Keep Spirits High This Season: Holiday Taproom Hacks for 2025

Ho-ho-holy cow, it’s already November?! The holiday season is a high-stakes time for breweries and their bottom lines: You can expect packed taprooms, last-minute parties, and guests eager to celebrate. If done right, your brewery can minimize stress and maximize revenue over the holidays!

Plan ahead to handle the holiday rush and maintain top-tier hospitality. Use the proven strategies and brewery-approved tools below to make this your merriest season yet.

These Holidays Hacks are Data-Backed, (Santa) Baby

We’re forward-thinking around here, and in the Brewers Association, we trust. To best inform taprooms on how to speed up service, capture more sales, and spread holiday cheer, Arryved turned to data from the BA’s 2025 Midyear Report.

The report oozes with practical insights, but in the spirit of guest-centricity, we’ll highlight this trend in particular: Guests expect top-notch quality in products and their taproom experience.

It’s the perfect time of year to exceed taproom expectations, both in product and atmosphere! Keep reading for data-backed holiday hacks.  

Hack 1: Optimize Your Guests’ Online Experiences

It should come as no surprise that the Brewers Association predicts strong headwinds to continue in the off-premise channel. 

Online stores are obvious revenue drivers for breweries: Adding another sales channel gives guests a chance to buy a six-pack or a t-shirt from the comfort of their homes. As your product portfolio diversifies—merchandise, cans to-go, and e-gifts—your guest satisfaction and revenue grow!

Most point of sale systems support online shops by keeping inventory, insights, and more in one place.

Ex Novo Brewing Co. loves using Arryved’s online store integration. “Having the POS and web store integrated has been a game-changer. It keeps inventory synced and helps prevent selling things we don’t have in stock,” says Sarah Turner of the Ex Novo team.

If you want to drive traffic to your online store, here’s a hack within a hack: Put together custom holiday gift baskets for preorder. 

Hack 2: Use a Service Model as Flexible as Garland

With the increased focus on experiences, the Brewers Association identifies another prominent brewery trend: Taprooms focused on growth create a more holistic drinking experience. 

The beauty of a flexible service model is that it looks however you want it to! This holiday season and always, take advantage of customizing a service model to your individual taproom, team, and guest preferences. Making it as flexible as possible means you can change models mid-shift as traffic changes. 

Flexibility allows you to scale service and, therefore, handle the holiday rush with ease. One Arryved customer refers to QR codes as “line slashers” because they eliminate bar lines! Having a variety of ordering options, whether it’s bar service, QR codes, or roaming servers, satisfies every kind of guest and limits traffic at any single point in the taproom. 

Of course, you need a POS that easily adapts to the service model you’re using at any given time. That way, it can support your team no matter the model or traffic!

Hack 3: Reward Guests and Drive Recurring Revenue with Memberships

In the same vein as creating a holistic drinking experience, digital membership programs reward your most loyal guests. These programs help breweries drive consistent cash flow, boost loyalty, and create community, even during the winter lull. Did you know 7 out of the top 10 earning breweries offer monthly programs?

Your membership can be customized to your guests and catered to whatever motivates them best! Here are some ideas:

• Mug club or beer society
• First access to new releases
• Member-only discounts and events
• Exclusive merch and perks

If you’re interested in driving recurring revenue (who isn’t?), Arrryved and TapWyse have launched a custom-branded app for growing breweries. You can give the app your taproom’s flair, invite guests to join, track performance, and send push messages all from your POS dashboard. 

The app is easy to use and has proven to drive real revenue growth for breweries:

• In August, the average brewery inspired 98 taproom visits when a guest opened a push message to claim a reward. 
• The average monthly membership sold breaks down to $16.90 per month.
• The TapWyse app has driven over $839k in annual recurring revenue for taprooms.

A membership program is a great strategy for engaging loyal guests and boosting your bottom line. 

Hack 4: Collaborate with a Neighboring Business

Another major guest insight from the BA’s 2025 Midyear Report is the demand for healthier, low and no-ABV options. 

Hop Culture echoes the rising trend, noting that this market is expected to expand by over 4% volume CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) through 2028. They also call out the growing market of cannabis-infused beverages, as well as legislation making it possible for taprooms to sell cans with a different kind of buzz. 

But making an entirely new product to satisfy non-beer drinkers is a big lift for busy breweries. Collaborations with other local businesses make it doable. It gives taprooms a chance to experiment with new flavors and ingredients in small-batch production. This is the kind of project that gets guests excited and the community chatting!

Plus, collaborating is inherently sustainable. The BA reports that sustainability is a top concern for brewers in 2025, which can be seen through the use of more sustainable ingredients like fonio.

Looking for a successful collaboration example? Look no further than the historic Black is Beautiful campaign. 

Hack 5: Keep Momentum Up with Digital Gift Cards

As they say, an object in motion stays in motion. Keep your holiday momentum going by offering gift cards!

Folks are officially on the hunt for gifts, and an afternoon at your brewery makes a great one. For you, gift cards help drive traffic during the chilly months ahead. 

Again, you’ll need to lean on your POS for this integrated feature. Arryved’s digital gift cards are now available!

Boost Revenue and Repeat Guests this Holiday Season

Get in the jolly mood! The holidays are coming fast, so treat them as the revenue-making, guest-wowing opportunity they are. These holiday hacks will help you make the most of more traffic and deliver exceptional experiences.

If you need a POS that can keep up with your evolving taproom needs, check out Arryved POS.