Drinkers in 2026 are increasingly selective about where they spend their money. They want an experience not just a transaction. In this first article on our series on taprooms, we look at how breweries can implement a hybrid technology approach so their teams can can focus entirely on high-value hospitality.

In a growing and evolving beer landscape, the taproom proposition also changes. It can no longer be considered a space for simply tasting beer but instead it’s a way for breweries to connect with their consumer base. For those that do it best, it’s a living, breathing physical embodiment of a brewery’s brand, culture, and community connection.

And that requires a set-up that allows the brewery and its team to host a consumer while letting technology handle and streamline the more sales-based operations.

Sales-based intelligence and automation

“Despite the challenges all venues are facing, it’s an exciting time for breweries and taprooms. We know that drinkers are becoming more knowledgeable and curious about beer, more willing to try new styles, and some breweries are really thriving by leaning into this, explains Phil Neale, CEO of Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) specialist Tabology.

“Tech can really help here because it gives you the insights you need to appeal to those more discerning drinkers, while also taking admin off your plate so you can focus on hospitality.”

Rivington Brewery modern craft brewery & taproom founded by Ben Stubbs & Mike Richardson in 2014. Phill Clarke, taproom manager at the farm-based business in Lancashire says the sales reporting these systems can offer help the brewery “dictate production”.

“I can forecast what we’re going to need for the next few weeks. So, if we’ve sold a lot of 4.5% ABV pale ale, for example, we can change the brewing schedule to ensure we have more on the way,” he says.

And for Wayne Smith, founder and managing director of Brew York, such technology results in operational time savings: “Our team now just has to focus on making sure our Untappd listing is correct and up-to-date, and the rest of it takes care of itself in our bars.

“We just type in the beer name and all the information and imagery is pulled through from Untappd. We can manage it centrally and push the information out to all our venues.”

Creating a welcoming, and profitable, environment

In London, Great Beyond Brewing Company runs a successful and busy taproom space that acts a community hub in Hoxton. Situated under the railway arches on Union Walk, it features 23 taps, natural wine and cocktails. In spring and summer, there’s outdoor seating in the courtyard while the taps change regularly, with lager, pale ale, IPA, stout, sour and seasonal beers.

For John Driebergen, co-founder at the business, he says there is no secret formula in creating an environment that keeps the consumer coming back.

“I think once you start trying to manufacture an experience you’re already at risk of making it feel inauthentic, he says. “For me it’s more basic. Obviously the beer has to be good and so does the service. But the music also has to be good,  and actually sound good. The lighting matters a lot. The room and décor matter. A lot of this stuff is subconscious. Nobody walks in and thinks, ‘the lighting is good, the sound is good.’ Instead, they just feel comfortable.”

According to Driebergen, what he and the team are trying to do is make the taproom somewhere people can connect with each other and “make good memories”.

“When that happens, people start to feel a bit of ownership over the place. It becomes ‘their’ taproom. That’s exactly what we want,” he says.

And to achieve that, he says the business is “completely pragmatic” about the technology. “Basically I just want it to be fast, reliable and boring. We use Teya for payments, Loyverse for reporting and Dojo for bookings,” says Driebergen.

“They work, and they stay out of the way. That’s basically what I want from them. Good reporting is important, but I don’t want the staff spending time messing around with systems when they could be talking to someone at the bar.”

The importance of a frictionless experience

This is a point echoed by Jeremy Grove, the CEO and design director at architectural and interior design studio Sibley Grove, who says a common SME mistake when it comes to such spaces is “designing around what the owner wants rather than what the customer wants and this can hit revenue really hard”.

He explains: “There is a huge difference between enjoying a beer, and running a complex business based on high sales and thin margins. Understand the customer, their average spend and how the design can support them in enjoying the venue.

“Make sure your bar is big enough. All good hospitality is about creating great service and a frictionless experience. Lot’s of money spent on a fit out with poor service breeds resentment. In a product-led venue, frictionless access to a high quality product is key.” 

And in Bristol, Will Wright is the director of venue operations at Left-Handed Giant. He says that plenty of bars are built around getting a beer into your hand as quickly as possible. At their brewpub, they are more interested in getting the right beer into the right hand, “and almost every decision we make at the Brewpub comes back to that”.

With that in mind, he says technology plays “a fairly minor part”, and its job is simply to stay out of the way. “On a busy night we run six to eight iPad tills behind the bar, with a similar number of standalone card machines, so bartenders don’t get tangled up with each other waiting for a till or a card reader to be free,” explains Wright.

“Not using integrated PDQs opens the door to more till variance, but we’ll take that for the freedom of movement. Speed is covered by capacity, which leaves the bartender free to spend a minute on the person in front of them. When we’re really busy, the same set-up lets us pour a lot of beer all at once.”

The need for support at the right time

Building a taproom that bridge the gap between memorable guest experiences and sustainable long-term profitability is a balancing act but technology firmly has a key role to play in this equation as Phil Neale from Tabology concludes: “The key with any hospitality tech is making sure it’s easy to use and having good support when you need it.

“Ultimately, that’s the role of tech in a taproom; to give your staff the knowledge to engage with your customers, and the freedom to create the experiences that make them want to come back.”