The Saugatuck Brewing Company will be installing three new fermenters and a bright tank that will help the brewery more than double its annual production capacity. SBC bought two 20-barrel fermenters, a 24-barrel fermenter and a 20-barrel bright tank, used for carbonating and conditioning beer prior to bottling or kegging, from Metal Craft Fabrication, of Portland, Ore. They arrived Sunday and are expected to be installed by the end of the year, according to Kerry O'Donohue, of SBC. The $75,000 investment will also mean the brewery will be hiring one or two full-time employees for the brewhouse, he said. SBC will brew around 1,000 barrels this year and will have the capacity to make around 3,000 barrels next year. The expansion will allow SBC to distribute beyond west Michigan by spring. SBC joins several other Michigan breweries that are in the process of growing, including Founders Brewing Company in Grand Rapids, Bell's Brewery Inc. in Kalamazoo, Dark Horse Brewing Company in Marshall and Short's Brewing Company in Bellaire among others.
John Liberty Kalamazoo Gazette
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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