Yakima Brewing sells stock to boost beer

YAKIMA — The Yakima Brewing and Malting Co. will offer 500,000 shares of preferred stock in hopes of raising money to boost production for a popular new beer.

Yakima Brewing, which was bought by parent company Black Bear Brewing Co. of Atlanta, Ga., in January 2002, comprises Grant’s Brew Pub in Yakima and a separate 35,000-square-foot brewery.

Sales of Grant’s Mandarin Hefeweizen beer are on track to beat company records. The company has been unable to keep up with consumer demand but hopes raising capital will enable it to increase production.

Mandarin is available in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California, Arizona and Florida in bottles and on draft.

Yakima Brewing also wants to expand the line to more of the 20 to 25 states where its beers are now sold.

"We felt like it was really important to us to now just get the product out into a few states, but to release it nationally so no one (scooped) us," said Paul Brown, an officer and director of the company.

As a preferred stock, shares will sell for $1 each and pay a 7.75 percent semiannual dividend, Brown said. Investors in Yakima Brewing would have the option to convert their preferred shares to common stock shares in that company or its parent company.

Yakima Brewing hopes to raise $500,000, which will go toward production of Mandarin Hefeweizen.

Brown said the company anticipates producing 1,000 barrels of the fruity beer each month next year. That compares to total average monthly production of about 350 barrels for all of its other beers combined in 2002.