Montana brewery opening checklist

Before the paperwork: the plan on one number

Check the plan against one number before anything else: expected barrels per year. That number sets the license band, the sample room rights, the delivery rights and both tax ladders.

A domestic small brewery sits between 200 gallons and 60,000 barrels a year. Below 200 gallons is the micro band, where samples are free only. Above 60,000 barrels, sales go through wholesalers only.

Write the number down. Every later item on this checklist hangs off it, and the three-tier page explains what each band may do with its beer.

60,000 barrelsA Montana domestic small brewery produces 200 gallons to 60,000 barrels of beer a year, and a brewery over 60,000 barrels may only sell and deliver beer to licensed beer wholesalers. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The entity and the tax identity

Two items complete the entity stage: the Articles of Organization filed at $35 with the Montana Secretary of State, and the EIN from the IRS on Form SS-4.

Neither can be skipped or reordered. The federal application wants the entity and the EIN, and the state application wants the federal permit.

Confirm both in writing before moving on: the stamped articles and the EIN letter. They are the first two documents a reviewer asks for.

$35Montana charges a $35 filing fee for domestic LLC Articles of Organization, and a brewery applicant without a taxpayer identification number must obtain one from the IRS by completing Form SS-4. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29

The federal Brewer's Notice, and the bond question

File the Brewer's Notice on TTB Form 5130.10 through Permits Online. While it is in review, settle the bond question so nothing surprises you at approval.

A brewer paying tax on a deferred basis, eligible for an annual or quarterly return period, posts no bond under 27 CFR 25.91(e). Otherwise the bond is TTB Form 5130.22, and operations cannot begin until it is approved.

Check the exemption against your expected excise tax, not against optimism. A brewery liable for $50,000 or less in federal beer excise tax files quarterly and fits. The Brewer's Notice guide walks the whole application.

27 CFR 25.91(e)Under 27 CFR 25.91(e), a brewer paying tax on a deferred basis in an annual or quarterly return period is not required to provide a bond. — Code of Federal Regulations via Cornell LII, retrieved 2026-09-29

The Montana brewery license and the premises

With the issuance letter in hand, apply through TAP or on Form DBLA, with the $500 license fee and the $200 original processing fee.

While that application moves, walk the premises against the location rules: recognizable as a brewery, physically separated from any other alcoholic beverage business, no concession agreement, no self-service devices, no unauthorized people in the manufacturing area.

Confirm the sample room plan: a designated sample room, or an approved on-premises retail license stacked at the premises. The room decides whether opening day includes table service. The Montana license guide covers the application and the location rules.

$500 + $200To apply for a Montana brewery license you must first hold a Brewer's Notice, then apply through TAP or Form DBLA with a $500 fee and a $200 original processing fee. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

The sample room checklist, item by item

The serving rules are the ones staff will meet hourly, so open with them memorized. Up to 48 ounces of samples per customer per day, given away or sold, from 10 AM to 8 PM.

Take-home sales run from 8 AM to 2 AM, on a different clock than the tables. The patio counts only if enclosed and accessible only from the consumption area.

No vending machines, no self-service devices, no concession arrangements. Ounce counting is a staffing procedure, not a policy memo.

48 ouncesIn the sample room a domestic small brewery may give away or sell up to 48 ounces of samples per customer from 10 AM to 8 PM, with take-home sales from 8 AM to 2 AM. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29

Labels and the food facility

Two label items and one registration finish the product side. Register the labels with the Montana Department of Revenue through TAP before any sale or shipment into the state.

Apply for federal COLAs through COLAs Online for any beer that ships out of state. Check the 8.75 percent rule: beer from 8.75 up to under 14 percent ABV needs department approval even inside the sample room.

Then register the facility with the FDA, which renews every other year. The registration belongs on the opening checklist, not on a someday list. The approval steps themselves are on the label page.

8.75% ABVAll beer labels must be approved by the Montana Department of Revenue before selling and shipping into Montana, and beer from 8.75 to under 14 percent ABV needs approval even in the sample room. — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, retrieved 2026-09-29

The calendar, before opening day

The last item is the first year's calendar, written before the doors open. Four dates anchor it: April 15 for the LLC annual report, June 30 for the license renewal, and the state's fiscal quarters for the barrel tax.

The federal side adds operations reports on TTB Form 5130.26 from the day the notice is approved, and excise returns at a frequency set by liability. Records are preserved at least three years.

Hang the calendar where the brew schedule hangs. Every item on this checklist eventually becomes a date on it.

June 30A Montana brewery license must be renewed every year by June 30, and federal brewery records must be preserved for not less than three years. — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, retrieved 2026-09-29

Questions