Built on production accounting practice for licensed producers. No published standard chart exists for craft brewing, so this describes what it is modeled on rather than claiming a standard.

Download the brewery chart

Pick a format. The file downloads immediately.

What is different

Three channels, three margins, one Sales line hides all of it

A pint poured in your own taproom, a keg sold to a bar and a four-pack sold at the door earn wildly different margins. Taproom is the best of the three by a distance; distribution is the worst once freight and distributor fees are taken out.

When all three sit in one Sales account, a shift in mix looks like a change in efficiency. This chart separates Taproom Sales, Distribution & Wholesale and Direct to Consumer Sales, and carries Excise Taxes and Distributor Fees & Freight as their own lines, so channel margin is readable.

The chart

The full Brewery chart of accounts

All 53 accounts, with the note that tells you what belongs in each one. This is the same file the download gives you, rendered here so you can read it without opening a spreadsheet.

Code	Account	Type	What belongs here
4000	Revenue	Income	Taproom, wholesale and direct sales, kept apart because margin differs sharply.
4010	Taproom Sales	Income	Beer and food sold in your own taproom.
4020	Distribution & Wholesale	Income	Sales through distributors and wholesale accounts.
4030	Direct to Consumer Sales	Income	Product sold straight to the customer, online or at the door.
4040	Merchandise Sales	Income	Branded apparel, glassware and retail packaged goods.
4050	Tours & Tastings	Income	Paid tours, tastings and flight experiences.
4060	Private Events	Income	Revenue from private bookings of the room or venue.
4070	Contract Production	Income	Production work delivered under a signed contract or statement of work.
5000	Cost of Sales	Cost of goods sold	Production and packaging cost from grain through to filled vessel.
5010	Grain & Malt	Cost of goods sold	Grain and malt used in production.
5020	Hops	Cost of goods sold	Hops used in production.
5030	Yeast & Adjuncts	Cost of goods sold	Yeast, sugars and adjuncts used in production.
5040	Botanicals & Base Spirits	Cost of goods sold	Botanicals and base spirit bought for distilling and blending.
5050	Cans, Bottles & Kegs	Cost of goods sold	Packaging vessels filled with finished product.
5060	Production Labor	Cost of goods sold	Labor directly producing a show or shoot.
5070	Excise Taxes	Cost of goods sold	Federal and state excise duty on alcohol produced or sold.
5080	Distributor Fees & Freight	Cost of goods sold	Distributor charges and freight on wholesale shipments.
5090	Taproom Labor	Cost of goods sold	Taproom service wages.
5100	Lab & Quality Testing	Cost of goods sold	Laboratory analysis and quality testing of product.
5110	Merchandise Purchases	Cost of goods sold	Branded goods bought for resale.
5120	CO2, Chemicals & Production Supplies	Cost of goods sold	Gas, cleaning chemicals and consumables used in production.
6000	Operating Expenses	Expense	Operating costs of running the business, below the gross profit line.
6010	Management & Office Salaries	Expense	Salaries for management and administration.
6020	Payroll Taxes & Benefits	Expense	Employer payroll taxes and the cost of employee benefits.
6030	Rent & Occupancy	Expense	Rent plus the occupancy costs that come with the building.
6040	Utilities	Expense	Electricity, gas, water and waste for the premises.
6050	Repairs & Maintenance	Expense	Repairs and upkeep of the building, plant and fixtures.
6060	Software & Subscriptions	Expense	Recurring software licences and subscriptions.
6070	Advertising & Marketing	Expense	Advertising spend and marketing programmes not tied to one event.
6080	Professional Fees	Expense	Accounting, legal and consulting fees.
6090	Business Insurance	Expense	General liability, property and business insurance.
6100	Card Processing Fees	Expense	Merchant fees on card payments taken from customers.
6110	Office & Supplies	Expense	Office consumables and general supplies.
6120	Telephone & Internet	Expense	Phone lines, mobile plans and internet connectivity.
6130	Travel	Expense	Agency travel not recharged to a client.
6140	Meals & Entertainment	Expense	Business meals and entertaining. Partially deductible, so keep it separate.
6150	Licenses & Permits	Expense	Operating licences and permits to trade.
6160	Dues & Memberships	Expense	Trade body memberships and professional dues.
6170	Training & Education	Expense	Staff training, certification and continuing education.
6180	Bank Fees	Expense	Account, wire and other charges levied by the bank.
6210	TTB & State Alcohol Permits	Expense	Federal TTB and state permits to produce or sell alcohol.
6220	Keg Losses & Replacement	Expense	Kegs lost, damaged or written off.
6230	Equipment Leasing	Expense	Leases on equipment rather than outright purchase.
6240	Barrels & Cooperage	Expense	Barrels and cooperage, where not capitalised.
6250	Waste Removal	Expense	General waste, recycling, food waste and confidential shredding.
8000	Other Income	Other income	Income earned outside normal trading activity.
8010	Interest Income	Other income	Interest earned on operating and reserve balances.
8020	Grants & Incentives	Other income	Grant funding and government or utility incentives received.
8030	Vendor Rebates & Commissions	Other income	Rebates and commissions paid back to you by suppliers.
9000	Other Expenses	Other expense	Below the line costs that are not part of operations.
9010	Depreciation & Amortization	Other expense	Write-down of tangible assets and amortisation of intangibles.
9020	Interest Expense	Other expense	Interest on notes payable and long-term debt.
9030	Penalties & Late Fees	Other expense	Fines, penalties and late payment charges.

Questions

Brewery chart of accounts questions

Where should excise duty sit in a brewery chart of accounts?

In cost of sales, on its own line. Excise is a direct cost of the product you made and sold, and it moves with volume. Burying it in operating expenses overstates gross margin and makes your cost per barrel wrong.

How should taproom sales be separated from distribution?

As separate revenue accounts with separate cost lines. Taproom is retail margin; distribution is wholesale margin after distributor fees and freight. A single Sales line makes a shift toward distribution look like rising costs.

What production costs should be tracked separately?

At minimum grain and malt, hops, yeast and adjuncts, and packaging. Those are the four inputs whose prices move independently, and hop contracts in particular can swing sharply year to year. This chart carries each separately plus CO2, chemicals and production supplies.

Do I need to track kegs as inventory?

Track keg losses at least. Kegs are a real asset that walks away, and most breweries discover the scale of it only when they count. This chart carries Keg Losses & Replacement as an operating expense so the annual number is visible rather than absorbed.

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