Best brewery inventory software for restaurants (2026): Build your tech stack

Running a brewery restaurant means you're juggling two completely different worlds. You're tracking grain inventory and hop varieties while simultaneously managing table turns and kitchen tickets. You're monitoring fermentation schedules and also worrying about whether Table 12 has been waiting too long for their beer-battered fish tacos.

The right brewery inventory software connects these worlds instead of forcing you to manage them separately. This guide covers the production management tools, point-of-sale systems, and reservation platforms that help brewpubs run both sides of the business without losing their minds (or their beer).

Top brewery & restaurant software picks

1. Eat App – Reservations and waitlist management for busy brewpubs
2. Ekos – Complete brewery operations platform with TTB reporting built in
3. Breww – Cloud-based production tracking with real-time visibility
4. Beer30 – Analytics-focused brewery management system
5. BrewMan – Batch tracking with cask and keg management
6. Crafted ERP – Full business suite for growing craft breweries
7. Arryved – POS built specifically for taprooms and brewpubs
8. Toast – Restaurant POS with brewery-friendly features
9. Square – Affordable option for smaller brewing operations
10. GoTab – Mobile ordering platform for high-volume taprooms
11. Tripleseat – Event and private booking software
12. Kegshoe – Keg tracking and logistics platform

What brewery inventory software actually includes

Here's where things get interesting: "brewery inventory software" doesn't mean one thing anymore. For restaurants that brew their own beer, you need systems that track raw ingredients for brewing, finished goods inventory, distribution to your own taproom, and the standard restaurant inventory everyone else manages.

Think of your tech stack like your brewing system. Each vessel has a specific job, but they all need to work together. Your fermenter doesn't care what the bright tank is doing, but if they're not connected properly, you're going to have problems.

According to the Brewers Association, the craft brewery market continues to grow with over 9,700 breweries operating in the United States, and many of these combine production with hospitality. That dual identity creates unique software needs.

Brewery operations software (ERP and production management)

Brewery management software handles everything from recipe formulation to batch tracking to TTB reporting. These platforms track your raw ingredients, monitor the brewing process, calculate production costs, and generate the compliance reports that keep you legal.

The best brewery software integrates with accounting systems like QuickBooks Online so your cost of goods calculations flow directly into your financial reports. No more data entry, no more spreadsheets trying to reconcile what you brewed with what you sold.

Tools like Ekos, Breww, and Beer30 cover this territory. They help you plan production based on forecasted demand, track inventory from grain to glass, and optimize operations by showing you exactly what each batch costs to produce.

Front-of-house operations (POS and ordering)

Your brewery management system knows what beer you have. Your POS needs to know what beer you're selling, how fast it's moving, and when to cut someone off from ordering a style that's about to kick.

Brewery-specific POS systems handle the quirks of taproom service: flights, tasters, growler fills, bottle sales, and the dreaded split check for a table of eight people who each want to pay separately. They connect to kitchen display systems so food orders don't get lost, and they often include QR ordering so guests can browse your tap list and order from their phones.

Arryved, Toast, SpotOn, Square, and GoTab all offer features designed for breweries and brewpubs. The key is real time visibility into what's selling and integration with your back-of-house brewery management platform.

Reservations and waitlist systems

Here's a problem most brewery software doesn't address: the Friday night crowd that shows up expecting a table when you're already at capacity.

Research from the National Restaurant Association shows that 70% of diners prefer to make reservations online, but many breweries still rely on phone calls or walk-ins only. That approach leaves money on the table.

A proper reservation system like Eat App manages your floor plan, paces reservations so you're not seating everyone at once, tracks guest preferences and visit history, and keeps a waitlist organized when walk-ins arrive. It's the difference between chaos and controlled flow during your busiest hours.

Events and private bookings

Beer dinners. Brewery tours. Tap takeovers. Private tastings for corporate groups. These events are profitable, but they're a nightmare to manage in a standard restaurant POS.

Event management software acts as a CRM for bookings, tracking inquiries, contracts, deposits, and menu selections. It integrates with your calendar so you don't accidentally double-book your private room, and it helps your team follow up with potential clients who inquired but haven't committed yet.

Keg tracking and distribution

If you distribute beer beyond your own taproom, you need to know where your kegs are. Kegshoe and similar platforms track keg inventory, monitor which accounts have which kegs, and help you schedule pickups before you run out of empty cooperage.

This matters more than you'd think. Industry data suggests that breweries lose an average of 10-15% of their keg inventory annually to breakage, theft, or simple misplacement. Tracking software turns that loss into recovered assets.

How to choose your brewery management software stack

Most breweries approach this backwards. They buy whatever software their equipment vendor recommends, then try to force it to do everything. Six months later, they're running three systems that don't talk to each other and filling gaps with spreadsheets.

A better approach: identify what you need most urgently, start there, and build out your tech stack as your entire business grows.

Single suite vs best-of-breed approach

The appeal of an all-in-one platform is obvious: one vendor, one login, one monthly bill. Everything theoretically works together because it's all built by the same team.

The reality is messier. All-in-one brewery management systems often excel at production management but struggle with restaurant operations. Or they nail the POS features but offer weak production planning tools.

Best-of-breed means choosing the top software for each function, then connecting them through integrations. It takes more setup work initially, but you end up with tools that are actually good at their specific jobs instead of mediocre at everything.

For brewpubs specifically, this usually means: strong brewery management software for production, a restaurant-focused POS for service, and specialized tools for reservations and events.

Integration essentials

Your systems need to share data, or you'll spend hours manually updating records in multiple places. Here are the connections that matter most:

Brewery management to accounting: Production costs, inventory values, and COGS calculations should flow directly into QuickBooks or Xero. This saves time and eliminates the errors that come from manual data entry.

POS to reservations: Your reservation platform needs to know your actual capacity and current table status. Eat App integrates with major POS systems to show real time table availability and manage turn times based on what's actually happening on your floor.

Production to POS: When a keg kicks in the cellar, your servers need to know immediately so they stop selling that beer. Real time inventory sync between brewery management and POS prevents the awkward "sorry, we just ran out" conversation after someone's already ordered.

Keg tracking to distribution: If you self-distribute, your brewery management system should talk to your logistics software so you know what inventory is on-premise versus out in the market.

Cost and scaling checklist

Budget for annual costs, not just monthly fees. Software compounds: you start with one tool, realize you need another, and suddenly you're spending $1,500 a month on subscriptions.

Here's what to expect:

• Brewery management software: $200–$500/month depending on production volume
• POS system: $70–$200 per terminal, plus 2-3% transaction fees
• Reservations and waitlist: $150–$250/month for a busy brewpub
• Event management: $300–$600/month if you run frequent private events
• Keg tracking: $100–$300/month depending on cooperage size

Start with the tools that directly impact your guests (POS and reservations), then add production management as you scale. Once you're distributing beyond your own taproom, invest in keg tracking.

Best software for brewery restaurants – Deep dive by category

Brewery management and ERP

Ekos handles the entire brewing process from recipe management to TTB reporting. It tracks raw ingredients, schedules production batches, calculates costs, and integrates with accounting systems. Best for: mid-sized craft breweries that need compliance automation. Standout feature: built-in TTB reporting that generates your required forms automatically.

Breww offers cloud based production tracking with real time visibility into inventory levels and batch progress. The platform includes customer relationship tools for managing distribution accounts and direct-to-consumer sales. Best for: breweries selling through multiple channels. Standout feature: detailed traceability from grain to glass.

Beer30 focuses on data-driven decision making with analytics dashboards that show profitability by SKU, production efficiency, and market trends. Best for: breweries that want to optimize operations based on hard numbers. Standout feature: predictive analytics for production planning.

BrewMan specializes in batch tracking with strong support for cask beer and traditional brewing methods. Best for: breweries with complex product lines including casks, bottles, and kegs. Standout feature: allergen tracking and compliance tools.

Crafted ERP provides a complete management platform covering production, sales, distribution, accounting, and warehouse operations. Best for: fast-growing breweries that need an integrated solution. Standout feature: handles multi-location operations from a single dashboard.

POS for taprooms and brewpubs

Arryved was built specifically for craft breweries and includes features like self-pour tap management, flight ordering, and growler tracking. The system handles the weird complexity of taproom service better than generic restaurant POS platforms. Best for: breweries where beer sales dominate. Standout feature: mobile ordering that lets guests browse your tap list by beer style or ABV.

Toast dominates the restaurant POS market and includes brewery-friendly features like flight builders and keg tracking. Strong kitchen management tools make this a solid choice for brewpubs with full menus. Best for: operations where food sales match or exceed beer sales. Standout feature: integrated online ordering and delivery management.

Square offers the most affordable entry point with free basic software and low-cost hardware. Limited brewery-specific features but sufficient for smaller operations. Best for: new breweries keeping costs down. Standout feature: transparent pricing with no long-term contracts.

GoTab pioneered contactless ordering for hospitality and works particularly well for high-volume taprooms. Guests order and pay from their phones, reducing wait times at the bar. Best for: busy taprooms that struggle with long lines. Standout feature: tab management that lets guests add items throughout their visit.

Reservations and waitlist management

Most brewpubs don't take reservations because they assume their business is too casual. That's leaving money on the table and creating frustration for guests who want to plan their visit.

Eat App combines online reservations, walk-in waitlist management, and floor plan visualization in one platform. The system paces reservations based on your capacity so you're not slammed with 20 tables arriving at 7pm. Guest profiles track preferences and visit history, letting you recognize regulars and personalize service.

The platform integrates with POS systems to show real time table status. When a table pays and leaves, the system automatically updates availability for walk-ins and upcoming reservations. SMS confirmations and reminders reduce no-shows, which matters more at breweries where guests often book a table and then forget they made plans.

For brewpubs that host events, Eat App's floor management tools let you block off sections for private parties while still managing regular service in the rest of the venue. You can track covers per hour, analyze turn times by day part, and optimize your seating strategy based on actual data instead of gut feel.

The reporting features show you which reservation sources drive the most revenue, what times are most popular, and how your team is managing table turns. That visibility helps you staff appropriately and adjust operations for maximum efficiency.

Events and private dining

Tripleseat manages the full lifecycle of private events: inquiry, proposal, contract, payment, and execution. The platform includes CRM tools so you can track communication with potential clients and follow up on quotes that haven't converted yet.

For brewery restaurants, this means organized management of beer dinners, tap takeovers, corporate happy hours, and private tastings. You can create custom proposals with specific beer selections, food pairings, and pricing packages. The system tracks deposits and final payments, generates contracts, and shares event details with your team so servers know what to expect.

Tripleseat integrates with calendar systems to prevent double-bookings and with your POS to reconcile final billing against what was quoted.

Keg tracking and logistics

Kegshoe tracks your cooperage from the moment kegs leave your brewery through their return. The platform uses unique keg IDs to monitor location, status, and ownership. You can see which accounts are sitting on empty kegs, schedule pickups, and calculate loss rates by distributor or region.

This becomes critical as you scale distribution. Instead of wondering where 50 kegs disappeared to, you have data showing exactly which accounts need pickup runs and which distributors are reliably returning your cooperage.

Brewery Restaurant Software Comparison Table

Why Eat App is best for brewery restaurants

The specific problem brewpubs face: your business model attracts walk-ins (people wandering taproom rows), online bookings (groups planning a night out), and overflow from nearby venues when everywhere else is full.

Managing this mix with a clipboard or basic POS waitlist creates friction. Walk-ins don't know how long they'll wait. Reservations show up to find no table ready. Your host stand turns into chaos by 8pm on Saturday.

Eat App solves this by unifying all three channels in one platform. Walk-ins join a digital waitlist that shows realistic wait times based on current table occupancy. Online reservations flow into the same floor management system. The platform paces everything based on your actual capacity and average turn times.

The guest database tracks repeat visitors, dietary restrictions, and preferences. When a regular books online, your team sees their history before they arrive. That recognition builds loyalty in a crowded craft brewery market where dozens of brewpubs compete for the same customers.

The floor plan view shows table status in real time: seated, eating, paid, turned. Managers can see at a glance whether the dining room is flowing smoothly or backing up. During service, that visibility lets you adjust pacing on the fly—slow down reservations if the kitchen is struggling, or speed up seating if tables are turning faster than expected.

SMS confirmations reduce no-shows by reminding guests about their reservations. Automated messages include a link to modify or cancel bookings, so last-minute changes don't require phone calls.

Implementation and next steps

Don't try to deploy your entire tech stack at once. That's a recipe for overwhelmed staff and poorly configured systems.

Start small

Pick one system based on your biggest pain point. If you're losing guests because wait times are unpredictable and tables aren't managed efficiently, start with reservation software like Eat App. If production costs are mysterious and inventory disappears into a black hole, begin with brewery management software.

Pilot the new system at a single venue if you operate multiple locations. Work out the problems, train your team properly, and then roll it out to other sites.

Staff onboarding

Your software is only as good as your team's ability to use it. Block time for proper training—not a quick demo during pre-shift, but actual focused learning when the venue isn't operating.

Most vendors offer training resources: video tutorials, documentation, and implementation support. Use these, then create your own internal SOPs that reflect how your specific business operates.

Measuring ROI

Track metrics before and after implementation so you can prove the software paid for itself. For reservations and waitlist software, measure: covers per hour, average turn time, no-show rate, and guest repeat rate. For brewery management systems, track: time spent on TTB reporting, inventory accuracy, and production cost variance.

For POS systems, look at: order accuracy, average ticket time, and reconciliation errors. These numbers should all improve with the right software.

Build your perfect brewpub tech stack

Brewery restaurants succeed when both sides of the business work together instead of competing for attention and resources. The right software makes that integration possible.

Start with guest-facing systems that improve the experience: reservations that make planning easy, POS that handles orders quickly, waitlist management that sets accurate expectations. Then add production and back-office tools that optimize operations and provide the financial visibility you need to run profitably.

You don't need every tool immediately. Build your tech stack as you grow, focusing on what solves your current problems instead of what might be useful someday.

The right software helps your brewery restaurant run as smoothly as your best pour. Start by upgrading how you seat guests, manage waitlists, and track service flow. Book a demo with Eat App to see how modern reservations software fits into your perfect brewpub tech stack.

FAQs

What is brewery inventory software?

Brewery inventory software tracks raw ingredients like grain and hops, monitors work-in-process during fermentation, and manages finished goods inventory across kegs, bottles, and cans. The best systems integrate with accounting to calculate accurate production costs and COGS.

How is brewery POS different from restaurant POS?

Brewery POS systems include features specific to taprooms: flight builders, taster pours, growler fills, self-pour tap management, and keg tracking. They handle the complexity of selling beer by volume (4oz, 10oz, 16oz pours of the same product) better than generic restaurant systems.

Which software tracks kegs?

Kegshoe specializes in keg tracking and logistics, monitoring cooperage location from your brewery through distribution and back. Brewery management platforms like Ekos and Breww also include keg tracking as part of their broader inventory management features.