Building a beer club and community

Why community matters more than reach

A thousand followers who have never visited are worth less than fifty regulars who bring friends. Small breweries cannot outspend large ones on visibility, but they can know their drinkers by name. That is the advantage community gives you.

Regulars also forgive. When a batch is a little off or a favourite beer is out of stock, a guest who feels part of the brewery stays. A guest who only came for a discount moves on.

Decide what the club is for

Before you print a membership card, decide what the club gives people that a normal visit does not. The best clubs offer access and belonging rather than discounts. Ideas that work:

• First taste of new releases, before they go on the main board.
• A members' night once a month with the brewer at the bar.
• A personal mug or glass kept behind the bar.
• Early booking for events and festive tables.
• A say in a seasonal recipe, by vote or by tasting trial batches.

Keep it simple enough that staff can explain it in one sentence. Discounts on beer are restricted in some states and are a poor basis for loyalty anyway, so check the rules before you offer any price benefit.

Member brew days, done safely

Nothing builds loyalty like letting people inside the brewhouse. A members' brew day, where a small group helps mash in, watches the boil and smells the hops going in, turns customers into ambassadors.

Treat it as a safety exercise first. A brewhouse has hot liquor near 75 to 80 °C, wort at boiling, caustic cleaning chemicals and CO2 in enclosed spaces. Keep groups small, insist on closed shoes, keep guests behind a line during transfers and give one staff member the single job of watching them. Nobody drinks before or during the session. Save the tasting for the end, in the taproom. Then follow the beer through to release: tell the group when it goes into the fermenter, when it is ready and when it goes on tap. A brew day that ends with members drinking their own beer a month later is the strongest loyalty tool a brewery has.

Events that build regulars

One off events bring crowds. Repeating events build community. A quiz on the first Tuesday of every month, a running club that ends at the taproom on Sunday morning with coffee and breakfast, a homebrew meet where local homebrewers bring bottles for feedback. People come back because they know it will happen.

Pick two or three formats and run them for six months before judging them. Our guide to taproom events has more ideas, including ways to fill quiet weeknights.

The online side

A WhatsApp community or a small group chat often works better in India than a public page. Use it for release news, event reminders and the occasional photo from the brewhouse. Keep it useful and quiet. Three messages a week is plenty. A broadcast every day will get you muted.

Public social accounts still matter for reaching new people, within the advertising rules. Our guide to social media marketing for breweries covers what to post and how often.

Merchandise that members want to wear

A good T shirt or cap is a small flag your members carry around the city. Make it something people would wear even without the logo: good fabric, a design that works without explanation and a members' only version that cannot be bought. Order small runs at first. Sizes that do not sell sit in a box for years, while a design that sells out gives you a reason to announce the next one. Our guide to beer merchandise covers what sells and what gathers dust.

Keep it going after the launch

Most clubs start strong and fade after three months. What keeps them alive is a named person who owns the community, a calendar planned a season ahead and listening. Ask members what they want, then do some of it and tell them you did.

Also keep the community responsible. A club built around drinking more will attract the wrong crowd. A club built around beer, food, learning and the people who make it will last. Make the non alcoholic options good, offer to call cabs and never reward volume.

Getting the brand right, so the club, the merchandise and the posts all feel like the same brewery, is the part many founders find hardest.

Common questions

What should a brewery beer club offer?

Access and belonging: first tastes of new beers, members' nights, a personal glass and early event booking. These build loyalty better than discounts.

Is it safe to invite customers to a brew day?

It can be, with small groups, closed shoes, a dedicated staff member watching them and no drinking until the brewing is done. Hot liquids, chemicals and CO2 are real hazards.

How often should a brewery message its community?

About two or three times a week at most. Keep messages useful, such as releases and events, so people do not mute the group.