The Beer Festival Planning Checklist
Cask sizing, timeline and the questions to ask before you book anyone. Everything a committee, steward or landlord needs to plan a beer festival that doesn't run dry, run over budget, or run into surprises on the day.
1. How much beer do you actually need?
The single most common planning mistake is guessing. Here's the rule of thumb that professional festival organisers actually use.
Cask sizes, for reference
| Cask | Volume | Pints |
|---|---|---|
| Pin | 4.5 gallons | 36 pints |
| Firkin | 9 gallons | 72 pints |
| Kilderkin | 18 gallons | 144 pints |
Worked example
200 people, 2.5 pints a head = 500 pints needed. At 72 pints per firkin, that's roughly 7 firkins - in practice, most committees round to 6–8 and mix a couple of reliable crowd-pleasers with one or two local or unusual ales to keep it interesting.
| Guests | Pints needed (2.5/head) | Firkins needed |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 125 | 2 |
| 100 | 250 | 3–4 |
| 150 | 375 | 5 |
| 200 | 500 | 6–8 |
| 300 | 750 | 10–11 |
These are planning estimates, not guarantees - weather, ticket price, and whether other drinks are on offer all shift the number. Round up slightly rather than down; running out is far more memorable (in a bad way) than having a little left over.
Pin, firkin or kilderkin - which should you actually order?
- Pins are ideal for a smaller ale you want to offer as a “guest” alongside your main line-up - low risk if it doesn't sell through as fast.
- Firkins are the standard workhorse size for most festivals - the sweet spot between variety and manageable handling.
- Kilderkins make sense for your one or two guaranteed best-sellers, where you know you won't be left with a part-empty cask at the end of the night.
2. Your 8-week planning timeline
| Weeks out | What to sort |
|---|---|
| 8 | Confirm your date and venue. Check ground conditions (flat, stable, power access) if you're outdoors or in a marquee. |
| 7 | Decide roughly how many guests you're expecting and use the sizing guide above to land on a cask count. |
| 6 | Book your racking, cooling and taps - the earlier you lock in a supplier, the more choice you have over dates and package size. |
| 5 | Place your cask orders with breweries. Popular or seasonal ales can sell out of allocation earlier than you'd expect. |
| 4 | Sort glassware, bar staff/volunteers, and a float for the till. |
| 3 | Confirm delivery times with your equipment supplier and brewery deliveries - casks generally need 24–48 hours to settle and be tapped/vented before serving. |
| 2 | Brief your volunteers: how to pour, how to vent a cask, what to do if a line needs clearing. |
| 1 | Confirm final numbers with your supplier, check the weather forecast, and sort waste/recycling arrangements for the day. |
| Day of | Delivery and install, first pour test, doors open. |
3. Five questions to ask any equipment hire firm
Whoever you book with, ask these before you commit - the answers tell you a lot about whether they'll actually turn up and do the job properly.
- 1
Is the price fixed, or will I get a “surprise” invoice?
Ask for delivery, installation and collection to be explicitly included, and ask what happens if you're outside their free delivery radius. Fixed weekend pricing published upfront (rather than “get a quote”) is a good sign of an operator who isn't padding the bill later.
- 2
Are you insured and is the equipment PAT tested?
Anything with a plug on your site is your liability too if something goes wrong. A supplier who can't confirm both without hesitation is a risk not worth taking.
- 3
Is it dry hire, or are you supplying the beer too?
Dry hire means you choose the breweries and keep 100% of the bar takings - the supplier just provides and installs the kit. Make sure you know which one you're getting, since it changes your margins significantly.
- 4
What happens if the weather turns or the site becomes inaccessible?
A good supplier will have a straightforward answer, not a shrug. Get this in writing if you can, especially for outdoor or field-based events.
- 5
What's your deposit and cancellation policy?
A modest deposit to secure the date is normal and reasonable. Be wary of anyone asking for full payment upfront with no clarity on refunds if plans change.
4. On-the-day checklist
- Flat, stable ground confirmed for racking - check the day before if outdoors.
- Power socket available and accessible for the cooler.
- Casks delivered with enough time to settle and be vented before serving (24–48 hours where possible).
- Equipment supplier's delivery and install slot confirmed in writing.
- Glassware ordered and washing-up/collection point sorted.
- Volunteers briefed on pouring, venting, and who to call if something goes wrong.
- Float and card payment method (if used) ready at the bar.
- Waste and recycling arrangements confirmed for the day and the morning after.
- Collection/decommission time confirmed with your supplier.
- Someone designated as the point of contact on the day if the supplier needs access.
Need the kit sorted too?
Firkin Fresh supplies racking, piped cooling jackets and taps - delivered, installed and collected. Fixed weekend prices from £195, covering Milton Keynes, Bletchley, Stony Stratford, Wolverton, Newport Pagnell, Woburn Sands, Olney, Bedford, Northampton, Aylesbury, Luton and Leighton Buzzard.
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