Selling beer for corporate offsites and events in India

Why corporate business is worth chasing

A brewpub's weekday evenings are often its weakest hours. Corporate groups fill exactly those slots. They book weeks ahead, which helps you plan staff and stock. They pay against an invoice. If the event goes well, the person who booked it comes back next quarter with another team.

In cities with large tech parks and global capability centres, team outings and offsites are a steady stream of demand. They are rarely about the beer alone. The booker wants an evening that goes smoothly and makes them look good.

Where you can legally serve

The easiest corporate event is the one held at your own licensed premises. A full or partial buyout of the taproom is simple from a licensing point of view, because you are serving where your licence already allows.

Serving at a client's office or a resort is a different matter. A brewpub licence usually covers only your own premises. Many states issue occasional or event licences for serving alcohol at a function elsewhere, typically applied for by the organiser or the venue, with a fee and conditions. The rules vary by state and change, so check the current position with the excise office or a licensing consultant before you quote for an off-site event. Sending kegs to a venue without the right permission is a risk to your licence.

Build packages, not a price list

Corporate bookers want a number per head they can put in an approval email. Give them two or three clear packages:

• A tasting evening with a guided flight, small plates and a short talk from the brewer.
• A dinner package with a set menu and a fixed beer allowance per guest, served in tokens or tracked on a wristband.
• A full buyout with a minimum spend, for larger groups who want the room to themselves.

Price each one from your real costs. A guide to beer pricing helps here, but the short version is to cost the beer, the food, the extra staff and the revenue you give up from walk-ins. Ask for an advance to confirm the date. Agree the minimum guarantee in writing, because headcounts on the day are often lower than promised.

Plan for the people who do not drink

In most corporate groups some guests do not drink alcohol, for reasons of faith, health, driving or plain preference. A good event treats them as equal guests. Offer a proper non-alcoholic list: house-made sodas, cold brew, kombucha or a non-alcoholic beer if you have one. Price the package so a non-drinker does not feel they are subsidising the bar.

Tastings should be opt-in, with small pours and spit cups available. We cover this in more depth in our guide to running responsible tastings at work, which is worth sharing with the HR team that books you.

Run the evening like a brewer runs a brew day

Write a run sheet. Who greets the group, when food lands, when the brewer speaks, when the bar closes. Put one manager on the event who is not also running the main floor.

Serve responsibly. Train staff to slow service for anyone who has had enough. Never serve anyone underage. Arrange cabs or confirm that the client has organised transport. Make it easy for guests to leave the car keys at home. A corporate event that ends with a drunk-driving incident is one no company will repeat.

A practical floor detail: a 30 person tasting with a five beer flight of 90 ml pours needs about 13.5 litres poured cleanly in a short window. Have the flights pre-staged and the lines balanced before the group arrives, or the tasting turns into a queue.

Turning one booking into a channel

After the event, send the invoice promptly with a thank-you note and a few photos the booker can share internally. Ask what went well. Keep a short list of corporate contacts and tell them about seasonal releases or festive packages ahead of time. Pair the offer with your wider taproom events so corporate groups see a calendar, not a one-off.

Building that kind of repeat channel is mostly marketing and community work, which is where most brewpubs have the least practice.