How to Build Brewery Management Software

OrchestratedBEER costs $299 to $599 per month. Ekos runs $325 to $599 per month. For a single brewery, that is a reasonable line item. For a brewery group with ten locations, each running its own instance, reporting to separate tax accounts, and selling through three different distributors, those tools create as many problems as they solve. The TTB reports don't aggregate. The inventory doesn't consolidate. And neither system was built to support a second craft category like cider or spirits under the same roof.

The US craft brewing industry reached over 9,400 operating breweries in 2023, according to the Brewers Association. Most are single-location taprooms running off-the-shelf tools. The gap shows at the chain and multi-brand level. That's where custom software pays.

This article breaks down what brewery management software actually needs to do, what the hardest parts are to build, and exactly who should consider building instead of subscribing.

What brewery management software actually does

"The biggest operational mistake craft breweries make is treating production and taproom sales as separate domains. When your batch log and your POS don't share a data layer, you're running two businesses and reporting on neither accurately."

Julia Herz, former Brewers Association craft beer program director

Brewery software solves two separate problems that most operators manage in two different tools: production (brewing batches) and taproom operations (selling to customers). A good platform integrates both so that data flows naturally from the kettle to the cash register.

The production side tracks everything from recipe formulation to tank status to compliance filings. The sales side handles the taproom POS, keg inventory, retail sales, and distribution accounts. When these two systems share a database, your inventory adjusts automatically when a keg kicks, your TTB report populates from production logs, and your reorder alerts fire before you run out of Centennial hops.

The primary buyers are craft brewery chains with 10 or more locations, regional breweries doing $2M to $20M in annual revenue, and groups building a single platform for multiple craft brands (beer, wine, cider, spirits) under one company. Taproom technology startups and craft beverage aggregators are the other common buyers.

Core features: MVP vs. full product

MVP: batch management, taproom POS, and TTB reporting

Batch and recipe management is the production core. Each beer is a recipe: a list of ingredients (malts, hops, yeast, adjuncts) with weights in pounds or grams, and a set of process steps (mash temperature, boil time, hop additions at specific minutes, fermentation temperature schedule, conditioning time). Expected gravity readings (original gravity, final gravity) let the system calculate ABV from actual measurements. Store recipes versioned so you can compare batch V1 against batch V2 after a recipe adjustment. Log each actual batch: brew date, which tank, actual readings versus expected, and any deviations.

Tank and vessel management tracks every vessel in the brewery: fermentation tanks, brite tanks, serving tanks, conditioning tanks. Each tank has a current status (empty, cleaning, fermenting Beer X on day 7 of 14, conditioning, serving). Cleaning records (CIP logs showing date, chemicals used, and contact time) are required for TTB audits and health department inspections. A tank timeline view shows when each vessel will be free, which feeds production scheduling.

Ingredient inventory covers raw materials: malts, hops, yeast, water additives. Track stock in pounds or ounces, cost per unit, vendor, and lot number. Reorder alerts matter here, because rare hop varieties and specialty yeast strains have 4 to 12 week lead times.

TTB compliance reporting is federally required. Breweries must file a Brewer's Report of Operations each month showing barrels produced, barrels removed for consumption, and barrels on hand by product class. The system also calculates federal excise tax: $3.50 per barrel for the first 60,000 barrels per year (reduced rate for small brewers), then $16 per barrel above that. Your software calculates both from production records automatically. This is why breweries pay $200 to $500 per month for dedicated tools. The compliance piece alone justifies the cost.

Taproom POS runs on a tab-based model. The customer opens a tab (credit card pre-auth), orders pints or flights, and closes the tab on exit. Track pours per keg: a standard half-barrel keg holds approximately 124 pints, so count pours and alert staff when fewer than 10 pints remain. Many taprooms also sell canned and bottled beer to go, merchandise, and food from a kitchen or partnered food truck. All sales run through the same POS.

Full platform: finished goods inventory and distribution

Finished goods inventory tracks packaged beer by SKU and location: taproom, warehouse, distributor. When a keg kicks in the taproom, inventory decrements automatically. When a distributor reports depletions, their consignment count adjusts.

Distribution management handles self-distribution (direct delivery to bars and restaurants) and third-party distributor accounts. Track accounts, order history, delivery routes, invoice status, and accounts receivable. Generate invoices and track payment aging.

State ABC compliance adds per-state reporting. Each state has its own licensing rules and reporting requirements beyond federal TTB filings. For a multi-state operation, this module is essential.

The architecture

The taproom POS runs as a React web app on a tablet browser. This avoids app store updates: deploy a new version and every terminal picks it up on the next page load. The admin dashboard (batch logs, inventory, compliance reports) runs in the same React application with role-based access control.

Mobile apps for inventory counting and delivery drivers use React Native. A brewer walking the warehouse floor needs to count physical stock against the system. A delivery driver needs their route, the kegs assigned to each stop, and the ability to capture a signature on delivery.

Node.js handles the API layer. PostgreSQL stores everything: recipes, batches, tank logs, inventory, POS transactions, and compliance data. The TTB compliance module queries the same production records that the batch management module writes, so there is no manual data transfer between systems.

For payments, Stripe Terminal handles taproom card transactions. Stripe handles wholesale invoices for distribution accounts. AWS S3 stores batch records and compliance documents for the 7-year retention period that federal regulations require.

The hardest technical challenge

This is the section most brewery software vendors gloss over. Here's what you actually have to solve.

TTB calculations from production data are the problem most teams underestimate.

The Brewer's Report of Operations requires specific data points: beer produced by product class, beer removed for consumption, and beer on hand. These figures must reconcile with your tank logs. If a tank log has gaps, the report won't balance.

Common gaps: an unstated CIP (a cleaning cycle performed without a log entry), a batch racked from one tank to another without a transfer record, or a partial keg moved from the taproom to a catering event without an inventory adjustment. Each gap creates a discrepancy between what the tank log says happened and what the TTB report expects to see.

The solution is audit checks built into the production workflow. When a brewer logs a transfer, the system checks whether the source tank has enough volume to support the transfer. When a batch is marked complete, the system checks whether the yield matches the expected yield for that recipe and flags significant deviations. When the monthly TTB report is generated, the system reconciles all production data against tank logs and surfaces any discrepancies before the report is filed, not after.

Build these reconciliation checks from day one. They are much harder to retrofit into a system that was built without them.

Build timeline and cost

Federal excise tax on beer represents a meaningful cost line. The TTB's Quarterly Statistical Release shows US brewers paid over $500M in federal excise tax in 2023. For a mid-size regional brewery producing 15,000 barrels per year, that's roughly $240K in annual FET liability. Calculating this manually from spreadsheets creates audit risk. Automated calculation from your production records eliminates it.

An MVP covering batch management, the taproom POS, and TTB compliance reporting runs $140,000 to $240,000 over 16 to 20 weeks.

Adding distribution management, finished goods inventory across locations, and state ABC compliance brings the full platform to $300,000 to $500,000 over 26 to 34 weeks. Most groups build the MVP first, validate it across two or three locations, and fund Phase 2 from the operational savings.

Build vs. buy: named alternatives with pricing

The Brewers Association's 2024 Craft Beer Insights report found that multi-location brewery groups spend 15-20% more per barrel on administrative overhead than single-location operations. Software fragmentation is the primary driver. Most multi-location groups run three or more disconnected tools.

OrchestratedBEER ($299–$599/month): strong production and compliance module, widely used among craft breweries. Handles TTB reporting well for single-brand operations.

Ekos ($325–$599/month): the most commonly used platform in American craft brewing. Covers production, inventory, and basic distribution. Good for regional breweries.

Beer30 ($99–$249/month): simpler option with lower price point. Good for small taproom-focused operations with minimal distribution.

Brew Commander: taproom POS only. No production or compliance module.

Build when: you operate a multi-brand, multi-location portfolio where TTB reporting must aggregate across brands; you want a unified platform for craft producers beyond beer (wine, spirits, cider); or you are building a platform to sell to other craft producers. At ten locations paying $500/month each, you spend $60,000 per year on software that doesn't consolidate. A custom system at $200,000 pays back in under four years, and you own the asset.

Tech stack summary

RaftLabs has built multi-system platforms for hospitality and food-and-beverage operators where compliance reporting, real-time inventory, and point-of-sale had to share a single data layer. If your brewery group is managing production in one tool, compliance in a spreadsheet, and sales in a second tool, the integration problem alone is worth scoping. Start with the discovery conversation.