How to get more customers into your taproom

There’s nothing quite like a busy taproom.

The atmosphere, the conversations at the bar, regulars introducing friends to their favourite beers, and new customers discovering what you do for the first time.

For many breweries, the taproom is more than another sales channel. It’s the place customers experience your brand, meet your team, hear your story, and build a real connection with the beer you create.

But even when you’re brewing great beer, getting people through the door consistently takes work.

How do you encourage new customers to visit? Give people a reason to stay longer? Turn someone who stopped by once into someone who comes back regularly?

The good news is you don’t always need huge changes, big budgets, or more space. Often, small improvements to the customer experience can have a big impact.

Make your taproom approachable for every customer

Your regulars might walk in already knowing what they’re ordering, but not every customer arrives with the same confidence.

Some visitors know they like a certain style. Others just know they usually enjoy something crisp, fruity, refreshing, or easy drinking.

Making beer discovery simple can help more people find something they love, especially those who wouldn’t describe themselves as craft beer 'experts'.

Tasting flights, small samples, clear flavour descriptions, and team recommendations all make choosing easier while creating more conversations between your team and customers.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - Try creating an “if you like this, try this” guide.

For example:

• Usually drink lager? Try...
• Enjoy fruity flavours? Try...
• Looking for something lighter? Try...
• Fancy a low or no alcohol option? Try...

It’s a simple way to help customers explore more of your range.

Give people reasons to stay longer

Sometimes the difference between one drink and another round is the experience around it.

Not every brewery has room for pool tables, shuffleboard, cornhole, or arcade games, and that’s fine. Creating a great taproom atmosphere doesn’t have to mean changing your entire space.

Smaller touches like table games, beer rating cards, customer challenges, playlists, or competitions can create the same feeling: somewhere people want to relax and spend time.

The aim isn’t to distract from the beer. It’s to create a space people enjoy being in.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - Look for small additions that fit your taproom personality.

A relaxed neighbourhood taproom and a large destination venue might create completely different experiences, and that’s exactly how it should be.

Create more reasons to visit your taproom

Some of your biggest future fans might not currently be looking for a brewery to visit.

They might be looking for somewhere to meet friends, somewhere to take the dog after a walk, somewhere to grab food, or something different to do locally. Creating moments beyond beer can introduce your brewery to new audiences.

Think about events like:

• Run clubs
• Food partnerships
• Comedy nights
• Local markets
• Live music
• Quiz nights
• Creative workshops
• Games nights

A great example is Double-Barrelled Brewery in Reading, UK. Alongside their beers, Double-Barrelled have built a taproom experience that gives people plenty of reasons to visit. Their calendar includes everything from their regular run club and comedy nights to creative sessions, indie markets, and community events.

They also partner with local food vendors, including 7Bone Burger Co, giving customers another reason to settle in and make an evening of it.

It’s a great reminder that a taproom can become part of someone’s routine, not just somewhere they visit when they fancy a beer.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - Think about different reasons someone might choose where to go:

“Where should we go after our run?”
“Where can we meet friends?”
“Where can we take the dog?”
“Where is doing something interesting this week?”

The more reasons people have to think of your taproom, the more opportunities you create.

Make sure customers know what you offer

You might have a brilliant taproom experience, but are you showing it?

Customers who haven’t visited before often make decisions based on what they see online.

If you’re dog friendly, show the dogs.
If you have great food partners, share the food.
If you offer low and no alcohol options, talk about them.
If your events bring the community together, capture those moments.

Your taproom experience is part of your story, not just your beer list.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - Show the reasons people visit, not only what is pouring. Your social media is a great place to highlight people having fun at your venue. 

Your next customer might discover you because of a burger night, a run club, or a dog-friendly post, then fall in love with your beer afterwards.

Make every visit work harder

Increasing taproom revenue isn’t always about getting more people through the door. Sometimes it’s about creating more opportunities with the customers already there.

If someone has found a beer they love, make it easy for them to take that experience home.

That could mean takeaway cans, mixed packs, merchandise, gift options, or letting people know about your next event before they leave. The key is making it feel like part of the experience, not a hard sell.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - Try linking the taproom experience with takeaway sales.

Something simple like money off takeaway cans after buying a pint gives customers a reason to continue enjoying your beer at home.

Pay attention to what customers are telling you

Your customers are constantly giving you useful information through what they buy, attend, and ask about.

Looking at your busiest times, best-selling beers, popular events, and customer habits can help you make more confident decisions about what to promote next.

Sometimes the best ideas are already sitting in what your customers are doing.

Help your team deliver the best experience

Busy taprooms are great, but they can quickly highlight gaps behind the scenes.

When someone asks what’s new, what’s almost gone, or what they should try next, your team needs that information easily available.

The same applies when someone is away, a new team member joins, or a busy shift changes plans.

Having key information only stored in one person’s head makes things harder for everyone.

Taproom top tip 🍻 - A quick team update before a busy session can make all the difference.

What’s new?
What’s popular?
What should we recommend?
What events are coming up?

Keeping everyone informed helps your team focus on your customers.

Small changes can make a big difference

You don’t need the biggest venue, biggest budget, or busiest events calendar to create a taproom people love.

Sometimes it starts with making someone feel welcome, helping them discover a new favourite beer, giving them a reason to stay longer, or creating an experience they want to come back for.

Great beer gets people through the door. Great experiences keep them coming back.

Spend less time chasing information and more time growing your brewery

A great customer experience starts with a brewery that runs smoothly behind the scenes.

Breww helps breweries connect production, inventory, sales, deliveries, reporting and more in one easy-to-use platform, giving your whole team the information they need, when they need it.

From knowing what’s selling to keeping everyone on the same page, Breww helps you spend less time managing admin and more time focusing on your beer, your customers, and your business.

Create your free Breww test account today and explore the platform in your own time.

No pressure. No commitment. Just a chance to see how Breww could work for your brewery.