Hey there. This one's quick.
"We have it somewhere" isn't an inventory system. With multiple locations, you need to know where things are—not just that they exist. Here's how to structure it.
Beer and ingredients move between locations: brewhouse, cold storage, taproom cooler, package warehouse. Without location-level visibility, you know what you have in aggregate but not where it is. That creates operational inefficiency (you need a keg, but it's in the wrong cooler) and compliance risk (the TTB expects you to account for beer by location). Multi-location inventory is a structural requirement, not a luxury. Without location-level visibility, you know what you have in aggregate but not where it is. That creates operational inefficiency (you need a keg, but it is in the wrong cooler) and compliance risk (the TTB expects you to account for beer by location). Multi-location inventory is a structural requirement, not a luxury.
Why Location Matters
Operations: If you need a half-barrel of IPA for the taproom and your system says you have 10, but they are all in the wholesale cold box, you have a problem. Location-level visibility tells you where to find what you need.
Compliance: The TTB expects breweries to maintain records of where beer is stored. Tax-paid beer, tax-free beer in bond, and beer in process may have different treatment. Location records support that distinction.
Cost and planning: Par levels and reorder points may differ by location. You may want 50 lbs of base malt in the brewhouse grain room and 200 lbs in the warehouse. Global par levels alone do not capture that. Location-level par levels support location-specific planning.
Designing Your Location Structure
Locations should reflect physical reality and operational workflow. Common structures include:
- Brewhouse / Grain room: Raw materials for brewing.
- Cellar / Cold storage: Fermenters, brite tanks, kegs in cold storage.
- Taproom cooler: Kegs and packaged product for onsite sales.
- Package warehouse: Cans, bottles, cases for distribution.
- Wholesale / Distribution cooler: Kegs and package designated for wholesale.
The right structure depends on your facility. A small brewery may have two locations: brewhouse and taproom. A larger operation may have five or more. The goal is to capture every physical move as a transfer between locations, so the ledger reflects reality.
Transfers Between Locations
When beer or ingredients move from one location to another, that movement must be logged. A transfer from cold storage to the taproom cooler is a depletion from cold storage and an addition to the taproom. A transfer from the brite tank to the package warehouse is a depletion from the cellar and an addition to the warehouse.
If transfers are not logged, location-level counts become unreliable. You may show 20 kegs in the taproom when 5 were moved to the wholesale cooler but never recorded. The aggregate count may be correct, but the location breakdown is wrong.
Par Levels by Location
Par levels can be set globally (total across all locations) or per location. For items that are used in a specific place—grain in the brewhouse, kegs in the taproom—per-location par levels make sense. For items that move between locations—finished package—you may want both: a global par (total cases on hand) and location-specific par (minimum cases in the taproom, minimum in the warehouse).
Compliance and Audit Trail
For TTB purposes, location records support the "on hand" and "where stored" requirements. When an auditor asks where your beer is, you should be able to show: X barrels in cold storage, Y kegs in the taproom, Z cases in the warehouse. That visibility requires consistent transfer logging.
Multi-location inventory is not a separate system. It is a way of structuring the same ledger—items, quantities, movements—so that every physical location is represented. When that structure is in place, operations run smoother and compliance becomes straightforward.
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How BrewLedger Supports Multi-Location Inventory
BrewLedger tracks items by location. Every movement—transfer, depletion, addition—is recorded with a location. You can see what you have, where it is, and how it moved. Par levels can be set globally or per location. See how it works when you are ready.