From smarter service flows to the right use of tech, you’ll learn how to streamline operations, empower your team, and uncover hidden profit levers—all without sacrificing the heart of hospitality.

Topics Covered

• How the modern taproom has evolved post-2020: expectations, staffing, and service models
• Mobile POS, QR ordering, and loyalty tools: when tech adds value—and when it doesn’t
• Smart layouts and service zones that reduce friction and increase sales
• Operational insights from POS and brewery management tools
• Hidden profit levers: reducing comps/voids, improving pour control, and optimizing labor
• Building recurring revenue through memberships, events, and exclusive perks
• Real brewery stories of balancing operational discipline with brand experience
• Audience Q&A throughout

Guests

• Lee Cleghorn, Co-Founder, Outer Range Brewing
• Brian Stetson, Customer Success Manager, Arryved
• Jamie Bogner, Host, Craft Beer & Brewing Podcast

This event is sponsored by Arryved.

What do today’s most profitable taprooms have in common? A knack for spotting opportunities. With rising costs, shifting guest expectations, and tighter margins than ever, breweries are rethinking how and where they grow revenue.

Below we explore how breweries are increasing profitability through reporting, inventory insights, and memberships, without compromising hospitality or guest experience.

Creative Strategies for Tapping into Higher Profits

In today’s ever-evolving craft landscape, breweries are navigating a complex mix of challenges. Shifting guest expectations means taprooms need to offer exceptional experiences in addition to great beer. At the same time, rising costs are squeezing already tight margins, and competition is steeper than ever.

The brewery world doesn’t lack creativity, and breweries continue to flex those creative muscles to boost margins despite the challenges. Get inspired below with real-world ideas you can put to work in your brewery and taproom.

Use Sales Data to Your Advantage

The ultimate roadmap to more profitable decisions? Your sales data! The better you get to know your brewery, the more informed and optimized your decisions will be. POS data in particular gives a clear playbook on what’s working, what’s not, and where there’s room to improve.

With the right insights, you can reduce costs and enhance the guest experience. Because you probably got into brewing for the beer and camaraderie, and not the number-crunching, you need the appropriate tools to analyze your data.

Plus, data doesn’t mean you can’t still nerd out on the beer! Some breweries even use draft monitoring to ensure their pours meet quality standards. BarTrack integrations track pour consistency, flag carbonation issues, and help ensure every pint meets your standards.

Chuck Norman, owner of Grist Brewing, praised the BarTrack integration with their POS system:

“This is the solution for breweries to start re-examining their draft program in the taproom and take a revised approach to maximizing potential profits and improving brand integrity through quality.”

Better beer means happier guests, which leads to a stronger brand name, long-term growth, and higher profitability. If you’re not sure where to start with your data, reach out to the support teams of your POS and other key sales integrations. Those folks are happy to set you up for success!

Inventory Data: Critical for Smarter Decision-Making

Inventory insights provide you with the data necessary to make profit-driving decisions about purchasing, production, and sales. By effectively managing your brewery inventory, you can:

• Reduce waste: Accurate inventory tracking helps minimize overstocking, reducing the risk of ingredients spoiling.
  
• Optimize production: Detailed inventory insights allow you to forecast demand more accurately and align your production schedules accordingly.
  
• Increase efficiency: Inventory management systems can automate many tasks, including tracking and ordering. This reduces manual errors and frees up staff.
  
• Boost guest satisfaction: Ensuring you have the necessary inventory on hand means guests get all the pints, 6-packs, and merch they desire.
  

When it comes to brewery profit streams, it’s not just about the beer. Ex Novo Brewing Co.’s merchandise flies off the shelves at both of their locations and online. With inventory selling from multiple places at once, the team needed support to grow this profit stream.

The brewery is now powered by one system—a website and web store integrated with their POS—which means there’s one source of truth when it comes to inventory. It also means the team saves time, prevents overselling, and gets help with reordering.

Since launching the new online store, Ex Novo has seen a 25 percent increase in total merchandise sales. That’s a significant revenue boost and promises a future of profitable merch sales.

Merch stores are proven profit drivers for modern breweries. There’s no need to go crazy with your T-shirt or hat designs: Print your slogan in a nice color and have your staff model the merch around your taproom.

Membership Programs Drive Loyalty and Recurring Revenue

Membership programs reward your regulars—the heart of any taproom—while driving recurring revenue and long-term loyalty. By offering exclusive perks or first dibs on new releases, you create an engaging experience for both guests and staff. It's a win-win that keeps your biggest fans coming back for more.

Breweries often use their POS systems to power their membership programs. That makes it easy to track rewards, redemptions, and revenue specific to your program. Customizable branded apps, like those offered by Arryved + Tapwyse, power mug clubs, perks programs, beer societies, and more to connect you with your fans.

Here are a couple of examples of brewery membership programs getting well-earned buzz.

Tröegs Independent Brewing’s Club Tröegs offers the Tröegs app: a gateway to the club membership and other brewery information. Members also get:

• Discounts on crowlers and growlers
  
• Weekly $1 beer
  
• Special events, promotions, and more!
  

Firestone Walker Brewing Company’s Brewmaster’s Collective encourages the kind of cult following they’ve earned. One annual fee comes with a variety of exclusive rewards:

• Member-only events
  
• 15 percent off preferred member pricing
  
• Vintage library cellar and priority access
  
• Five barrel-aged beers x four quarterly collections
  

If you’re beginning a membership program from scratch, start small and grow as you go. You know your guests the best, so customize rewards based on what excites them the most.

Hospitality: Still Your Strongest Revenue Driver

Whether you’re re-examining your POS reports, inventory, or membership programs, one thing is clear: Your profitability still comes down to people.

When guests feel connected to your brand through great beer, fun souvenirs, and personal touches, they’re more likely to stay longer, spend more, and come back. Engaged guests don’t just buy beer; they build your community and grow your bottom line.

Modern breweries need tools that prioritize both operations and hospitality. If you’re looking for an integrated system that powers higher brewery margins, check out Arryved POS.

Today’s most successful taprooms aren’t working harder. They’re working smarter. From data-informed staffing to flexible service models, it’s time to learn from 2025’s modern taproom playbook.

Check out five key shifts operators are making this year and hear from real-world folks revolutionizing taprooms their way.

#1: Shift from Staff Management to Staff Satisfaction

Staffing is one of the biggest challenges that operators face in 2025. Rising labor costs and evolving guest expectations require a sharp focus on staff retention.

Brewery managers need to streamline operations for both themselves and their staff. Put data and automation behind your staffing to save time and minimize manual errors. With the right technology, you can schedule, tip out, and pay your team accurately and on time. This leads to happier employees!

Integrations such as Arryved + 7shifts let you sync real-time POS sales data with labor schedules, providing accurate traffic forecasts and smarter shift assignments. Taproom management saves hours on admin work, too.

#2: Shift from Messy Paper Math to Taproom Insights in Your Pocket

Smart operators are digging deeper into their data to find inefficiencies. Simple daily sales reports don’t provide the data richness that taprooms need to maximize profit.

Tracking every pour with your POS reporting helps you spot trends fast. Maybe your new hire is too generous with tasters, or that cherry sour isn’t converting to pint sales the way you’d hoped. With detailed, customizable reports, you can make smarter decisions on staffing, training, and menus without ever touching a calculator. Solutions such as Arryved even offer to-the-ounce beverage reports.

Another time-saving set of POS insights comes from tip-pooling data. These are some reports that ensure fair payouts:

• Tips by Labor Hour: Use mini tip pools based on when staff are clocking in and out and divide tips among them. You can see the cumulative results from each tip pool.
  
• Employee Time Card: Pool tips over a whole day with the Employee Time Card report. This ensures all tipped employees receive the appropriate share and doesn’t factor in time of day or shift.
  
• Employee Performance: Look at employee performance to see who’s bringing in the most profitable tables.
  

Look for tools that allocate tips based on when an order was placed versus when the tab closed. That way, if someone serves a table but clocks out before the table leaves, they still get tipped.

#3: Shift from QR Code Skepticism to Optimizing Ordering Experiences

Remember when QR codes felt like a pandemic trend? Well, they’re sticking around because of their serious upgrade to the taproom experience.

QR code ordering lets guests browse the menu, start a tab, and order from their phones without waiting at the bar or flagging down a server. This ordering ease resulted in 37 percent higher tabs for Red Bear Brewing Co.

Here’s a hot tip: Don’t feel stuck in a single service model! Let guests order the first round from the bar and the next two from their table. Tools like tab claiming make dynamic ordering seamless by empowering guests to claim their bar tab from their phone, then continue adding to it!

Ordering flexibility creates an easy-going taproom where your team spends time engaging with guests instead of running cards.

#4: Shift from Manual Processes to Automated Brewery Operations

In an industry that respects the hardiness of blood, sweat, and tears, taprooms must embrace automation, too. Today’s tools make it easier to manage your brewery without drowning in spreadsheets.

With real-time inventory tracking, recipe costing, and production management, taprooms can

• know exactly how much each brew costs to make,
  
• plan menus based on margins and demand,
  
• track batch progress, and
  
• avoid the dreaded “Sorry, that keg is tapped.”
  

Some platforms, such as Arryved Brewery Management, offer full visibility into what’s happening in your tanks, trucks, and taproom in one dashboard.

Stay on top of production whether you’re in the brewhouse, at the bar, or offsite. Your brewery management system should make getting the data you need is as easy as pulling a tap.

#5: Shift from Maximizing Length of Stay to Maximizing Entertainment

Of course, you want people to stay in your taproom longer. But more importantly, you want guests to stay engaged. When guests are having a blast, they order more, stay longer, and tell their friends about their new favorite spot.

“When it comes to taproom entertainment, we’re not trying to rearrange human behavior. You want to maximize the length of stay when guests are most stimulated. Get people to stay double the time by creating an environment they never want to leave.” —Brandon Stirewalt, Director of Operations at Town Brewing Co.

Not sure where to start? Here are a couple of low-lift, high-reward taproom event ideas:

• Game Night: Hi-Wire Brewing swears by their Competitive Puzzle Nights. Think trivia, bingo, or BYO-board games for easy set-up and clean-up.
  
• Partner with a nonprofit: Invite a local humane society to host an adoption event in your taproom. They bring the dogs; you provide the drinks. Is there a better combination than puppies and beer?
  

With tools like venue management, you can customize menus for different spaces (such as a drinks-only QR code for the patio), monitor sales by event, and prepare accordingly for the next big night.

When you track event success in real time, you can fine-tune your programming for maximum ROI.

Modernize Your Taproom in 2025

One thing’s clear: The modern taproom requires more than great beer. As the brewery landscape continues to evolve, operators who adapt with purpose will see the most meaningful results.

These five shifts aren’t trends. They’re proven strategies to build a smarter, more sustainable future behind the bar. Whether it’s embracing new tech or rethinking your service model, small shifts lead to a taproom that’s lean, profitable, and downright fun to be in.

Check out Arryved for all your modern taproom tech needs.

Expanding a brewery in 2025 takes more than great beer. It takes operational finesse, memorable guest experiences, and—arguably the most underrated secret weapon—smart, flexible technology behind the bar.

Point of sale (POS) systems have come a long way from simple registers. The right setup now serves as a centralized hub that connects service, inventory, online sales, and staff management. It’s how today’s taprooms scale with ease and keep guests coming back.

Here are 10 tech features your brewery should have on tap this year.

1. Card Readers That Keep Things Moving

After a round of great beers and bites, no one wants a clunky checkout. Modern card readers help close tabs quickly and securely—whether it’s with a chip, tap, Apple Pay, or Google Pay. The best part? Staff can handle more guests with less friction, even during peak hours.

2. Customizable Tipping Tools

Tipping shouldn’t be an afterthought. POS tools that let guests choose their preferred tip amount while giving you flexibility in how tips are pooled or distributed are a win-win. Look for systems with payroll integration and detailed reporting to keep both staff and finance teams happy.

3. Ounce-Level Reporting

When every drop counts, beverage-specific reporting helps you track pour sizes, reduce waste, and make smarter staffing and production decisions. Whether it’s identifying over-pouring or tracking which tasters lead to pint sales, detailed data help you fine-tune operations.

4. Pre-Authorization for Tabs

Pre-auth, or placing a temporary hold on a guest’s card, helps reduce chargebacks and ensures funds are available before orders start flowing. It’s a small step that boosts both efficiency and peace of mind—especially in fast-paced service environments.

5. Offline Mode for Business as Usual

Wifi down? No problem. A POS system with offline mode ensures your staff can still take payments, open tabs, and keep the good times rolling—even during unexpected outages.

6. QR Codes That Actually Enhance the Experience

QR codes aren’t just for pandemic-era safety. These days, they’re a guest convenience. Let folks order another round from their phones, browse up-to-date menus, or skip the bar line altogether. Bonus: No need to reprint paper menus every time a new beer drops.

7. Connected Inventory Management

Your POS and inventory tools should talk to each other. When sales data feed directly into your brewery’s inventory system, it becomes easier to manage ingredients, track finished goods, and plan production—all in real time.

8. Online Sales That Match the In-Person Experience

Consumers expect to find and buy your products online just as easily as they can in your taproom. Whether it’s to-go beer, merch, or event tickets, seamless e-commerce tools give you another revenue stream and let your brand shine online.

9. Integrations That Simplify Your Workflow

Modern POS systems should integrate with the tools you already use. Whether it’s syncing with accounting software such as QuickBooks, managing staff schedules through 7shifts, or optimizing draft quality with systems such as BarTrack, integrated solutions save time and reduce data errors.

10. Support You Can Actually Count On

When the taproom is slammed, you don’t have time to troubleshoot tech. Responsive, knowledgeable POS support can make or break your day. Seek out providers who offer not just quick fixes, but thoughtful recommendations to improve your service long-term.

Technology may not be the first thing guests notice when they walk into your brewery, but it’s often the reason they leave smiling and come back again.

Looking to explore what’s possible with modern taproom tech? Learn more at arryved.com.