The Best Brewery Guides and Tips

As many breweries, bars, brewpubs, and restaurants reopen and business owners strategize around how to successfully run their companies in a pandemic climate, finding the best way to safely and efficiently display menus has become essential.

If you’re the person making a decision about menu displays for your organization, you’re probably asking yourself several questions. Should you start or continue using paperless QR codes? Go to a digital menu board? Or switch back to paper menus? The decision you make could have huge repercussions on whether or not you attract new customers, retain loyal ones, and boost your bottom line.

For the last three months, the CPG Restaurant Group has been leveraging Untappd for Business’ QR codes and digital menus to help organize and implement drink and food menus in a safe, contactless way across their two Cheesie’s Pub & Grub and Whiskey Business establishments in Chicago, IL. With over 45,000 menu views at Whiskey Business and both Cheesie’s Pub & Grub locations combined over three months, the CPG Restaurant Group reports that their experience with Untappd for Business has been overwhelmingly positive. For them, Untappd for Business QR codes have helped reduce printing costs and improve their bottom line, with whiskey sales for all of their locations increasing by a combined fifty percent.

But the PJW Restaurant Group, which operates twenty-six locations across New Jersey and Pennsylvania, has gone a different direction, using Untappd for Business software to create custom digital and print menus. In the last year and a half, they’ve racked up 300,000 menu views, almost 15,000 check-ins, and just under 10,000 unique users. However, like the CPG Restaurant Group, PJW reports that their experience with Untappd for Business has been very beneficial for a majority of its businesses.

Because businesses are unique, each of them have different needs. Below, we take a look at all three menu options available for Untappd for Business partners, along with the pros and cons of each.

Outdoor seating gives a distinct advantage to your brewery space. Even in pre-COVID times, brewery patios and beer gardens were uber popular. Often magazines and newspapers put together lists of the best places to eat and drink outdoors in their respective cities.

While there is a lot to be said for a well-crafted indoor space, outdoor spaces at your brewery or restaurant can add personality and artistry—as well as more customers. Plus, during the global pandemic, outdoor spaces have been crucial for breweries to safely reopen and once again welcome people into their establishment.

“People want to be outside now more than ever,” says Frank Scott Krueger, Co-Owner of Humble Sea Brewing in Santa Cruz, CA. Scott Krueger and his team just opened a new taproom in Pacifica, CA, and their outdoor beer garden has been incredibly important for their business.

So what are some things to think about when you’re looking to design the perfect outdoor space? We’ve got some ideas to get the ball rolling.

Opening a brewery can have a profound effect on both the local economy and community. Historically, beer gardens have been a gathering space, providing people a home away from home.

With this idea in mind, breweries have grown from welcoming just adults to being spaces for families too.

While being inclusive is an important aspect of any business, it may not be right for every brewery. How do you decide?

It’s important to understand all of the factors when determining if you’d like to allow kids in your brewery.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this article:

Updated: 5/20/2022

Hosting events at your brewery or craft beer bar is a great way to attract new customers and strengthen your brand. Breweries and craft beer bars have become increasingly popular choices for social gatherings among friends and family. And hosting and promoting events will help your business stand out in a crowded marketplace.

It can be as simple as including “plug-and-play” events in your monthly schedule, or as complex as customizing an event around a theme.Keeping events in line with your marketing strategy will help you decide the right mix that will appeal to your specific market and ultimately help you attract and retain new customers.

Whether you own a brewery or a craft beer bar, your tap wall selection drives repeat customers to your business. Crafting a well-thought-out selection strategy will ensure your tap wall is an asset to the core of your business.

Like a business plan, a tap wall selection strategy is intended to be a living document, updated as various market factors change.

There are many facets to running a restaurant. While hiring a chef and developing a cuisine is undoubtedly important, the most front-facing consumer experience is your restaurant design and concept. When conceptualizing your space, you’ll want the two—food and decor—to speak to one another, while staying on board with your brand and vision.

These, along with a handful of ideas we’ll cover when planning your space, will allow for a great jumping off point, whether you devise the space yourself or enlist the help of an interior designer.

Traditional distributors are the second tier of the United States’ three-tiered system. In this system, a brewery sells beer to a distributor, who then goes on to sell it to various retail, bar, or restaurant accounts. In many states, and if you want to move beer across state lines, a traditional distributor is a necessary partner for any brewery.

But not always. For those committed to keeping beer local, learning about their local regulations, hiring sales reps and drivers, and ensuring their production matches demand, self-distribution is an option.

As a brewery, you need to make a choice. Do you want to self-distribute, work with an outside distribution company, or some combination of both?

Breaking down the advantages and disadvantages of self distributing versus traditional distribution simplifies the decision-making process. We’ve spoken with a few experts in the field to help you make a well-informed decision.

Beginning a brewery often starts as an idea between friends, the lifelong goal of a homebrewer, or a business venture that a longtime brewer that is ready to start on their own. In all these scenarios, the common thread is passion for beer and a spirit for entrepreneurism. Starting with a strong business plan is the first step to seeing those dreams come true.

If you’ve ever had daydreams of naming dogs, babies, or hypothetical cover bands, you know the excitement of finding the perfect name that will make its mark for years to come. Naming beers can come with that same excited anticipation or be shrouded in anxiety as you search for the perfect words to represent your beer.

Not only are names a fun way to speak to your brand and product, but it’s also a requirement. In some states such as North Carolina individual beers must be registered with their “fanciful name” (which simply means the name of the specific beer being registered) in order for the beer to be distributed or for off-premise sales.

So how does one go about naming a beer that entices drinkers to choose you above the competition?