Greg Engert is beer director of the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, whose bars and restaurants include ChurchKey, Rustico, and the Bluejacket brewery, among others.
Subscriber Exclusive
For the new generation of drinkers, craft beer isn’t anything revolutionary—it was already ubiquitous. But by providing opportunities for memorable experiences, craft brewers can still win over these drinkers.
It’s never easy when some doors shut for good—especially when you’ve put so much into opening them and running the business. Yet hospitality evolves, change is inevitable, and each hard-earned lesson can strengthen your next endeavor, ensuring that the past becomes prologue.
Finding, keeping, and developing great hospitality staff has never been tougher. There are no quick-and-easy answers, but here are some practical measures for attracting and empowering a strong team—so they can better deliver the experiences that keep customers coming back.
Chasing flavor-driven trends on retail shelves is certainly one way to pursue growth. Yet smaller breweries may find more success by recommitting to an identity grounded in intentional brewing.
Today, with distributors cutting back and tough competition at retail, it’s time to re-emphasize the festival as a way to attract new customers. Here are some experience-based tips on running a successful and profitable event.
Craft beer on draft is struggling to make its comeback, but by focusing on certain details—and by helping to educate bars and restaurants on service and presentation—we can restore it to pride of place.
In an increasingly competitive environment awash with beverage variety, craft beer can win by recommitting to what made it great in the first place.
Make it fun for them: Amid rising costs and changing customer habits, there are untapped opportunities to pack them in and maximize sales with creative events and activities.
There are signs that brewers and drinkers are emerging from a relatively monotonous haze phase to re-embrace more choices via lagers, traditional styles—and even cask ales. From Behind the Bar, here is specific advice on adding cask to your bar or taproom.
It’s not all four-packs and boss pours. Glassware chosen to elevate particular kinds of beer—and to help you sell more of it—still has a valued place at the bar and taproom.
