#microbrewery
Craft brewery and taproom bookkeeping, inventory costing, excise tax, and industry KPIs
Kombucha hitting 0.5% ABV at any point — even in the bottle — becomes a TTB-regulated alcohol beverage: Brewer's Notice, formula approval, federal excise tax.
A craft brewery accounting guide covering the 2026 federal beer excise tax rates ($3.50/$16/$18 per barrel under CBMA), how to book keg deposits as a liability instead of revenue, and a channel-level chart of accounts that separates taproom, self-distribution, and wholesale margins.
A craft barrel sold through a taproom can fetch over $1,200 in revenue while the same barrel through distribution brings $160 to $220. Independent breweries need bookkeeping that captures Section 263A WIP cost layers, TTB Form 5130.9 excise tax filings, CBMA reduced rates, three-tier channel margins, keg deposit liabilities, and Section 179 brewhouse depreciation to see which channel actually pays the bills.
