How to Market Your Brewery for Private Events
There’s no shortage of breweries in or near most cities these days. When looking to market your brewery as an event venue to hold a birthday party, corporate dinner, or wedding reception, we’ve got some great best practices. You’ll be able to showcase your unique space that serves as a fun and one-of-a-kind option for family and friends to celebrate.
We spoke to a few local brewing experts about how best to market your brewery and spaces for private events.
Highlight venue flexibility — space and packages
“Breweries, for the most part, are pretty flexible,” said Jason Santamaria, co-founder of Second Self Brewery in Atlanta. “Typically, they have an alternative and open space — it’s not as stuffy as a typical event space. They’re not event spaces, so they don’t have catering minimums, and the guests get some great beer.”
He added that since they don’t make any food in-house, most breweries won’t have requirements for catering or buyouts.
“We’ve worked with guests in the past to make the experience unique and very special,” he said. “We’ve created (one-off) beers or casks for the special day, custom tasting glasses for guests, and even had items as takeaways. We want our guests to make the event they want and not limit them.”
You can also consider partnering with other local vendors for a preferred vendor program. This way, you can refer these businesses to clients for an event at your venue and vice versa.
Advertise unique event offerings
An added bonus to having a private event like a wedding at a brewery is that you have access to layouts, entertainment, drink options, and extras that may not be available at typical outposts.
“Having an aspect of your wedding event at a brewery is really unique,” said Allison Haber, director of communications at Green Olive Media and a representative for Max Lager’s in Downtown Atlanta.
“Max Lager’s, specifically, is not your typical venue, with an industrial loft-style historic building,” she said. “The atmosphere really encourages a relaxed environment that can transform into whatever party you’re looking to host.”
Haber explained that Max Lager’s offers several spaces for events and can be as casual or formal as the client likes. They have a trained staff that can help with arrangements, entertainment, decorations, and catering — a one-stop shop. Plus, photos of these offerings are great additions to your social media pages, marketing emails, and the event section of your website.
Market your brewery so that fun and beer are guaranteed
One of the best parts of choosing a brewery as an event venue is the focus on being at ease, not taking things too seriously, and ensuring guests have a great time. Therefore, this venue type can be particularly appealing to millennials and other clients looking for a nontraditional event space.
“Simply put, breweries are fun destinations,” said Tucker Sarkesian, a representative for SweetWater Brewing Company. “Guests have more than just a blank space to entertain them — they get to see the inner workings of a craft brewery and experience a cool, local attraction.”
Drinking local brew is an added bonus. Guests are likely to feel more relaxed and are able to focus on celebrating more so than they might be in a traditional venue. At SweetWater, options include bringing your own caterer, creating a special event cask, custom pint glasses, various guest number options, private tours, and creative photo ops.
Next steps for brewery event marketing
Once you start generating awareness and bookings for your brewery, take a look at how Tripleseat. We are the #1 guest and event management software for the hospitality industry, and can help you introduce private events to your business to help grow revenue by 35%. Schedule a quick demo today to see how we can streamline the events business for you.
