(Denver, CO) – With the great expansion of 2010 now complete, Great Divide Brewing has more capacity to play around and is already planning to introduce a new brand.

[Update: Release Party details ~> Friday August 6th from 6-9pm in the brewhouse. $15 admission includes 4 drink tickets and 2 food tickets.]

Great Divide just completed installation of three large fermentation tanks outside the brewery. Each tank holds the equivalent of approximately 600 kegs or 4,000 cases. What does that mean in the grand scheme? From last month’s press release, “the expansion project (carried out with a $600,000 budget) will increase the brewer’s capacity by a hefty 50% from 16,000 barrels per year to 24,000 barrels per year.” Another tank is scheduled for installation in September.

Great Divide’s core products will probably reside in the new tanks most of the time where the brewery was previously at capacity but at least one new brand is coming in the near future: Great Divide Rumble Oak-Aged IPA.

Though the descriptions are similar, Tap Room Manager, Patrick Langlois, confirmed that this is not the same beer as the Wood-Aged 15th and 16th Anniversary beers recently released. This one comes in at 7.1% ABV whereas the anniversary beers are around 10% ABV. Instead of 22 oz. bombers, this beer will be available in 6-packs (and on draft) beginning in August.

Commercial description: “Rumble IPA is an American IPA with subtle nuance. Brewed with heavy-handed additions of Pacific Northwest hops, this beer is gently aged on French and American oak resulting in a wonderful balance of bitterness, caramel sweetness, vanilla, and undertones of pine and citrus.”