Use Draft Beer to Boost Sales

Restaurant owners who offer a selection of beer without any draft beer are losing out. Draft beer sales in restaurants are often equal to or greater than bottle sales when a choice of both is available. What makes draft beer so appealing to people? It can be theorized that it not only has to do with taste, but with aesthetics as well. With so many choices of beer available, more and more people are being choosy about not only the kinds of beers they drink, but how they drink it as well. Glassware has come out in hundreds of shapes and sizes to encompass that perfect beer for the thirsty consumer. Large glasses, ornate glasses, promotional offers, and colorful signs and decorum make a big difference when it comes to sales. We have truly become a society of brand name conscious consumers and this is no exception in the beer market. It makes a lot of sense when there are so many different types of beers. Some of them will taste completely different from another and yet they are still called the same thing.

When a customer walks into a bar and orders a beer, a lot of times the first thing they see are the beer tap handles displaying the kinds of beer they offer. These beer tap handles are often ornate and eye catching in addition to displaying the different brands. As someone sees a recognizable brand name they are more likely to give up the search and go with what they know. Because draft beer is much cheaper than bottled beer, profits can also be much higher with proper regulation and care. Knowing what beers sell the best, sales figures, and keg yields are the key components in successful draft beer sales. Draft beer is profitable only when strict attention is paid to the inventory.

In addition to appealing beer tap handles, many companies will offer a variety of beer glasses that go with their particular brand of beer. These beer glasses have the logo of the beer and appeal to the bar-going public. With a little promotion and strategic placement of these products, restaurant beer sales have the potential to increase dramatically. Occasionally some beer companies and distributors will work with restaurants to increase beer sales by offering a product that can be given away to customers in a promotion.

Some potential problems can arise with a draft beer system. Temperature is the most prevalent problem. If kegs are not stored in the correct temperature, the beer foams up and volume per keg goes down. Dirty lines running from the keg to the beer tap handles can also affect the taste and amount of beer attained per keg. A badly tapped keg has the potential to lose pressure and affect the yield of the beer per keg as well. An inexperienced bartender can also affect keg yields by doing bad pours or improper storage. However, all these problems can easily be avoided with a little attention and care. There is a little potential for some problems, but the advantages and increased profit of draft beer make it well worth the effort.

Michael Usry is a long-time beer lover and contributing author for "Beer Maniac" fanzine in Austin, Tx. He is also a top affiliate at beertaps.com, and steinsandglassware.com, websites for household draft beer accessories.