Taproom profitability
Price per pour against product cost, taproom labor, and the occupancy that exists because the doors are open.
SALES CHANNELS
Taproom and wholesale do not earn money the same way
Taproom profitability and wholesale profitability are different businesses sharing a beer. Distribution margins, self-distribution, sales-channel profitability, and taproom labor decide which side is actually funding the brewery.
THE PROBLEM
The same pint looks profitable until you split the channel.
A taproom sale carries labor, occupancy, and a higher price. A wholesale sale carries a lower price, packaging, delivery or a distributor's cut, and a wait to get paid. Adding them into one revenue line makes the brewery look simple. It is not.
Owners who are leaning on the taproom, or adding distribution, hire and buy capacity for "growth" without knowing which channel can pay for it.
WHAT WE DO
Margin, labor, and cash timing by channel.
We separate taproom and wholesale far enough to see contribution: price, product cost, packaging, and the labor that belongs to that channel. Self-distribution is called out when you are the one paying for the truck and the time. The result is a management view, not a slogan that the taproom is "always better." Some breweries need wholesale volume. They still need to know what that volume costs in margin and cash.
CHANNELS
What the channel view separates
Wholesale profitability
Keg and package price after product cost, packaging, and the discount or distributor margin in the chain.
Distribution margins
What is left when someone else sells the beer, versus what is left when you do.
Self-distribution
Vehicles, time, and cash tied up in your own routes — treated as a channel cost, not as free growth.
Labor in the right place
Taproom labor stays out of production cost of goods so a busy bar does not disguise a thin wholesale margin, or the reverse.
DELIVERABLES
What you receive
Channel contribution
Taproom and wholesale, side by side, after the costs that belong to each.
Labor placement
A clear line between brewhouse cost and service labor.
Cash timing by channel
Weekend taproom cash versus wholesale terms, so growth in one channel is not mistaken for cash.
FAQ
Common questions
Should every brewery push the taproom because the margin is higher?
Not from this page. A higher price per pint can still fail if labor and occupancy eat it. Wholesale can be the right volume if you know the margin and the cash delay. The work is to see your split, not to copy a rule.
We self-distribute. Is that its own set of books?
It needs its own lines: delivery cost, inventory on the truck, and how long that beer is unpaid. It does not need a second company unless your attorney and CPA already set one up.
Can you tell us whether to add distribution?
We can show what distribution does to margin and cash given your current costs and terms. The decision to sign with a distributor or to hire a driver stays with you.
How is this different from beer costing?
Costing asks what the beer costs to make and package. This page asks what is left after you sell it in a specific channel. You need both before you add capacity.
Split the taproom from wholesale before you staff for both.
Tell us how the beer leaves the building today, and whether distribution or the taproom is about to get bigger. We will look at whether the books can show the split.