Category: Front of House
Expert Topic Beyond Beer: Exploring Wine and Cocktails On Draft
As the landscape of craft beverage service evolves and breweries and bars change their menus to attract consumers with shifting interests, the face of the tap list looks different. Beer has long dominated draft almost to the exclusion of all others. Post-pandemic, bars continue to reduce their draft beer offerings but that doesn’t mean the lines are sitting empty.
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News AB InBev Tests New Draft System that Includes Automated Line Cleaning
AB InBev-owned Budweiser Brewing Group has launched an automated draft dispensing system called the Budweiser Ultimate Dispense System (BUDS). The system includes an automated line cleaning system eliminating the need for retailers to clean lines manually.
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Expert Topic Designed to Impress: Making Your Brewery a Welcoming Space
The era of simply owning a brewery and expecting people to walk through the doors because there is house-made beer on draft is over. Increased competition and a savvy and curious customer base means putting the customer experience front and center. From top to bottom.
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Expert Topic The Best Ways to Make Your Brewery Website Stand Out (and be Helpful)
Having a well built and easy to navigate website is critical for brewery owners. It’s the portal many will use to find your business, to learn about it, and to connect with your brand. To do it right, there are several things to keep in mind.
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Expert Topic Building a Better Merch Program
Merchandise has become an important part of a brewery’s business model. Once a logo has been designed and approved, many breweries have printed up shirts, hats, glassware and more to sell even before the first batch of beer is brewed. Once a brewery opens its doors, merchandise takes on a variety of roles. It can be a revenue generator, but it is also a consumer endorsement that they want to wear your brand outside of your walls and share your business with others.
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Expert Topic Staff Training is Critical for a Brewery’s Success
There are a lot of factors that go into the decision a customer makes regarding if they had a good time or not when visiting a brewery. There is the quality of the beer, the decor and atmosphere, and employee interaction. Server training has never been more important in the beer space, as breweries are faced with stiff competition from not only restaurants but other breweries.
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News CHEERS Act Would Give Tax Break to Bars and Restaurants That Serve Draft Beer
The CHEERS Act, a congressional bill that would provide a tax break to restaurants and bars that utilize draft beer systems and help revitalize the hospitality industry has been introduced in Washington, DC.
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Expert Topic Draft Monitoring: Avoiding Loss
There are few clearer examples of losing money than watching beer overflow a glass or pour freely from a tap and cascade down the drain. On average, ten to twenty percent of draft beer is lost at the tap, cutting substantially into profits and needlessly increasing costs. For many owners, it’s just a literal cost of doing business. And for many consumers it’s an all too familiar sight. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
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Sponsored WTF, Data?! Numbers = Profits! w/ Pulkit K. Agrawal
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
Almost every brewery is tracking their data – whether it’s in a spreadsheet, paper logs, or an electronic brewery management system. As breweries start scaling, there are two key areas that brewers and owners start looking at for their products — (1) making consistent quality beer and (2) improving costs over time.
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Sponsored “This is Native.” – Collaboration & the Art of Storytelling
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
Skydance Brewing Co opened their downtown Oklahoma City brewery and taproom in fall 2021 with a lot of local buzz as a Native-owned craft brewery, but owner Jake Keyes felt his full story was not yet being told in their brand and sought to elevate the packaging of their core beers for stronger shelf appeal as they grew distribution.
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Sponsored Tap Room Playbook – From Lines to Food Trends, Get Tips to Run Your Brewery Better
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
The taproom! The epicenter of your brand. We’re excited to have a conversation today on how you can make the most of your guests’ time at your brewery. We hope that you leave with greater strategies for success and inspiration to further maximize your brewery’s taproom experience. After all, it’s not just about making great beer, but also putting out world class hospitality.
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Sponsored CBP Video: Getting More Butts in Seats & Beer in The Fridge
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
Marketing for Breweries has taken so many forms it’s hard to even know what to do anymore. It’s more than just a punch on a punch card, a scan of a QR code or some arbitrary point system. Loyalty is creating an experience that makes your customer tell their friends about the incredible experience they had at your brewery.
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Sponsored Little Changes: Actionable Strategies to Elevate the Customer Experience with Dan Hornbrook
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
I will dive into the importance of elevating the consumer experience from a product and location standpoint. What are things that consumers are seeking that some breweries might be missing out on that could be super easy to connect with.
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Expert Topic Bringing Special Events to a Brewery
There’s a scam email that bounces from brewery to brewery. Someone writes that they want to host a party, loves the place, and wants to throw a big blowout for a birthday or anniversary, or graduation. The emailer is currently out of the country but will take care of the whole bill. But needs the brewery to front some cash, maybe through an app, if that’s OK.
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Expert Topic Non-alcoholic Offerings Make Sense at a Brewery
A well thought out tap list, one with diversity of styles and ABV range is a delight to see at a brewery. It means customers can pick pints or flights that suit a mood or menu. So much focus is put on a brewery’s beer, rightly so, but there is also an appreciation that comes with non-alcoholic offerings.
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Expert Topic Mug Clubs: Two Different Models, Both With One Purpose
Which came first, craft beer or the mug club? An unanswerable question to be sure. For seemingly as long as craft brewers have been operating, they’ve offered customers the option to join a small and exclusive club of supporters. In the 90s, it seemed like every brewpub offered a mug club for their amber ale drinking fans. In the age of the brewery taproom, that pioneering model of craft beer is getting a second look.
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Sponsored Guest Experience: How to Thrive in an Instant, On-Demand World
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
There’s a huge difference between good service and a good guest experience. It’s challenging enough to ensure your guests are greeted in a timely manner, their orders taken quickly, drinks never run dry, and their bill received and closed on time. These service steps are absolutely critical, but do very little to combat a negative first impression. Standards for service are increasing at a rapid pace as patience of our guests wanes, so is it time to pivot our focus away from basic tasks and focus more heavily on our presence with guests?
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Sponsored Rising to Leadership: Optimize your Service on Boards and Committees with Meg Ellis
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
There are as many ways to be a leader as there are styles of beer out there. But not every opportunity is going to be the right fit for you. How do you find the “Goldilocks” role where you can make a difference? And what do you do once you’ve found it?
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Sponsored A Conversation of Tipping in Breweries
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
Over the past several years, many breweries have reconsidered their service models – searching for the delicate balance that best maximizes the experience for both guests and staff. In doing so, this has also generated more conversations about best practices regarding tipping. In this panel, we will discuss different tipping models, their benefits, their challenges, and how conversations on tipping can result in greater success for your taproom.
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Sponsored How E-Commerce Can Take Your Brand To The Next Level with Jason Sherman of TapRm
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
Alcohol e-commerce isn’t just a trend, it’s here to stay — but how can beer and hard seltzer brands fully utilize this sales channel and grow their businesses? Join Jason Sherman, CEO and Founder of TapRm, as he discusses the value of having your own customized e-commerce channel and the many ways it can help your beer brand scale.
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Sponsored After the Reckoning: A Safe Bars Experience with Safe Bars
Posted sponsored by Craft Beer Professionals
It’s been almost two years since our eyes were opened to some of the toxic behaviors common in brewing culture. While awareness was the first step in building a new culture, we still have work to do to take care of one another and heal. Fortunately, you (the people who work in the industry) are positioned to make that happen!
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