The Big Chill

Tap New Customers and Higher Sales with Draft Beers


By Andy Ashby


When people think about the ultimate beer, they rarely think about a bottle of beer. More likely, it's a close-up mental image of a frosty beer mug, complete with beads of sweat rolling down the sides.


It's a no-brainer, really. People are simply attracted to a glass of beer, which allows you to see the beer's color and smell the ingredients.


Evening Taps

It's little wonder that some bars feature draft beer as one of their overall selling points. Just take the Beer Sellar in Nashville, for example. They carry 50 beers on tap.


Manager Ronnie Tutt says the better sellers are Newcastle, Smithwyck's and local Yazoo Brewing products, which include the Pale Ale, Dos Perros Ale and Onward Stout. They also sell a lot of Arrogant Bastard, a higher alcohol offering from Stone Brewing Co. of San Diego.


The company has an advertising campaign warning that the beer might be too much for light beer drinkers. However, that doesn't stop the Beer Seller for getting good sales of it in the South.

"We actually sell quite a bit of that. People out here really like it," Tutt says.


Another mover for The Beer Sellar is Blue Moon Belgium White — a light, slightly cloudy beer that is made by Coors.

"We got it a few weeks ago and it does really well," Tutt says.


The Beer Sellar serves it with an orange slice, which customers can squeeze into the beer or discard.

"It's just a really smooth beer and it's easy to drink," Tutt says. "Girls love it — that and the ciders."


The Beer Sellar serves the cider drinkers with Woodchuck Pear Cider from Proctersville, Vt., and HardCore Apple Cider from Boston.


Beer Buzz

The Beer Sellar moves a lot of its domestic draft products with beer specials. On Thursday, they have half-price domestic pitchers and two for one domestic pints. And on Sunday, they have two for one specials on everything.

"It's probably our busiest night,' Tutt says.


Still, the biggest selling point for draft beer at The Beer Seller is probably the tap wall itself. It's a big, stainless steel wall with neon above it, making it pretty hard to miss.

"The wall sells itself," Tutt says. "The customers walk down the stairs, look at the wall and bam! It's there."


Melton's App and Tap in Decatur, Ga., just outside of Atlanta, features 16 tap beers, which they rotate pretty regularly.

"By the season is how I sell," says Manager Gary Sager.


One of their current big sellers is Sierra Nevada Celebration, a high alcohol seasonal offering from Chico, California. "Sierra Nevada is always one of our better sellers," Sager says.


They also currently sell a lot of Corsendonk. The Sweetwater beer should be fresh because it's made in Georgia.

"We try to support out local breweries," Sager says.


In addition to Atlanta-based Sweetwater, they also carry beer from the Atlanta Beer Co. and Terrapin, from Athens, Ga. They back up this commitment with beer specials. Melton's App and Tap offers pitchers of local beers for $9.


In fact, a lot of their beers are sold through draft specials.


On Wednesday, they offer Sierra Nevada Harvest for $2.50 a pint.


However, there are other ways to get people to try the draft beer. One is by offering the food that will get them to stay and enjoy some mugs of beer.


On other nights, they feature half-price appetizers.

"That's to get different people in here," Sager explains. In the end, though, it all goes back to the seasons for Sager. "I try to key on the seasons," he says. That means wheat beers and lagers in the summer and stouts and porters during the winter.


Another key is to make sure the bartenders and wait staff know what they're talking about. "I keep my staff informed so they know what beers to offer the customers and also what to suggest with different types of food," Sager says. "You want the staff to know what they're pushing."


The Tap House Bar and Grill (taphousegrill.com) in Bellevue, Wash., has similar success with their draft beer. Just like the Beer Sellar, they do well with Blue Moon. It is one of their top sellers among their 160 taps. This multitude of taps is a good way to satisfy the beer lovers of the Pacific Northwest.


Paul Reger owns the Tap House Bar and Grill, and he keeps a list of the top selling beers in his establishment to help him with sales. One of the top draft beers on the list is Mac & Jack African Amber, which is from the beer haven of Seattle. The sales list features recognizable names such as Guinness and Bud Light, but home is where the tap wall is at The Tap House Bar and Grill.


Northwest Passage

Some 70 percent of their beers are from the Northwest, Reger says. "We really focus on the Northwest breweries because it's such a popular trend here," Reger says.


One of the more popular breweries is Oregon state's Rogue. Rogue is the No. 2 most represented brewery on their tap wall. The Tap House Bar usually carries four or five handles of Rogue beer.


"They really fly," Reger says.

Another local product is Georgetown Manny's Pale Ale. In addition to Blue Moon, they sell a white beer from Belgium, Hoegaarden. Stella Artois, a Belgium lager and a very popular beer in Europe, is another good seller for them.


Like Melton's App and Tap, the Tap House Bar and Grill has a Happy Hour which features food. The beer drinkers usually follow.


However, the Tap House Bar and Grill also incorporates a beer club to help push their draft beers.


"It's basically like a credit card," Sager says. "Our computer keeps information on the beers you've had."


The beer club has a couple thousand members. It also has ways for the Tap House Bar and Grill to get in touch with this customer base.


"When we get seasonal or exciting new beers in, we can send an e-mail to all our members," Sager says.


The Tap House Bar and Grill not only sells their local beers, they stay involved directly with the community. They are the presenting sponsor of the Northwest Brewfest. They carry all the beers the festival has, so those attending can find them at their tap wall.


"That tells people they can get it at the Tap House Bar and Grill and they don't have to wait for the festival," Seger says. NCB