This month I want to rant about something that will certainly not go viral. Something so mundane that it can be an afterthought as a taproom is designed. The menu board.
It can be fully computerized, it can be hand chalked by an employee, it can be a sheet of paper but I have some requests to make life easier for your customers as they walk into your establishment.
After a trip to the new Ballast Point in Long Beach where I needed the beer menu explained to me as I tried to order a beer that was only available at one of the three bars on the premises, I was prompted to write my needs down.
1. Make it readable. I have seen crazy fonts. I have seen small fonts. A computer monitor that is far away from where you order. Boards that reflect sunlight. Boards that just say: cask or nitro. Signs with no prices. If customers are mispronouncing the beer name or worse, not even ordering it, then you may have created a problem for yourself.
2. Have paper menu’s at tables and the bar and at the entrance in addition to whatever artistic way you advertise the beers behind the bar. That way you don’t create a line with people squinting and not able to see what is on offer. It doesn’t hurt to have an updated beer list online too so people can make decisions before they even head to your location.
3. Don’t assume that people know the terminology. On Deck means squat all to someone new to craft beer. You can have a coming soon section but keep it separate so people don’t assume that they it is something that can be ordered.
Basically, your sign for each beer should have these basics: Beer Name, style, ABV and price. I love it when some descriptors are also there. Like oaky, piney, tart. But that isn’t really needed and is probably better told by the staff who can describe each beer with more gusto and heart. The key is to get the beer into the hands of the people.