Montana's $4 million in beer money

Great Falls Tribune

HELENA – State taxes on beer production brought in roughly $4 million last year.

In 2010, Montana had 29 licensed breweries. The state now has 82, the Legislative Fiscal Division reported.

Check out a graphic that shows the industry's growth at the division's website. Move the center line to switch back and forth between years.

Beer sold in Montana increased by 63,000 barrels since 2010, with more than a million barrels tallied out last year. The tax also includes beer imported into Montana.

The state found that people are drinking more from smaller breweries, which pay a lower tax per barrel (the range is $1.30 to $4.30). So production is up, and total revenue is up, but the average amount of money collected per barrel is down, the Department of Revenue reported.

Of the $4 million in beer tax money collected, $3 million went to the state’s general fund. Of the rest, 23 percent went to the Department of Health and Human Services and 2 percent to tribes.

The legislature tinkered with the beer tax last year to raise the production limit for breweries with taprooms, from 10,000 barrels to 60,000 barrels a year.

Legislature approves raising craft beer cap