The Art of the Flight & We Don’t Mean The Wright Brother’s: How Beer Samplers Elevate the Craft Brewery Experience
Breweries are playgrounds for beer aficionados, and flights are the swings everyone wants a turn on. A beer flight offers a palette of tastes and aromas that encapsulate a brewery's ethos, highlighting its artistry and skill in crafting unique brews. Read on as we explore the intricate dance of creating the perfect flight and how it contributes to the overall success of a brewery.
Why Flights Matter: Flights are an excellent introduction to the range of beers a brewery offers. For many, it's the first step in the journey to discovering a new favorite. Statistically speaking, patrons tend to sample two beers per brewery visit. A flight, however, allows them to explore a broader spectrum of the brewer's portfolio in one session.
Many craft breweries typically offer between 10 and 15 beers on tap, providing a variety of styles to cater to a broad range of taste preferences. This range includes year-round offerings, seasonal rotations, and special releases. However, there are also plenty of exceptions to this rule. Some breweries, particularly larger ones or those with a focus on experimentation, might have 20, 30, or even more beers available on tap.
Tip: Beer release events and awards that highlight a brewery’s artistry are examples of simple ways to showcase flights to new and returning customers.
The Science of the Sequence: Serving beers in a specific order, typically from least to most bitter, maximizes the tasting experience. It’s akin to a symphony, starting with a gentle allegro of lighter ales, building up to the intense crescendo of IPAs and ending on a lingering note of palate-wiping sours.
Tip: The order in which beers are tasted in a flight can significantly affect a person's overall tasting experience. We offer a brief list as to why it's important to put beer flights in a particular order, typically from least to most bitter:
Palate Sensitivity
Taste Progression:
Prevention of "Palate Fatigue”
Educational Perspective
There may be instances where a different order is more suitable, like when conducting a tasting of a single beer style or trying to highlight a particular flavor or ingredient across different beers. Regardless, don’t hate the flight! Embrace the flight!
Presentation and Perception: The holder and carrier are more than just vessels; they are visual cues setting expectations. The order, cleanliness, and information accompanying the flight affect a customer's perception even before the first sip.
Tip: Presentation plays a crucial role in shaping our experiences, particularly when it comes to food and drink. Here’s a list of reasons you shouldn’t pass by:
First Impressions: We eat (and drink) with our eyes first.
Storytelling: The way a beer flight is presented can tell a story.
Education and Engagement: A well-presented flight often comes with information about each beer – its style, ingredients, flavor profile, etc.
Sensory Experience: The right presentation can enhance the sensory experience of a beer flight. experience with others.
Perceived Value: Lastly, a well-presented beer flight can feel like greater value for money.
We highly recommend you make flights a priority in your brewery. We believe and have first-hand experience that the presentation of a beer flight turns the act of drinking beer into a full-fledged experience, a journey of sorts that engages multiple senses, sparking curiosity, and creating a deeper connection between the drinker, the beer, and the brewery. Check out our previous article about Community & Culter that emphasizes this point.
Educating Your Customers: Understanding hop styles, malt variants, and brewing styles enriches the beer-tasting experience. Knowledgeable staff and informational placards can transform a casual visit into an immersive sensory and educational journey.
Tip: Educating your customers that frequent your brewery not only enhances their overall experience, but it also has significant potential to positively impact your business's bottom line.
Improved Customer Experience: Providing an educational component turns a regular brewery visit into an immersive, sensory journey.
Greater Customer Loyalty: When customers feel informed and appreciated, they are more likely to develop a deeper connection with your brand.
Upselling and Cross-Selling Opportunities: An educated customer is more likely to explore and appreciate a wider range of your products.
Brand Advocacy: Customers who've had an educational experience at your brewery can become brand advocates.
Enhanced Reputation: Offering an educational component can help position your brewery as an expert in the craft beer industry.
By investing in customer education, i.e. promoting the Art of the Flight, your brewery can enhance its visitor experience, increase customer loyalty, create upselling and cross-selling opportunities, turn customers into brand advocates, and boost its industry reputation. All of these factors contribute to increased revenue and profitability. Unless you’re truly just here for a good time then we won’t be seeing you for a long time. 🙂
Upselling and Suggestive Selling: Intelligent menu design and guided tastings can subtly influence a customer's decision to purchase more. Pairing a beer from the flight with a dish from the menu not only enhances their visit but also adds to your bottom line.
Tip: If you’ve set your establishment up for success by having a kitchen in-house, we highly recommend that you start pairing those delicious drinks and eats. Pairing is the easiest way to to create an immersive experience and gain life long customers.
If you haven’t figured it out yet we’ll spell it out a final time for you. Flights are an indispensable tool in a brewery’s arsenal, helping introduce customers to a wide range of beers and styles, educate them about the brewing process, and ultimately increase sales. It’s no wonder that breweries offering flights often see a boost in their business, as patrons appreciate the chance to take a guided tour of their offerings.
We want to hear from you! Have you been on a flight journey that left you wanting more? Or maybe you're a brewery owner looking for tips to optimize your flight experience. Share your stories or ask your questions in the comments below. Feel free to reach out anytime at: hello@mustardlater.com. We’re always curious and we’re always looking to back up what we say with the cold hard fact truths of life. That being said we’d love some more hard facts and percentages about flights and how they’re impacting the bottom line of breweries.
We’d love to hear from you and your brewery. What do you think is the percentage of sales that are indirectly contributed to larger sales by promoting full-sized beer purchases, merchandise, return visits, etc?
Till next time, cheers!
