Equipment Checklist for Running a Beer Festival

Tables and Seating

Picnic benches suit outdoor beer festivals because they handle high turnover without chair management. Each picnic bench seats six to eight guests and needs no setup time beyond positioning. Refectory tables with separate benches give more flexibility when guest numbers are uncertain: you can add or remove benches without replacing the whole unit.

For indoor or covered beer festivals, trestle tables with chairs work where the audience is mixed and seated service is part of the event. Bench seating packs more guests into the same floor area and moves faster at the end of each session.

Beer Glassware

Conical pint glasses are the standard for draught ales and lagers. Third-pint tasting glasses suit multi-tap festivals where attendees sample several beers per session. For a multi-session event, allow three to four glasses per attendee across all sessions. Glasses disappear faster than you expect: breakages, guests leaving with them and misplacement all reduce working stock during the event.

Order glassware in multiples of 48 (one case) to simplify counting and stacking. A two-session 400-person festival needs a minimum of 1,600 pint glasses; 2,000 is a safer working stock. Wash facilities on-site reduce the float needed.

Bar Counters and Staff Areas

Temporary bar counters with front panels present the event at a professional standard and hide stock from guests. A 6-metre bar run (four 1.5m sections) handles two to three bartenders at peak service. For a festival with ten or more taps, plan for more bar length: one tap per 40 to 50 attendees per session is a rough guide.

Staff areas behind the bar and in the cellar need folding tables for float management, stock counting and glass washing. Two or three 4ft folding tables in the staff area cover most operational needs without cluttering the space.

Outdoor Heating for Autumn Festivals

October and November beer festivals benefit from patio heaters in covered or semi-covered areas. LPG mushroom heaters at 11kW cover a 4-metre radius. For a 200-person marquee with open sides, four to six heaters placed along the perimeter maintain a comfortable temperature. Gas cylinders come with the hire unit; confirm the number of cylinders needed for the event duration when booking.

Waste Management Stations

Trestle tables at 6ft serve as waste stations: line them with bin bags and station them every 8 to 10 metres through the event space. One waste station per 50 guests is a practical ratio. Position them near exits and at the ends of table rows where foot traffic is highest.

A Note on Pouring Equipment

CAMRA guidelines and draught pouring equipment — pumps, CO2 lines, taps and cellar cooling — are the organiser's responsibility, outside the scope of a furniture and glassware hire order. Arrange pouring equipment separately with a specialist supplier and co-ordinate delivery so the bar infrastructure is in place before the cellar team connects the lines.

Ordering Formula

Calculate glassware as: (attendees per session) multiplied by (sessions) multiplied by (glasses per attendee). For a 300-person, two-session event at 3.5 glasses per head, that is 2,100 glasses. Round up to the nearest case and add a 10 percent buffer.

For seating, order places for 60 to 70 percent of peak attendance at any one time. People stand at the bar, move between sessions and come and go. For 300 attendees per session, 180 to 200 seats is the right range.

See the beer festival hire page for package options, or browse the full beer glass hire range including conical pints, thirds and festival tumblers.