Self-distribution or a wholesaler in Montana
Should a Montana brewery self-distribute or sign with a wholesaler?
The scenario: 900 barrels, a van and a city full of taps
Picture the brewery at 900 barrels a year, a van, and forty accounts across a city. Every one of those taps can be yours legally, by self-delivery, with no distributor between you and the bar.
A Montana domestic small brewery may sell and deliver beer using its own employees and equipment to wholesalers, to retailers and to the public. That is the scenario's legal foundation, and it comes with the brewery license.
The question is not whether self-distribution is allowed. It is whether your vans, your Friday and your margin math make it the right choice. This page weighs the two sides.
A Montana domestic small brewery may sell and deliver beer using its own employees and equipment to wholesalers, retailers and the public. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
The rule that shapes every self-distribution route
One clause does more shaping than the rest: a small brewery may not use common carriers. Delivery to retailers is only with the brewery's own trucks, equipment and employees.
No parcel service, no third-party courier, no delivery platform moving your kegs. The route to an account is a route you own: the van, the driver on your payroll, the kegs in your cold store.
That rule sets the real cost of self-distribution. The permission is free with the license; the logistics are a business you run alongside the brewing, and they scale with every new account on the map.
A Montana domestic small brewery may not use common carriers and may only deliver to retailers using its own trucks, equipment and employees. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
What self-distribution buys you
Self-delivery keeps the distributor's margin and the account relationship in the brewery. For a small brewery with a tight radius, that is often the difference between a margin and a loss.
It also keeps the feedback loop short. The brewer who drops the keg hears directly what the bar thinks of the batch, and the tap placement decisions are yours to make.
And the growth path is open. The same permission covers sales to wholesalers, so a brewery can self-distribute its core brands while selling others through a distributor, mixing the routes by product rather than by policy.
A Montana domestic small brewery may sell and deliver beer using its own employees and equipment to wholesalers as well as to retailers and the public. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
What a wholesaler buys you
A wholesaler buys reach. Its trucks, its sales force and its route book carry your beer to accounts you will never cold-call, across distances your van cannot cover profitably.
The trade is the margin and part of the relationship. The distributor's tier is priced in the same statute as yours: under Montana Code 16-4-501, a distributor pays a $400 license fee against the brewer's $500.
A wholesaler also absorbs the logistics you would otherwise run yourself: cold chain, scheduling, the person who answers the account's phone on a Friday. What you pay for that is the margin between your wholesale price and the price of doing it in-house.
$400 distributor feeUnder Montana Code 16-4-501, each distributor pays a $400 license fee, against $500 for each brewer and beer importer whose product is sold or offered for sale within the state. — Montana Code Annotated, retrieved 2026-09-29
The 60,000-barrel end of the decision
The decision has a legal ceiling, not just an economic one. Past 60,000 barrels a year, a large brewery may only sell and deliver beer to licensed beer wholesalers.
Self-distribution in Montana is permission tied to size. Build a business on it and the plan must include what happens to the van fleet, the drivers and the accounts when production crosses the line.
The tax ladder climbs before the license rule ends. The state barrel tax steps up at 5,000 and 10,000 barrels, and the license renewal itself steps from $200 to $500 at 20,000. A growth plan should meet all three numbers, not just the last one.
60,000 barrelsA Montana large brewery producing over 60,000 barrels of beer a year may only sell and deliver beer to licensed beer wholesalers. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
The tax that follows the direct sale either way
Whichever way the keg travels, the state barrel tax follows beer sold directly to retailers and consumers, based on the barrels produced in the department's fiscal year, which starts July 1.
The first 5,000 barrels carry $1.30 a barrel. Cross a production band and the rate rises at the start of the next quarter, and you must notify the department and your wholesalers in writing by the end of the quarter in which you exceeded the band.
That notification rule is part of the distribution plan, not just the tax filing. Your wholesalers hear about your growth from you, by deadline, in writing.
$1.30 a barrelWhen a Montana brewer exceeds a production band, the rate rises the next quarter, with written notice due to the department and the brewer's wholesalers by the end of the quarter. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Making the call, and revisiting it
Make the first call on radius and volume, and revisit it each year. A tight metro radius at 1,500 barrels usually favours the van. A state-wide footprint at the same volume usually does not.
The call is also reversible in one direction only. Self-distribution can be phased out into a wholesaler relationship as accounts grow. Growth the other way, taking back accounts from a wholesaler, is a negotiation, and its terms live in the distribution agreement, which is a document worth a lawyer.
When you make the call, put both calendars on the table: the June 30 license renewal and the quarterly tax reports through TAP, covered on the yearly renewals page and the taxes page. The tier structure behind the choice is on the three-tier page.
June 30A Montana brewery license must be renewed every year by June 30, and brewery tax reports are due quarterly through the TransAction Portal. — Montana Department of Revenue, retrieved 2026-09-29
Questions
Can a Montana brewery deliver its own beer to bars and restaurants?
Yes, if it produces between 200 gallons and 60,000 barrels a year. The delivery must use the brewery's own trucks, equipment and employees, because common carriers are not allowed for a small brewery.
Can a Montana brewery use UPS or a courier to ship kegs?
No. A domestic small brewery may not use common carriers and may only deliver to retailers using its own trucks, equipment and employees. Take-home sales to the public and self-delivery are both limited to the brewery's own resources.
Does a small brewery have to use a wholesaler?
No, not under 60,000 barrels a year. A small brewery may sell to wholesalers, retailers and the public with its own employees and equipment. Only a large brewery over 60,000 barrels must sell to licensed beer wholesalers.
Do I have to tell anyone when my production crosses a tax band?
Yes. The rate rises the quarter after you exceed a production increment, and you must notify the Montana Department of Revenue and your wholesalers in writing by the end of the quarter in which you exceeded it.
Is self-distribution cheaper than a wholesaler?
It keeps the distributor margin, but it makes the brewery run a delivery business. The real costs are the van, the driver, cold storage and the route time. Compare that against the wholesale margin before deciding.