BOZEMAN — Tariffs on imported goods, including aluminum, may soon be going into effect. So I’m checking with local businesses that rely on materials like this, such as breweries, to see how they’re preparing for the possible price increases.
"We do 100%—from grain, to can, to glass—we do it all in-house," says Todd Scott, president of Bozeman Brewing Company.
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Scott started brewing more than 40 years ago in hopes of becoming more self-sufficient.
"I could grow crops from my agricultural background but what I didn’t know how to do was make beer. And that was the one thing I didn’t want to be without, so it got me home brewing," he says.
Aside from specialty brews, Scott’s beer typically contains malted barley, hops, water, and yeast—all wrapped up in a branded aluminum can.
He says, "Our aluminum cans predominantly come from Worland, Wyoming."
According to data from the International Trade Administration, in 2023 and 2024, 40% of United States aluminum imports came from Canada.
"So, if the bulk of aluminum is coming from Canada to Worland, it is obviously going to increase our price on our aluminum cans," Scott says.
The United States typically imports raw aluminum ore from Canada, which is then smelted by facilities, formed into cans by manufacturers, then sold to brewers like Scott.
In February of 2025, President Trump proposed raising tariffs on Canadian aluminum to 25%. Scott says it’s U.S. businesses and consumers who would bear the brunt of it.
"So, we are anticipating the price of aluminum to be going up at some point and we will do our best to hold off as long as we can from needing to pass that on to the consumer," he says.
Scott says, to prepare, they’re stockpiling as many cans as they’re able before prices go up.
"And our hope is that it will indeed increase American security, that it will indeed create American jobs—that’s our hope," says Scott.
But he says, it’s just a matter of how long brewers can absorb the price increase before passing it along to consumers.
"We’re going to do our best to make sure we never increase those prices, to begin with. But at the same time, we have to maintain operating expenditures," says Scott.
