Designing a taproom menu board people can read from the queue
A good menu board helps guests choose before they reach the bar, speeds up service and sells more of the beers you want to sell. We cover how big the text needs to be, what to put on it and how to lay it out.
The board's real job
A taproom menu board has one job: let people choose their beer while they wait. If they can read it from the queue, they arrive at the bar ready to order. If they cannot, they ask questions, request tasters and hold up everyone behind them.
On a busy Friday night that difference matters. A board people can read from ten metres away keeps the line moving and lets staff spend time on the guests who genuinely want advice.
How big the letters need to be
A common signage rule of thumb is about 2.5 cm of letter height for every 3 metres of viewing distance for comfortable reading. If the back of your queue is 9 metres from the board, beer names need capital letters at least 7 to 8 cm tall. Details like ABV and price can be smaller, but not much.
Stand at the back of your queue on a busy night and read the board. If you squint, the text is too small. Remember that many guests will be older than your designer. Some will not be wearing their glasses.
What to include and what to leave off
Each beer needs, in this order:
- The name, largest.
- The style, such as Hefeweizen, West Coast IPA or Dry Stout.
- ABV, because guests plan their evening around it.
- Two to four words of flavour, like "banana, clove, soft" or "roasty, dry, coffee".
- Serving sizes and prices, clearly.
Leave off long descriptions, hop lists and brewing details. Put those on a printed menu or a QR code for guests who want more. Our guide to writing tasting notes that sell shows how to say a lot in a few words.
Keep the number of lines manageable. Twelve beers is plenty for one board. If you have more, split them into sections or two boards.
Layout that helps people choose
Group beers in a logical order. Many taprooms go light to dark or low to high ABV, which helps newcomers find a starting point. Others group by family: lagers, wheat beers, pale ales and IPAs, dark beers, sours and specials.
- Use consistent columns so names, styles, ABV and prices line up.
- Leave space between beers. Crowded boards are hard to scan.
- Use colour or a small symbol to mark new or limited beers.
- Mark non-alcoholic options clearly, with their own heading.
Put your best-selling or highest-margin beers in the spots people look first, usually the top left and the middle of the board.
Choosing a board format
Chalkboards feel warm and handmade. They are cheap to update. They depend on someone with neat, consistent handwriting. They can get messy fast.
Letter boards and magnetic strips are clean and flexible. Pre-printed strips for each beer can be swapped in seconds when a keg runs out.
Digital screens are easy to update and can show what is pouring in real time, sometimes linked to your POS. They need good contrast settings. They can also glare in daylight or look harsh in a dim, warm taproom.
Whatever you choose, plan for change. Taps rotate. A board that takes twenty minutes to update will be out of date by Saturday.
Lighting and placement
Place the board where the queue naturally faces, high enough to be seen over heads but not so high that people crane their necks. Light it evenly. A board in shadow or with a spotlight glaring on one corner loses half its value.
Watch for glare from windows at different times of day. A board that reads well at 8 pm may be unreadable at 4 pm when the sun comes in. Our guide to taproom design that sells covers how the board fits into the room.
Keep it accurate
Nothing frustrates guests more than ordering a beer that ran out an hour ago. Make updating the board part of the keg change routine: when a keg kicks and is not replaced, the beer comes off the board immediately. Check prices match the POS.
Watch how guests use the board for a few nights. Are they still asking the same questions at the bar? Then the board is not answering them. A menu board is a small thing, but it is where your branding, service and sales meet. Our guide to reading a taproom menu shows the same board from the guest's side.
Common questions
How big should text be on a taproom menu board?
A common rule of thumb is about 2.5 cm of letter height for every 3 metres of viewing distance. Test it from the back of a busy queue.
What should a beer board show?
Name, style, ABV, a few words of flavour and serving sizes with prices. Put longer notes on a printed menu or QR code.
Are digital menu boards better than chalkboards?
They are easier to update but can glare in daylight. Chalkboards feel warm but need neat handwriting. Choose what you can keep accurate.
