Are you considering offering beer flights at your brewery? It can be a great way to increase visitors to your brewery and highlight all you have to offer.
One of the most popular options at many breweries is a beer flight. The taproom equivalent to a wine tasting, a beer flight allows your guests to sample 4-6 varieties of your brews to get a feel for your flavors and their preferences. This post will help you explore if your brewery is ready to take flight.
As interest grows in local and craft beers, offering beer flights to guests is the perfect way to introduce them to the variety of beers you offer. You might offer a sampling of your classic flavors or special seasonal beer flights, but the variety included in a flight is just enough to entice your guests to order more.
Beer Flight Basics: What Is a Beer Flight?
Simply put, beer flights are small servings of various beers. A typical flight includes 3-5 oz. per variety of beer and can consist of anywhere from four to eight varieties. They are usually served on a wooden board, called a Beer Flight Paddle. Some breweries and pubs will offer themes depending on the beers they offer.
For an indecisive customer, a beer flight provides variety and allows them to explore your brewery menu without committing to a whole pint. For the brewery owner, beer flights can allow you to showcase your taproom’s flavors or even test new varieties out.
Building the Perfect Beer Flight Options
While there aren’t specific rules for what to do when creating beer flight options, there are some things to consider. You should think about the order in which your customer will be drinking the flight and what story you want to tell about your brewery. This is your opportunity to take them on a journey through your brewery and to help them learn what you are all about.
Typically, you’ll want to start with something light and refreshing, like a lager or a blonde ale. You’ll then progress to your fuller-flavored and stronger brews, like a pale ale, an IPA, and then a stout.
But, like the beers you create, crafting the perfect beer flight will vary from brewery to brewery, and it’s up to you to choose the perfect path for your flight. Some breweries have adopted the method of arranging brews by color, others ABV (alcohol by volume) or simply by the order they appear on your tap list. When all else fails, you can let the customer decide and have them build their perfect beer flight.
4 Ways to Enhance Your Beer Flight Experience
To ensure you and your customers are getting the most from the beer flights, it’s important to consider a few elements.
1. Variety
For your customers, the appeal of a beer flight is the opportunity to explore. If your facility is very large or busy, leaving the flight menu options open-ended can be overwhelming to your staff. Rather than having customers select which beers they would like to try, you could create several beer flight menus, highlighting the best of your brewery. Ideas could be the “brewery starter pack,” where you feature your most known beers, a “seasonal flight,” highlighting special brews for that time of year, “new flavors,” where you can test new recipes on real customers, and more.
2. Add Food
While exposing your clientele to your beers is important, highlighting your food and how each beer pairs with your food is equally important. Consider pairing each brew with complimentary food from your menu to showcase the depth and richness of both your food and beers. Ask your bartenders for input on which beers and foods are most popular, and be sure to get feedback from them as well.
3. Add a Beer Flight Travel Log
Like a passport, a beer logbook is a fun way for customers to jot down notes and details about their favorite beers. Adding this fun element to your flight can encourage return visits and increase sales as customers learn more about your brewery and flavors. These can be purchased online or easily designed and printed with your brand.
4. Take it Outside
While beer gardens aren’t specific to beer flights, adding an outdoor space to your brewery can increase sales. By expanding to more space where patrons can come and sit and sample, you’ll build customer loyalty and increase return visits. Incorporating flights into this beer garden experience can make your brewery a regular destination for your community.
Overcoming Beer Flight Hesitancy
For some, the idea of offering beer flights is a hard no. There is a perception that these flights can add challenges that are not worth the time and effort. Some think they slow service by taking too long to put together or that it can increase extra cleaning and staff time.
However, it’s important to consider some of the financial opportunities that come with offering beer flights. For example, guests spend 25% more on visits where the staff suggests a flight. Those same guests are also more likely to purchase beer to go or return for future visits when they’ve made that connection to the bartender and brewery via a beer flight.
Flights offer higher tabs for customers. They also lead to greater tips for your staff, despite what some may believe. The extra time and attention offered by staff to recommend a flight often translates to higher tips. It also provides an opportunity to educate guests on your brand’s philosophy and flavors and increases the chances of returning for future visits (which also increases future sales).
Where to Begin Crafting Beer Flight Options
If you’ve been considering trying something new at your establishment, and have ever considered adding beer flights, now’s the time to give it a go.
- Start small. Give it a trial run, with a few options to test the waters and see how a beer flight is received. Offer a pre-selected flight with your most popular brews to give new customers a peek into your brewery.
- Ensure staff buy-in. If you want to sell flights, you need your staff to believe in it. Make sure you engage with your bar staff to understand how this will impact the long-term success of your brewery.
- Think outside the box. Use a beer flight as a creative way to bring in new customers and encourage them to explore the many brews you offer. Creating unique flights with specific flavor patterns is a fun way to draw in customers.
Offering beer flights has increased in popularity in recent years, and it’s easy to see why that is. Beer flights can elevate your brewery to another level by taking inspiration from the world of wine tours and tastings. Customers new to the world of craft beer will realize beer—and breweries like yours—has so much more to offer than they may have originally thought.
So get ready; it’s time to take flight—this fad doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon! Catch up on the latest brewery and craft beer trends on the RWS blog. Contact us to learn what Reliable Water Services can do for your brewery.
