USA, GA: Macon Beer waiting for new equipment to expand production by 400%

Macon Beer Co. is planning to greatly expand its production capacity, The Telegraph reported on April 21.

The equipment that will allow the Macon-based company to increase production by 400 percent is scheduled to arrive during the next couple of weeks and will be installed in May, according to a news release. It takes about a month to make a batch of beer, so it will be summer before the market sees the impact of the increased production.

“The additional capacity gets us a step closer to canning our beers and that will result in potential product placement in package stores, grocery stores, and restaurants without draft beer, such as Ingleside Village Pizza and Lemongrass (in Macon),” co-owner Cory Smith said in the release. “It also gets a Macon product into other areas of the state, therefore bringing more revenue back to our town.”

Once operational, the expansion will allow Macon Beer to produce enough beer to expand distribution to other regions of the state, such as metro Atlanta, Augusta and Columbus.

The newly manufactured fermentation vessels, custom designed for Macon Beer, were made in Oregon using American-made steel, which co-owner Jeremy Knowles said was important.

“It’s more expensive sometimes, but we are strong advocates of keeping work inside the country. And we hope to find a local manufacturer for our future expansion needs,” Knowles said.

23 April, 2014