Holiday Prep Checklist for Craft Breweries

Somehow the 2025 Halloween season is behind us and the holidays are right around the corner. For many breweries, the holidays are an important, but often chaotic time of year. Earlier in the fall we gave a talk at the Craft Beer Professionals Fall Virtual Conference on how to prepare for a smooth holiday season. This article serves as a handy companion checklist. Don’t worry if you missed the talk, you can check it out here, or just read on for tips on what to focus on before your taproom fills with holiday cheer.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Brewing for the holidays: Plan your batches using historical and current sales trends, and make sure you have ingredients and equipment ready.
  
• Streamlining taproom operations: Clear communication, contingency plans, and SOPs help your team stay calm and efficient during the rush.
  
• Managing sales beyond the taproom: Timely outreach, simple payment processes, and personalized touches for key accounts keep orders flowing and relationships strong.

The rush starts long before the first holiday party group walks through your taproom doors. It begins on the production floor. Thoughtful planning now helps you avoid shortages when demand peaks.

• Review Sales Trends: Look at historical holiday sales and compare them with this year’s trends. Which beers are likely to sell fastest, and which formats should you prioritize?
• Plan Your Brews: Use those insights to determine what to produce and when. Scheduling batches in advance helps avoid last-minute scrambles and ensures your most popular beers are ready when customers want them.
• Check Ingredients and Production Readiness: Make sure all necessary ingredients, packaging, and seasonal labels are on hand. Confirm tanks, fermenters, and equipment are ready so brewing days run as smoothly as possible.

By aligning production with predicted demand and ensuring your floor is fully prepared, you can meet holiday orders confidently, reduce waste, and keep both taproom and wholesale customers happy.

When your taproom is bustling during the holidays, smooth operations hinge on how well your team communicates. A little bit of preparation now can prevent stress and ensure your staff and customers have a seamless experience.

Here are three critical areas to focus on:

• Communication Among Staff: Keep everyone on the same page with clear channels for real-time updates. Whether it’s a quick huddle before a shift, a whiteboard with important updates on display for the whole team, or a chat tool for instant alerts, effective communication prevents mistakes and keeps service running smoothly.
  
• Contingency Plans: High-volume periods often bring surprises. Popular beers sell out, point of sale systems go down, and large groups show up with no warning. Have backup plans ready: cross-train team members, maintain a small inventory buffer, and ensure everyone knows how to handle system issues quickly.
  
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Clear, documented processes for daily prep, cleaning, and shift handoffs help your team stay consistent under pressure. SOPs reduce confusion, minimize errors, and make onboarding temporary or seasonal staff much easier.

By focusing on these areas, your taproom can handle the holiday rush with confidence. Staff know their roles, problems are easier to manage on the fly, and the customer experience remains smooth.

The holidays are a key time to nurture relationships with wholesale accounts, regulars who pre-order, and anyone who relies on your beer for seasonal events. A little planning now can make your customers feel valued.

Focus on three key areas:

• Well-Timed Outreach: Reach out to regular wholesale customers and loyal fans early. Remind them of seasonal releases, suggest gift baskets or bundles, and give them plenty of time to place orders.
• Simplify Payment Collection: Make it easy for customers to pay on time. Set up automated invoicing and online payments now to reduce friction and ensure cash flow remains steady.
  
• Personalized Touches for Key Accounts: A small gesture goes a long way. Include a handwritten note, a holiday greeting, or a special promo for long-term accounts. Personalization shows you value their business and strengthens relationships for next year.

By being proactive, you can keep sales organized and make your customers feel appreciated.

The holiday season is one of the busiest, and most rewarding times for a craft brewery. With a few proactive steps, you can keep your taproom running smoothly, your production on schedule, and your customers happy both inside and outside your doors.

To recap:

• Use historical and current sales trends to plan your production, ensure ingredients are on hand, and get your most popular beers ready.
  
• Set up channels for clear communication, establish contingency plans, and update SOPs to help your team stay calm and confident during busy shifts.
  
• Plan timely customer outreach, set up easy payment collection, and think about adding personalized touches for key accounts to keep relationships strong.

Interested in learning about how Brew Ninja can help keep things running smoothly behind the scenes? Check out our 5 minute demo video, or get in touch with the team.