Public Brew-On-Premises

What is Brew-On-Premises (BOP)?

Brew-on-premises (BOP) is a business that provides space and equipment to the public to brew and bottle their own beer. This may happen at a licensed Montana brewery.

What BOP Owners May Do

  • Furnish space, brewing equipment, ingredients, bottling supplies, and advice and expertise to customers.
  • Furnish unfermented wort to BOP customers.
  • Provide certain limited assistance to customers, as listed below.

Permitted assistance to customers

  • Moving containers of beer between storage areas.
  • Cleaning, maintenance, and repair of equipment.
  • Climate and temperature control.
  • Disposal of spent grains and wastes.
  • Quality control, including laboratory analysis and tasting of beer for quality control purposes.

What BOP Owners May Not Do

  • Provide assistance to, or on behalf of, customers in the production, storage, or packaging of beer, as listed below.
  • Produce or provide non-taxed beer to customers or prospective customers for sampling purposes.

Prohibited assistance to customers

  • Fermenting mash.
  • Adding sugar, CO2, or any other ingredients to beer.
  • Filtering or bottling beer.
  • Providing physical assistance in the production, tank transfer, racking, or the bottling or kegging of beer.

Licensed Montana Breweries that Offer BOPs:

  • All beer brewed by patrons is taxable at the federal and state level to the brewery and must be included in the brewery’s total production levels.
  • Must abide by all federal regulations.

Individuals Home Brewing at BOPs

A person producing beer at a BOP must do so in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 5053(e) and TTB regulations 27 CFR 25.205 and 27 CFR 25.206.

Who counts as an adult

Adults are defined as the age required for the purchase of beer in the locality of the BOP, which in Montana is 21.

Production limits

  • Adults may produce beer for personal or family use without payment of tax.
  • Per household, adults may produce up to 100 gallons per calendar year if one adult resides in the household, or up to 200 gallons per calendar year if two or more adults reside in the household.
  • Adults may collaborate with other adults in the production of beer at a BOP, provided they are not considered a corporation or an association.

Use of the finished beer

  • Adults who produce beer at a BOP may remove their beer for personal or family use, including use in organized affairs, exhibitions, or competitions such as homemaker’s contests or tastings.
  • Adults may not produce beer for sale or offer their beer for sale.
  • Adults using BOPs may not consume produced beer beyond sampling for quality control on-site at the business. The final product must be removed from the BOP to drink at home.

Customer responsibility

Adults using BOPs should note that owners and employees of BOPs are limited in the assistance they may provide. It is the responsibility of BOP customers to carry out the activities required to brew, store, and package beer.

Questions?

Contact DORCARDEducation@mt.gov.

Legal References

All licensees must comply with all federal and Montana alcoholic beverage laws and rules. See 16-3-201(2), MCA; 26 U.S.C. 5053(e); and TTB regulations 27 CFR 25.205 through 27 CFR 25.206. For federal guidelines, see ttb.gov/beer/beer-faqs.

January 2023. Information in department communications may have been modified, superseded, or made obsolete by changes in federal or state law or the Administrative Rules of Montana. To verify the current validity of any Department of Revenue communication, please contact DORCARDEducation@mt.gov.