How to write a beer menu people can read fast.

What each line needs

Give every beer the same details, in the same order, so people can compare them at a glance:

• Name of the beer.
• Brewery, if you pour beers from other breweries. A taproom pouring only its own beer can skip it.
• Style, in words people know: "Czech-style pilsner", "hazy IPA", "oatmeal stout".
• Strength, shown as ABV (alcohol by volume), like 4.8%. It's the number people check most after the style.
• Pour sizes and prices.
• A short note on taste, in a few plain words.

Some menus also list IBU, a number for how bitter a beer is. It helps beer fans, but many guests don't know what it means. If you include it, put it last on the line, or add a one-line key such as "IBU: higher means more bitter".

Here's an example line:

Keep tasting notes short. Brewers interviewed by Brewer Magazine made the same point. Sarah Young of Wild Heaven Beer said "approachable, easy-to-digest tasting notes is important." Write "Bright, citrus, dry finish", not a paragraph about hop varieties. Staff can tell the longer story.

Show pour sizes clearly

Sizes are easy to get muddled. Show them the same way on every line:

• Use one unit everywhere. Ounces in the US. In the UK, draught beer and cider must be sold in a third, a half or two-thirds of a pint, or in multiples of half a pint, according to GOV.UK.
• Say when a beer comes in a smaller glass only. Strong beers are often poured smaller. Write "8 oz only" on that line so nobody orders a pint that doesn't exist.
• Explain flights in one sentence. For example: "Flight: pick any 4 beers, 5 oz each, $14."
• Line up the prices so people can compare them down the page.

Order the list so it's easy to scan

There's no single right order, but pick one and stick to it. Common choices:

1. Light to dark, or light to strong. Newcomers can start at the top and work down.
2. By style group: Lagers and pilsners, Pale ales and IPAs, Dark beers, Sours, then Cider and non-alcoholic.
3. By tap number, if staff pour by number. Make sure the menu, the board and the tap handles use the same numbers.

Don't hide non-alcoholic beer and cider at the very bottom. Designated drivers and guests who don't drink beer need to find them quickly, so give them their own clear section.

If you pour a beer that's made to be gluten-free, label it only with the wording the brewery uses. Don't guess for them.

Keep the list right when a keg runs out

A rotating tap list goes out of date faster than any food menu. A guest choosing a beer that ran out an hour ago is frustrating for them and for the staff who have to explain it.

• Take a beer off the list, or mark it "Out", as soon as the keg runs dry. Don't wait for the end of the shift.
• Mark new arrivals with "New" so regulars spot them.
• Mark the last keg of a seasonal or one-off beer. "Last keg" gives people a reason to try it now.
• Give one person per shift the job of updating the list.

This is where a menu on a phone helps. The board above the bar is good for a quick read. A digital list can be changed from your phone in a few seconds, and guests can open it from a QR code on the table or bar. Michelle Peterson of Dust Bowl Brewing told Brewer Magazine that their online tap list lets "guests know exactly what we have on tap in real-time."

Board, paper or phone?

Most taprooms use more than one:

• A board above the bar, with just the name, style, strength and price, readable from the line.
• A digital menu with the full details: tasting notes, all sizes, flights and food.
• A few paper copies for anyone who'd rather not use a phone.

Change all of them at the same time. A board that says one price and a QR menu that says another causes arguments at the till.

You can build a tap list as a Menupresso menu. Make one section per style group and put the style, strength and tasting note in each beer's description. Each beer can carry up to 10 price options, so "10 oz" and "16 oz" sit side by side. A "New" highlight marks fresh kegs. When a keg runs out, switch on "Hide from guests" for that beer and switch it off when the keg comes back. The link and QR code stay the same, so the table cards keep working. For more ideas for taprooms, see our page on QR menus for breweries and our page for bars.