Chico Hard Seltzer), and more.

Plus, many neighborhood craft breweries and brands, including New Belgium, Cigar City, Roadhouse Brewing Co., Evil Twin, and Mighty Swell, started putting out their own craft spin.

But in 2021, the numbers showed a different story. Hard seltzer grew only sixteen percent last year, according to data from Nielsen.

In fact, Data from Bloomberg Intelligence showed that hard seltzer sales slowed to about thirty percent by July 2021, down from 165 percent in 2020.

Have we had our fill of fizz? Why are seltzer sales falling flat?

We dug into the “check-in” courtesy of Untappd Insights and chatted with Bart Wilson, Chief Economist at the Brewer Association to find out if hard seltzer is truly fizzing out or if the segment is poised to return with a big splash this summer.

Undeniably, Instagram has become the social media platform of choice for the craft beer industry over the last ten years.

Creating a consistent marketing strategy that includes posting gorgeous beer shots, shouting out new releases, marketing merch, and more has become essential to a brewery or bar’s business.

To put it simply: It’s hard to exist in craft beer culture without a presence on Instagram.

If you’re still perplexed by Instagram and looking for a good place to start, we recently wrote a piece called “A Beginner’s Guide to Running a Successful Brewery Instagram.”

But if you’re a little more seasoned and looking for fresh ideas, consider these seven top tips to drive more traffic to your Instagram page.

Whether you’re a newbie to Instagram or a long-time veteran looking to polish your skills, here are the top seven tips for driving traffic to your Instagram page.

As of April 2022, the Brewers Association recorded a record number 9,118 breweries operating in the United States. In such a crowded marketplace, how can you make your establishment stand out from the crowd? Sure, you can opt for traditional print or digital marketing. And social media should certainly be an essential part of your marketing strategy. But what are those one or two tips and tricks you can use to push your taproom ahead?

If you’re looking for a new, creative way to potentially drive extra foot traffic into your space. It might be easier than you think. Creating a clever or memorable sign can give your bar or brewery a distinct advantage over other businesses in the area.

Witty or humorous signs immediately establish a connection with potential customers. Plus, it leaves a memorable impression in patrons’ minds. And it’s an instant Instagrammable moment that people can post, helping you virally market your business for free!

Below you’ll find a list of 36 witty, funny ideas for bar signs to help increase foot traffic into your bar or brewery. Consider hanging these phrases up around your taproom, writing them on a chalkboard, or setting them out as their own sign on the sidewalk.

Use these clever repartees to draw potential customers in to drink, entice new patrons to check out your place, or as a way to directly increase your sales.

You shouldn’t use all of these ideas. This is more of a find-the-right-fit approach…quality over quantity. Take some time to comb through all the ideas, finding one that fits with your brand and your personal identity.

But once you find that buzzword, go to town discovering new ways to get this message out to your community, attracting new customers, and hopefully garner some free attention on social media.

We’ll make this simple: If you serve food, you will most likely sell more beer. Adding a food menu to your brewery or bar program has many advantages. It creates a reason for people to stay and order more beers; it increases your revenue; it brings new customers into your space; it gives folks more reason to love your brand.

Sure, we understand that building a bar menu means tackling a whole new beast, paying for a food service license, planning for food cost, and investing in the labor and equipment necessary to operate a kitchen.

But the perks are worth the potential problems.

“If you do sell food as a brewery, you will also sell more beer,” says Tim McLaughlin, founder of GoTab, a revolutionary contactless ordering and payment web service that recently launched an all-in-one restaurant point-of-sale system. “We’ve worked with breweries that have done studies, and every single one finds they sell more beer when they sell food.”

If you do not sell food, now is the time to consider adding dishes to your menu. Fittingly, we have all the details you need to design the best bar menu.

And once you have your bar menu mapped out, Untappd for Business is the ultimate tool to build a menu for your establishment that you can publish to your website, digital menus, Facebook, and the Untappd app. Leveraging QR codes and well-designed custom contactless print and digital menus helps you create a safe environment for your customers and staff.

Over the last half decade, Instagram has become the social platform of the beer industry. Consumers have created their own craft beer subculture where top influencers have thrived. For breweries, posting gorgeous beer shots and announcing releases have become crucial to their marketing strategy.

With over 9,000 breweries around the country, it’s imperative to find a way to make your brewery, bar, or restaurant stand out. Cultivating a current, consistently updated Instagram profile is imperative to reach your target audience.

But where do you start?

For example, how many times a week should you post? What time should you post? What should you post? What about those “hashtags?” Should I hire a social media manager? And how about Instagram influencers? We’re breaking it all down and more to tap into what makes people double-tap.

Here is a beginner’s guide with all the basics to help you build a foundation for the best Instagram account for your business.

Food is an integral part of any restaurant, bar, and brewery. For a brewery or bar serving food, whether it’s through their own kitchen, a food truck, a pop-up, or another option, it keeps customers in the taproom longer, increases average check amounts, and adds to a better overall experience.

“If you do sell food as a brewery, you will also sell more beer,” says Tim McLaughlin, CEO and Founder of GoTab, a Restaurant Commerce Platform (RCP) used by large and mid-sized restaurants, breweries, bars, and hotels. “If you’re a brewery that does not sell food, you should find a truck or some other way to sell food.” According to McLaughlin, GoTab has worked with many breweries that have done studies and every single one finds they sell more beer when they sell food.

And while there are many considerations to designing a food menu kitchen, arguably the most important first step is to apply for a food service license.

A restaurant, bar, or brewery needs the necessary permits to legally serve food. We’re going to be blunt here: Getting a food service license can be a tedious process, but as a business owner it is crucial that you follow all the necessary steps.

Without the proper permits and licensing, you won’t be able to legally serve food and could potentially miss out on a crucial boost to your bottom line.

Designing your restaurant, bar, or brewery sets the tone for your entire establishment. How you outfit your space speaks to your larger brand and will attract potential customers. We have several top tips on how to design the overall look of your brewery or restaurant, but often it’s the smallest of details that matter, such as your lighting.

What may seem like a very tiny detail such as lighting can actually have a big impact on your business. The lighting sets the mood of your operation and illustrates your brand to your potential customer base.

For example, if you are a family-friendly space operating during the day, your lighting should be different than a twenty-one-plus space that sees most of its traffic come through at night. All these factors contribute to the type of lighting that you’ll use in your brewery or restaurant.

Seems like a lot?

You’re a business owner and you are about to open your own restaurant, bar, brewery, or brewpub. You’ve gone through all the legwork of building the best business plan, securing investment, finding the perfect location, developing your brand and logo, designing the interior and exterior, planning the menu, and dealing with millions of other little details.

You can see the finish line looming in front of you with that grand opening datecircled on the calendar. And while a grand opening does seem like the grand plan here, have you considered a soft opening?

If you’re not even sure what a soft opening is, that’s totally fine because we’re here to help.

Consider a soft opening another weapon in your arsenal. It’s a chance to sharpen your knives (literally and figuratively), hone your operations, generate early buzz, and receive consumer feedback before you even open your doors.

If you haven’t already, here are the reasons you should consider a soft opening for your establishment.

When it comes to storing and serving beer, whether for distribution or in your own taproom, there are plenty of options.

Half-barrel kegs, sixtels, quarter barrels, 50-litre kegs, and more all hold a different number of beers in different volumes—ounces, gallons, liters, pints, cans, and even growlers.

Putting it all down on paper can seem a little daunting. But it’s essential when running a brewery or bar to understand the capacity of each of these different vessels. And to also learn the different purposes and situations for each of these varying kegs.

So we did the legwork for you!

We’ll break down all the different types of kegs and when it’s best to use them. Plus, reference our handy infographic below for a quick look at how many beers go into all different sizes of kegs.

The above infographic is handy whether you’re a seasoned beverage business owner or just getting into the game. Know what else is a super helpful business tool? Our new Untappd for Business E-Book: The Ultimate Start Up Guide for Breweries in 2022. And you can download it for free. Right now!

For many business owners, cutting the ribbon and throwing open the doors to your brewery, bar, restaurant, or bottle shop will be a dream come true. Most likely, your grand opening will be the most exciting and simultaneously scariest day of your life.

We understand that building a business from the ground up can be stressful. You’ll be faced with many challenges and hurdles along the way. But your grand opening is your first shot to shout from the rooftops that your establishment is ready to rock n’ roll.

And while planning the perfect grand opening can certainly be fun, it’s actually a very important day for many reasons.

When done well, hosting a grand opening will generate buzz for your establishment and set the tone for months to come. For that reason it should definitely be a part of your overall business plan.

But like we said, it can certainly be a fun day if you implement one of these seventeen grand opening ideas for your brewery, bar, restaurant, or bottle shop.