Diamond Bear Brewing Co., the only production brewery in Arkansas, has added three new tanks and will increase its production capacity by almost by 100 percent.
First Lady Ginger Beebe will christened the new tanks at 11 a.m. Friday.
The new tanks will affectionately be named Shirley, Mary Ann and Ginger. They will take their place beside Paris, Nicole, Bertha and Laverne.
Demand and sales have increased for the company’s craft beer, a news release said. Diamond Bear grew its volume by more than 9 percent in 2008 with a 19 percent increase in actual revenue. The company is projecting growth in volume of more than 40 percent in 2009 with the addition of the new tanks and the increased capacity.
The addition of the new 60-barrel fermentation/bright tanks will increase Diamond Bear’s fermentation capacity by 80 percent and its finishing tank capacity by 100 percent.
The new tanks were bought from Total Process Service of Maplewood, Minn.
The tanks were ordered several months ago and were the result of a joint collaboration between Diamond Bear, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, and Twin City Bank. Diamond Bear is using a federal economic development program to help finance this expansion, the news release said.
The company, founded by Russ and Sue Melton of Little Rock, has four full-time employees and three part-time employees. The expansion will help solidify those jobs, and should add additional jobs as the extra capacity is turned into sales growth, the release said.
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