Keeping the taproom filled & busy is how many breweries make ends meet. Here are a few unique brewery event ideas to keep your barstools full.
To get the most out of your unique brewery event ideas, proper planning, promoting, advertising, & consistent follow-through will help maximize the brewpub events.
Holiday Events For A Brewery
While there are numerous holidays you could throw a party for, here are some unique brewery events for the holidays.
Host A Oktoberfest Party
We admit this one isn’t that unique but if you aren’t doing an Oktoberfest you are missing out. PEOPLE WANT IT! Year-over-year you can see search trends for Oktoberfest constantly peak.
With a little bit of planning and promoting you can make an Oktoberfest party happen pretty easily with a lot of interest. Remember that Oktoberfest starts September 16th, 2023, and lasts for 3 weeks so plenty of time to sell your Marzen beer.
Suggested Price: $47-$125
Oktoberfest FAQ
When is Oktoberfest 2023?
Oktoberfest starts on September 16th, 2023 and lasts 3 weeks.
What Type/Style of Beer is Oktoberfest Beer?
Oktoberfest beer is a German Marzen Lager.
Christmas In July
Christmas in July is a great way to break up the summer tap rotation of Pale Ales & Pilsners by brewing a small batch of your Christmas beers. Buying in with decorations, gift exchanges, and Christmas music can make memories for your guests.
Suggested Price: $25-$44
Game Night, Club Nights & Trivia
Book & Brews – Host Book Club at The Brewery
Hosting a book club at your brewery is a great way to consistently bring in large groups to the brewery. There are always book clubs that are looking for venues to meet and breweries make a great spot.
You can start your search for book clubs on Eventbrite or MeetUp. However, we recommend managing and hosting the book clubs yourself! This way you have control over when the book club is going to meet and you can also control the number of people in the book club.
If you need help, here is a guide on how to get started running a book club.
Suggested Price: Free!
Brewery Trivia Night
Driving business through the door during the week and into the taproom is the way to see consistent revenue growth. Hosting a weekly trivia night at your brewery is a great way to gain reoccurring customer base and fill tables.
Hosting a trivia night can be a lot to organize so we recommend partnering with a trivia company like “Geeks Who Drink” or “Brain Bash Trivia.” They take care of coming up with the weekly questions, promotional material, and hosting brewery trivia.
If you do decide to host your own trivia night we recommend using a lot of prizes. A free round of craft beers makes for a nice prize for winning a certain round but handing out a flat-screen TV for winning can be a little expensive. If you are still going to host it yourself here is a guide to hosting a trivia night.
Suggested Price: Free
Brewery Game Night or Taproom Tournaments
Game night in the brewery can be easy, engaging, and a blast to host. A game night or card tournament for any popular games can consistently bring in a crowd. The more constant and more effort you put into game nights, the better.
Suggested Price: $15-$25
Brewery Music Night Event Ideas
Live Music / Battle Of The Bands
Local artists and bands love the opportunity to play a show for a live crowd and often have their own following of fans. Depending on the size of your brewery and your equipment will determine how large of a concert you can put on.
If your brewery is smaller or you don’t have the proper equipment you can have artists that have their own equipment or have an acoustic show to create atmosphere.
Suggested Price: Free – $30
Bring Your Own Vinyl Night
Relax as your customers bring their favorite, punk, rock, soul, jazz, grunge, R&B, or acoustic records while you pour your delicious microbrews.
Whether you hire a local DJ with a vinyl record setup or you have a record player in your brewery’s Soundsystem, Vinyl night is a way to engage millennials and those with a record collection.
Normally you should have a collection of records on hand to get the party started or if you hired a DJ they will bring their own collection.
One thing you can do to increase participation is to make theme vinyl nights such as 90’s Vinyl Night or Vinyl R&B Night. You can also get volunteers with a promotion like a free beer for a Vinyl play.
Suggested Price: Free
Special Brewery Membership Events
Host A Beer Class
A beer class is an excellent way to move your craft beer while also making a unique brewery event experience for friends & customers.
When hosting a brewery class the idea is to find a balance of exposing your customers to your brand, new beer flavors, teaching them about the style, the history of the beer, and cultivating a good time. Here are a few tips on how to make your beer class event a success.
We also recommend passing out beer-tasting scorecards to make the night unforgettable.
Suggested Price: $49
Special Beer Release Party
A mug or beer club establishes a loyal customer base that keeps customers coming back in. Holding special events like special beer releases for members is a benefit that can fill your brewery with repeat customers.
Offering specials and exclusive events, such as a first taste, special releases, or small batch brews you cannot get in normal service.
Suggested Price: Free – $35 Tickets
Dinner with the Brewer or Beer Pairing
Everyone loves the brewer & creating a special menu with beer pairings with every course is a classy move. Whether you cultivate a more elevated menu with beer pairings for the night or have a casual menu that pairs perfectly with beer, this should be a fun night.
Exposing your members/customers to the staff (especially the brewery staff) builds customer loyalty the more connected they feel with the brand.
Suggested Price: $35-$85 (Depending on Menu)
Brewery Collaboration Events
If you need to make partnerships checkout this Podcast by Craft Beer Professionals on how to create meaningful collaborations.
Tap Takeover
Partner with a local brewing company or microbrewery that has a new beer to introduce or a seasonal return to celebrate. Offer to host their tasting at your venue during a Tap Takeover.
Partnering with another local craft brewery, microbrewery, or even a popular homebrewer to create a powerful opportunity to market to new audiences & expand your brand’s reach.
Tap Takeovers create endless benefits for both breweries from exposure, networking opportunities, building a local brand, and promoting craft beer.
To get the most out of the takeover make sure to design promotional material, have both breweries promote the event on their website & social media, and advertise any specials or promotions.
Build additional buzz by including a tapping event, a brewing tradition. At tapping events, spectators gather to witness the tapping of the very first keg of a brand-new beer.
Bonus Idea: Brewing a collaboration beer can take a Tap Takeover party to the next level.
Suggested Price Range: Free – $25
Yoga Collaboration – Yoga Class in The Brewery
The more creative and off the wall your brewery promotion ideas are the more they stand out. Partner with a local yoga studio or yoga teacher and have a yoga class in the brewery.
Unique Brewery Event Ideas – Sporting Events
Fantasy Sports Draft Events
Hosting a Fantasy Sports Draft at your brewery can be a great way to book large parties for your taproom. There are close to an estimated 60 million people playing fantasy sports between America & Canada.
Fantasy sports have exploded over the last decade and it also has a large loyal following. Draft Day events or advertising fantasy draft packages and specials are a great way to incentivize attendance.
We do recommend doing a draft party package or offering discounts. Hosting a draft part can be a lot for here is a some to host the perfect fantasy draft party.
Suggested Price: $27 – $50 or Group Package
Host Local Sports Watch Events
Sports fans love to drink beer and breweries have a great atmosphere for game day. In almost all cities, towns, villages & communities there will be a professional or college sports team fan base.
We suggest taking advantage of hosting game days with projectors or TVs around the brewery and broadcasting the sound through the speakers.
Suggested Price: Free
Host Soccer Brunch
Soccer leagues like the Premier League are quickly becoming mainstream in the US. Most Premier League games take place on Saturday & Sunday in the AM, so if you want to try filling seats right when you open we suggest becoming a soccer bar.
Suggested Price: Free
Arts & Craft Brewery Nights
Adult Study Hall
Adult Study is on of the unique brewery event that is a weekly night out built around arts and crafts. Hosting an Adult Study Hall is an easy concept starting a weekly meeting that is built around a craft for the night with a social component.
If you need some ideas here are some budget friendly craft nights to help you plan out your Brewery Study Hall.
Suggested Price: Free
Coloring Book Night – Adult Coloring Night
Adult coloring books are a huge hit and a great time for adults. Holding consistent coloring nights can draw in a constant crowds.
Getting customers to bring their own coloring books and supplies is encouraged, but make sure to have coloring books and crayons on hand some on hand for those who might be new.
Suggested Price: Free
Sip & Paint Beer Night
There are countless Wine & Paint nights so why not capitalize on these nights! Brews and painting night can be just as successful as the wine counter parts.
There are services that will bring supplies and manage the event for you. All you need to do is provide the space and promote, they provide the instructions and all the materials.
These events tend to draw the women craft beer drinks which can be a hard target market to reach. If you cant find a paint night service, try starting one with a local artist or art studio.
Suggested Price: $29-$44
Advertise & Marketing Brewery Events
Optimize Brewery Event Website Pages
Keeping your website up-to-date with an events page lets customers know what is going on. We also recommend doing brewery keyword research to see what your customers might be looking for. Don’t forget to optimize for local SEO for searchers in your area.
Promote it On Google My Business
Add the event to Google My Business (GMB). Adding the event to your brewery’s GMB is free advertising that most listings miss out on.
Promote Event on Social Media
Social media is going to be one of your best friend’s for promoting your unique brewery events. Here are some tips on how to promote your event on social media.
Conclusion
When coming up with unique brewery event ideas there is no limit to what will work. The most important thing to making your brewery events a success is consistency and effort.
If you put in the work and reach the right audience your brewery event ideas will come to life and keep your taproom busy!
