Industry Brief  ·  Breweries and Distilleries

Every batch is an experiment.

The federal R&D tax credit pays for the recipe and process work your brewery or distillery already does. Most producers never claim it.

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It costs nothing to find out. If there isn't enough credit to be worth claiming, you don't pay a thing.

New to youis enough. A recipe or process you haven't made before can count when you had to test your way to it.
4 years of creditin one study: this year, plus past years still open to amend, usually three.
Exam supportcomes with every study. If the IRS asks, we answer.

What counts in your brewhouse

Work you already log
  • Recipe developmentWorking out a grain bill, hop schedule, botanical blend, or mash bill through trial batches.
  • Fermentation trialsTesting yeast strains, temperatures, and schedules to hit attenuation and flavor targets.
  • Barrel and aging programsTrying wood, char, entry proof, and time to reach a target profile.
  • Scale-upTrial runs that take a pilot recipe into a production tank.
  • Shelf life and stabilityTesting packaging, oxygen pickup, and filtration so the product holds on the shelf.
  • Cuts and proofingSetting cut points, reflux, and proofing for a new spirit.
  • Packaging and canningMoving a line to a new format, or solving a foaming or seal problem.
  • Water and ingredientsAdjusting water chemistry or trying an ingredient substitute and testing the result.

The four questions, for brewers and distillers

§41's four-part test
  1. Did you make a recipe or process new to you?It doesn't have to be new to the trade.
  2. Did it take real know-how?Fermentation is microbiology. Distillation and water treatment are chemistry.
  3. Were you unsure at the start?Will the yeast finish? Will the flavor hold in the can?
  4. Did you try options to find out?Pilot batches, sensory panels, and revised recipes are exactly that.

Unsure about any of these? That's what the call is for. The four-part test in plain English

Brewers and distillers ask

Does a new beer or spirit really count?

It does when you had to solve a technical question to make it. A recipe developed through pilot batches and measured against a target counts.

We dumped a test batch. Does that count?

It can. A dumped batch is strong evidence you experimented, when it tested a real unknown. The grain, hops, yeast, and time in it can qualify.

Our recipes are driven by taste. Is that enough?

Taste alone isn't the test. Recipes worked toward measurable targets like attenuation or shelf life are. Most producers do both, and the study separates them.

We're a small taproom brewery. Are we too small?

No. There's no minimum size. A small producer running real trials qualifies on the same terms as a big one.

Filing, how far back, exams, and costs: common questions.

For your CPA: where the credit goes on Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, or 1040.

Other industry briefs

Where else it lands
Agriculture

Every season is a trial.

Variety trials, feed changes, and irrigation tests with a real unknown can be experimentation the credit was written for.

Read the brief Medical Practices

Your protocols are research.

Testing how new scanners, devices, and treatment protocols work for your patients can qualify.

Read the brief Podiatry

Your orthotics are research.

Developing custom orthotics and in-house fabrication can be work the credit was written for.

Read the brief

Give us thirty minutes.

Bring whoever writes your recipes. You'll leave knowing whether your batches qualify.

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